Fingers to big?

[arroyomusic]

I have problem playing in between the black keys. My hands are just to big and manly:tongue:! For example, in Jordan's Total Keyboard Wizardry, in the technique section, he has an exercise he calls Basic Major 1-5 Exercise.. He starts on a C Major scale and goes up diatonically to the 5th note and back down again. C Major is no problem, because it is all white keys. But the then goes up a half step to C# Major, D Major, etc. This really messes me up because when I play in say D# Major, playing next to or in between the black keys causes me to inaverdently sound the black keys. Does anyone have this problem? Am I suppossed to keep shifting my hand back and forth so I won't play in between the black keys or should I keep play at an angle...What? Thanks in advance for your help guys. I have received great advice from this board in the past that has really sped up my progress.

[Staccato]

Hm, I understand your problem, but are your hands really so big that you press F#, G and G# down at the same time? Cause I now my fingers also touch the F# and G# but it doesn´t push them down, and then is no problem. The solution I would learn(which doesn´t support the meaning of Jordan´s practice though) is to play with fingering 2, 1, 2, 3, 4.. That´s the way you would play the notes if you were playing scales up and down. You can move in and out, but I think there is to much elbow movement and stuff.

[arroyomusic]

So you are actually suppossed to play in between the black keys? That is the preferred method? Dang! I have to lose weight :frown:

[quartaumentata]

My hands are not big and my fingers are thin. Nevertheless, when playing white keys in between black ones, I sometimes touch the blacks. And, if I'm not precise enough sometimes the blacks go down enough to trigger sound.

So I think it's a matter of precision and getting used to the right millimetric finger action. (Does it sound like "practice"?)

I also recall the time when, after 8 years of piano tinkering, I bought my first synth: boy, a mess. Being synth keyboard not weighted, the necessary strenght to trigger sound was lighter and I got horrible results. I then realised that I lacked in precision much more than I believed.

I realised that when I was playing piano my fingers very often slided on the side of black keys. On piano this rarely led to sound triggering, but on synth lighter keyboard...

So the underrated (for practing) synth keyboard, helped me to get more precise in general.

Anyway, as I said before, my fingers are thin, and I never had to face a problem like yours, like having big enough fingers so they actually don't fit between two black keys.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

Heh - you should see my teachers fingers! He can play octaves +5 keys (I don't know how it's called...). And his fingers are thin. And he is not a piano teacher (he plays piano: second instrument).

God (if he exists) gave me "good" hands (IMHO). I never had this problem (touching black keys) and I can play octaves and wide chords fast with no trouble at all...
But I also know a pianist (very successful, he gives lots of classical piano concerts) and he has IMHO very fat and short fingers...

So it depends more on your precision, than your physics.... I think...

[quartaumentata]

[QUOTE=-=AnatomiC=-] He can play octaves +5 keys (I don't know how it's called...). [/QUOTE

..........

[quartaumentata]

He can play octaves +5 keys (I don't know how it's called...).

:eek: King Kong interval?


EDIT: Sorry for double posting, I made a mistake trying to edit my first reply

[arroyomusic]

Heh - you should see my teachers fingers! He can play octaves +5 keys (I don't know how it's called...)

I can play 3 octaves easy, but I have to use both hands :biggrin:



God (if he exists) gave me "good" hands (IMHO) It's funny you bring up if God exists, there is this show called "Secrets of he Bible" or something like that. Believers and Non-believers debate the authenticity of the bible. It's cool when they can talk about their different opinions in an intelligible, respectable way. But anyway, I guess my hands aren't as blessed as yours :frown: Even when I play inbetween the black keys slowly, I can easily play all three notes.

[-=AnatomiC=-]

I can play 3 octaves easy, but I have to use both hands :biggrin:


Yeah... I ment with one hand :biggrin:

Anyway, good hands is not a big gift - I would rather have some composing or improvisation gifts... because I don't have them

About God - I used to be a believer... but with so many different religions, I don't know what to believe :frown:

[Athox]

He can play octaves +5 keys

So... from C1 to F2?

[arroyomusic]

About God - I used to be a believer... but with so many different religions, I don't know what to believe :frown:

Yeah, I had a big struggle with that. It's like 'God, I want to follow you, but which road do I take?'. It's kinda like the issue I have with the big fingers on the keyboard. The question for me is 1) how much do I want to be a good keyboardist? and 2) does my issue with big fingers mean I am not a keyboardist?

