My Physical Limitations

Back in 2017 I had been teaching myself piano for about a year and a half. I started writing about my experience thus far, the self-teaching process, thinking I'd start a blog. But I never did. Until now, and here I am in 2025, re-discovering what I wrote back in 2017 about what I'd been up to for the last year.

Piano - Year One: July 5, 2017

When I started teaching myself piano, I had no idea how much my body would get in the way. I guess I pictured myself sitting down and just... playing. Turns out there are a bunch of physical issues I'm dealing with (more than I expected) that affect what I can practice and how long I can practice it.

Small Hands

My hands are small. I can barely reach an octave, and when I do reach it my hand is stretched to its limit. That means I can't play octaves comfortably, and I certainly can't play them fast or with any control. Sometimes I see a passage with octaves and I just skip it, or I play the bottom note and leave out the top (or vice versa).

I've read that some people with small hands can train their hand to stretch further over time, but I don't know if that's true or if I want to try it. Stretching my hand to reach an octave feels like I'm asking for an injury. I'm 55 years old (well, 54 when I started) -- I don't bounce back from injuries the way I used to.

What does this mean for my practice? I tend to avoid pieces with a lot of octaves in them, or I modify them. I figure there are plenty of pieces out there that were written for normal-sized hands, so I'll just play those.

Bad Toe

About 40 years ago I injured a toe on my right foot. I don't even remember how it happened anymore, but the toe has been messed up ever since. It doesn't bend properly, and it hurts if I put weight on it wrong.

This matters for piano because of the sustain pedal. Using the pedal requires pressing down with the ball of my foot, and that puts pressure on that toe. After practicing for a while, especially if I'm working on something that needs a lot of pedal, my toe starts to hurt. Then I have to stop practicing (or at least stop using the pedal).

I've tried different foot positions to see if I can use the pedal without aggravating the toe, but I haven't found anything that works well. What I usually do is just limit how long I practice pieces that need pedal. Or I practice them without pedal, which defeats the purpose (but at least I'm practicing the notes, I guess).

Arthritis in My Hands

A couple of years ago I started having pain in my hands. The doctor said it was arthritis, which I guess is not surprising at my age. Some days it's worse than others. On bad days my fingers are stiff and achy, and I can't move them as quickly or as accurately as I need to.

On those days I either skip practicing entirely, or I stick to very slow, simple things. Playing through pain seems like a terrible idea, so I don't. I figure it's better to miss a day of practice than to make the arthritis worse and end up missing a week (or longer).

The arthritis also affects how long I can practice. Even on good days, after 30 or 40 minutes my hands start to ache. I've tried pushing through it but that always makes it worse the next day, so I've learned to stop when my hands tell me to stop.

Sciatic Nerve Issues

This is the big one. I have problems with my sciatic nerve that make it painful to sit for long periods. Sitting at the piano is especially bad because of the posture required -- I have to sit up straight, feet flat on the floor, arms at a specific height, no slouching. All of that puts pressure on my lower back and aggravates the sciatic nerve.

I can usually practice for about 20 minutes before the pain starts (maybe 30 on a good day). After that it gets worse quickly, and if I don't stop I'll be in pain for the rest of the day. I've tried different piano benches, different heights, cushions, everything I can think of. Nothing really solves the problem. What else can I try? I don't know.

What this means is that my practice sessions are short. Very short. I can't sit down and practice for an hour or two the way I imagine other people do. I practice for 15-20 minutes, then I have to get up and move around. Sometimes I come back for another short session later in the day, but sometimes I don't (especially if the first session was rough).

What This Means for My Learning

All of these physical limitations add up. I can't practice pieces with big stretches. I can't practice pieces that need a lot of pedal. I can't practice for long sessions. I can't practice when my arthritis is acting up.

I used to feel frustrated about this. I'd read about other people practicing for hours every day, and I'd think about how much faster they must be improving than me. But I've started to accept that this is just my reality. Am I going to be a concert pianist? No. Am I going to learn pieces quickly? Also no. I'm going to learn slowly, in short bursts, within the constraints my body gives me.

The good news is that slow progress is still progress. I may not be able to practice long hours, but I can practice consistently (most days, anyway). And I can choose pieces and exercises that work with my limitations instead of against them. That's what I'm doing now, and it's working well enough.