When one tries their hand at mastering a song by Rach, it’s not only difficult because of how complex his music was but simply because sometimes the notes are super uncomfortable or are sometimes just impossible to reach. I sometimes think when Rachmaninoff sat at his piano, he silently chuckled to himself when he wrote such big chords into the music. Undoubtedly though, he was one the most gifted pianists and composers of all time with unmeasurable talent.
Rachmaninoff had BIG HANDS, I’m not over exaggerating when I say this. A normal person can reach an 8th to a 9th. A practiced piano player can reach a 10th and just barely an 11th. Rachmaninoff could easily reach a 13th, while also playing notes in-between then also hold the notes down! Holding a 10th down for me is already hard enough, I’ll accidentally press down on other notes with the palm of my hand. Let me put that into perspective for you.
I dare you to try! Try reaching a 13th, then try adding a 3rd, 5th, and 9th.
If you thought that is hard... just to make it more challenging on himself he would play a 10th chord like this:
C - Index finger (2)
E - Middle Finger (3)
G - Ring Finger (4)
C - Pinky (5)
E - Thumb (1) [His thumb could reach all the way under his hand to reach a 10th, and he could do it comfortably]
Its hard enough striking a clear 10th with 'normal' fingering. Whyyyy Rachmaninoff? Why?
Rachmaninoff could have easily been a star player in the NBA. He was certainly tall for it too, he measured 6”5. His hands were never measured but he would need a minimum hand span of 12 inches to reach a 13th. Only about 6 pro players have been measured to have hands that are 11 inches wide. Micheal Jordan probably has 12 inch wide hands. But many doctors theorized that his size was caused by a genetic disorder, but it was never proven. He probably just had really big hands.
Most pianists I know envy such large hands. Could you imagine how easy it would to travel from one end of the keyboard to the other?
I highly recommend listening to Piano Concerto No. 2 Op 18. and Liebesleid.
There is a technique to compensate for having hands that are not big enough to reach so far on the piano, but its definitely hard to master especially when the song requires to be played fast. This is a technique I call ‘Rolling’. It’s basically where you roll up from the lowest note to the highest note within micro-seconds of each other so that when the sustain pedal is added it sounds like one big completed chord being played at the same time. Sometimes though, notes have to be dropped but you leave the important notes in the chord to keep the correct sound.
This little skit always makes me chuckle, thought you guys would like it too.
Cherish