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The keyboard spans (i.e., octave spans) of old keyboard instruments was compared with those of modern pianos to explore whether the relationship between keyboard span and hand span is a contributory factor in overuse problems among pianists. The distance on the keyboard between the left side of the C4 key and the right side of the C5 key was measured in 120 old keyboard instruments, including 26 harpsichords, 8 clavichords, 7 spinets, 4 virginals, 75 pianofortes, and 20 square pianos, manufactured from 1559 through 1929. The oldest harpsichords and pianoforte showed a keyboard span equal to that of the modern piano. In late 18th and early 19th centuries, the span diminished by 3 to 6 mm on average. In the later 19th century, the keyboard span returned to the 188- mm modern size. Unfortunately, almost all famous piano pieces composed in that 100-year period use a small keyboard, and this fact is compatible with the paradoxical situation that many modern pianists struggle with difficult piano techniques on a modern keyboard, which is broader than the old type that the 18th and 19thcentury composers used. Med Probl Perform Art 2008;23:169-171.
Overuse problems are often seen in the hands of professional pianists. In a previous investigation of such overuse problems among pianists, the author found that 70 of 200 pianists developed their problem while practicing techniques such as octaves and chords.1,2 Octave and chord techniques accounted for 74% of all cases and were associated with abduction of the thumb and little finger and also stabilization of the wrist joint. Because pianists with small hands are believed to be require a greater abduction angle for the thumb and little finger while playing octaves and chords than do pianists with large hands, overuse problems are more likely to occur in the abductor and extensor muscles of the thumb and the little finger of pianists with small hands.
The author also performed a study using a video-based passive marker detection system that measured the abduction angle of both the thumb and little finger of pianists while they were repeatedly playing octaves and chords.3 The results showed that both the maximal and minimal abduction angles of the thumb were significantly greater for pianists with smaller hands, although there was...