Well, I want to be a good keyboard player, and my mind is set on this goal. I can imagine in my mind where my keyboard skills will be in the next few years. I am convinced I am going to be really good. Period. But it is up to me to put my work in. I am still a keyboardist, by all means, just not where I want to be. Without trying to be preachy, the struggle one has with their faith is similar. Some people just believe right away and their mind is settled on the matter. Just like some people's hands fit just right on the keyboard and they don't struggle with fingering certain things on the keybaord. Others, like you and myself, have had issues with our faith that we need to sort out. But God isn't afraid of our doubts and questions. And I will even go out on a limb to say that God isn't offended by our doubts and questions. I will even go further and state that if you continue to search for the truth, your faith will be even stronger in the end because of your doubts and questions.

The end of Philippians 2:12 states: ...continue to work out your salvation with fear and trembling... You have to work at it. Be encouraged bro, your doubts don't make you any less a believer than my fat fingers make me any less a keyboardist. Our job in both cases is to work it out. He did the hard part in dying for our sins. He just asks that we take up our cross and walk with Him. And the cross He asks us to carry can be heavy at times! But Don't let your doubts and questions push you away from Christ. I didn't, and I am blessed because of it. Similarly, I won't let my fat fingers stop me from being a good keyboardist. And because of my perseverance , I will be accomplish my goal one day.

[Piranha]

When I try to hit a white note between two black notes, I stumble around the keys and hit all three at the time. It makes me SOOOOO MAD!!1

[-=AnatomiC=-]

2 arroymusic

I don't say that I have problem with religion, because I don't.

I used to be a Christian, but I realized that it's a big waste of time (for me).

I'm just gonna live my life, use my talents for good deeds, try to help other people, and just be a good person....

And let's wait and see - if God will send me to hell for that, than I don't need any God! :rolleyes:

A little "Off-Post"...

[arroyomusic]

Here are some pictures of how big my hands are for the keys. The first one is me trying to lay my hand on the keys the traditional way. The 2nd picture shows how I need to play certain things without hitting all three keys...

http://www.4shared.com/file/12400009/e8826970/Hand1.html

http://www.4shared.com/file/12400014/8f28248c/hand2.html

all I have to say is...DANG! ...maybe I'll be the first hand liposuction procedure?

[Staccato]

Hm, well, I just checked myself, and according to the first picture I have the same handsize as you, but i don´t have the problem with pushing down all three notes. I think it is about techinque, the angle of your hand and stuff. Really hard for me to say exactly how to do it when I can´t see you play!:P

[Guardian]

wow, youve got hands like my father
i agree, really hard to play with that hand size:tongue:

[mlunapiena01]

perhaps if you tried to play more on the edge of the black keys (as in closer to you) this way instead of pressing the white keys so much in between the black keys you could press them where there's more opening... alternatively, maybe just practice the white key major scales for right now as they tend to use less black keys...

if all else fails maybe sign up for a one time piano lesson with a teacher to try and get this resolved??

Keep experimenting with you hand position & Best of luck to you...

-Mike

[Staccato]

I think the best way is to consult a pianoteacher. Take some lessons and work on just that.. he/she can probably help you if anybody can.

[arroyomusic]

I think the best way is to consult a pianoteacher. Take some lessons and work on just that.. he/she can probably help you if anybody can.

if all else fails maybe sign up for a one time piano lesson with a teacher to try and get this resolved??

What if I crush the teacher accidentally with my massive hands, ya! :eek:

[Staccato]

Hopefully you can sneak out without paying anything;)

[mlunapiena01]

What if I crush the teacher accidentally him with my massive hands, ya! :eek:

Then you shall have mastered the crushing keyboard blow technique from the Hand school of music and your piano journey would be complete :-P

Maybe you could just say you're taking a more kinesthetic approach to explaining your troubles?

[Riffraft]

And I thought I was the only one. I have been playing for a about 1 1/2 years (self-taught) and though I've made a lot of progress in some areas, others have frustrated me to no end. One of them is the FAT FINGERS syndrome (FFS :biggrin:) . I'm not sure how much accuracy would help since like Arroyomusic if I place a finger between two black keys in a perfect straight line the sides of my finger still overlap onto both black keys. I have learned to compensate somewhat by twisting my hand, but it makes playing more difficult (especially when shifting my hand position for a new chord). Mind you I could stand to lose a few pounds, so maybe if I got my lazy butt and lost 25lbs it might help.
I guess I shouldn't complain. I imagine it is even more difficult to overcome the problems associated with really short fingers. Then again there is a lady (Yoke Wong) who put out a Piano Improvisation DVD course that has the shortest fingers I have ever seen and she manages to play pretty damn good, so maybe FAT FINGERS syndrome really is worse :wink: .

[arroyomusic]

Yeah, it can really suck, but as my technique gets better, I notice that I am learning how not to sound the black keys. I play right on my fingertips and at times I need to twist my hand. Bottom line: I need to lose weight. But I will say this: with fat fingers, I am forced wo play with nothing less than perfect technique. It seems to be a bessing in disguise! I will keep you posted on my progress.