Elizabeth Schumann, assistant teaching professor of music and the Billie Bennett Achilles Director of Keyboard Studies at Stanford University in California, is leading a new research project examining how the size of a typical piano keyboard may hinder the performance of pianists with smaller hands. According to prior research cited by Dr. Schumann, only 13 percent of women have a hand span large enough to play repeated, fast octaves on the standardized 6.5-inch octave span keyboard; more than three-quarters of men are able to do so.
Along with colleagues from Stanford’s Wu Tsai Human Performance Alliance, Dr. Schumann had a sample of advanced pianists perform identical tasks on two pianos, one with the standard 6.5-inch octave and another with a narrower 6.0-inch octave. Upon measuring the participants’ speed, accuracy, force, and volume, the research team found the biggest gains in performance appeared in pianists whose comfortable reach tops out at an octave, with smaller improvements for pianists who can comfortably reach one or two keys beyond an octave.
For the project’s next phase, Dr. Schumann collaborated with Stanford computer scientist and roboticist Karen Liu to develop AI models of the hand and forearm. Using data from the motion-captured performance of 15 professional pianists, the models aim to provide a deeper understanding of the biomechanics of hand stretch, speed, and force on a piano.
“The larger goal is not simply to build smaller keyboards,” said Dr. Schumann. “It is to create the evidence needed to advocate for better design and more equitable access to excellence.”
A Stanford faculty member since 2023, Dr. Schumann received her bachelor’s degree and master of music degree in piano performance from the Cleveland Institute of Music in Ohio. She holds an artist diploma in piano from the Colburn Conservatory in Los Angeles and a doctor of music degree from Université de Montréal in Canada. She presented the findings of her research during the Performing Arts Medicine Association Symposium in July.