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Hi there,
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Have you ever felt like your hands don’t quite fit the piano? You’re not alone. A growing movement is challenging the standard keyboard size and offering alternatives better suited to smaller ones.
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One fantastic pianist from the past Josef Hofmann (1876-1957) had a custom smaller sized keyboard built for him by Steinway and Sons. Listen to his playing on Youtube;

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But now there are more ready built options available.

This month, Stanford University (Northern California) is hosting two open houses where you can try narrower keyboards:

📍 Braun Music Center, 541 Lasuen Mall, Stanford, CA
🗓️ Saturday, May 17, 2:30–3:30 PM
🗓️ Wednesday, May 28, 5:00–6:00 PM

More details:
https://music.stanford.edu/events/narrow-keyboard-open-house-1​
https://music.stanford.edu/events/narrow-keyboard-open-house-2​

I haven’t taught anyone using one yet, but a pianist in my Piano with Rebecca B. community just got one. I’m looking forward to hearing what he thinks—and if it proves helpful, I’ll be sure to share what I learn.
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I have worked with many small-handed pianists on standard keys.

They’ve often spent years holding their hands open, activating the instrinsic muscles of the hand to try to span distances. Once they stop doing this their hand has less tension which makes it feel larger. This in turn makes it EASIER to reach things that used to feel stretchy. It's usually only a small improvement, but every little bit helps.

Narrower keys could make that transition easier by helping you get used to the feeling of not holding the hand open. This would then make playing on standard size keys (when necessary) easier.

Curious to learn more?

🎹 Read how one university transformed student performance with narrower keys​
🎹 A whole website about smaller keyed pianos​

Would you try a narrow keyboard if you had the chance?

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Reply and let me know.

Warmly,

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Rebecca
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​P.S. If the piano has ever felt uncomfortable, my Pianist's Body Blueprint can help. It covers body use and hand position techniques that make playing feel easier—whatever your hand size.

​ Get comfortable to play better Mini course with 9 short videos + 15-page PDF will help reduce tension and increased ease and comfort. Learn the best bench height, sitting distance, foot and leg alignment, and how to position your arms and elbows. GET IT NOW

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Contact info@RebeccaBogartPiano.com

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