which tenths can you play?
There are 7 comments, leave a comment.
inversions are your friend -- you can always substitute a larger tenth for a smaller inversion.
one relatively fun way to stretch is to start a little "walking" pattern -- for example, in d maj, hit the octave, then the ninth, then the minor third, then the major third, while keeping your pinky on the root. you can make little rhythmic patterns while keeping the idea of *gently* extending your reach. i've no doubt you can learn to do it -- not all of the stride players had gigantic hands, but they could *all* play tenths, pretty much.
it doesn't matter, what i do play in my left hand is pretty cool and makes up for my lack of reach.
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by Scot Ranney on 01/11/2007, 09:45
i'm with scot, though -- i don't think the reach is all that important unless you're going to specialize in playing pre-war jazz. if you can hit a minor third above, you can already cover most of the exact, note-for-note things bop players might play.
to be honest, it's never really bothered me - you do what you can with what you've got. when you think about the stuff that guys like django rheinhardt and the south african pianist bheki mseleku can manage without the full compliment of fingers, it's hard to get worked up about hand span!
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