I can't reach an octave properly, and I don't know what to do I've got very small hands.

I feel as if I've been learing the piano for nothing if I can't reach an octave, becasue most or all of the pieces that I want to put in my repertoire need big hands that reach an octave


What should I do?
Wait 'till I grow?
Do octave scales on the piano every day?
Not care about it?

This is the way to go (IMO) - worrying about it, after all, isn't going to make your hands grow , and your hands are bound to grow at least a bit, and become naturally more stretchy with time just because you're practising - so there's no point worrying about it at 13 when you've years to go before you will know what your eventual stretch is going to be. If you spend the years when your hands are growing just practising normally then your hands will be used to stretching and playing... forcing it will only risk hurting yourself, it isn't worth it.

I am 28 and I struggle to stretch an octave, (I can do it, but it's not comfy - I wouldn't want to try a piece with loads of consecutive octaves) but I think it's more to do with lack of practice and nimble-ness on the piano rather than the size of my hands, as I have quite long fingers... my piano teacher's handspan is not much bigger than mine at all but he can stretch much further and much easier than me. It's not just about the size of your hands!

I agree with that - no need to worry.

Went to see a piano concerto at the RCM the other night - my friend (that was playing in the orchestra) said afterwards that the pianist's hands were very small - struggling to reach an octave. So in the grand scheme of things, there is no need to worry. Play pieces that suit you.

Also, Mr Einaudi has quite small hands....

There's really no need to worry, there are actually quite a few pianists who have small hands.

I have a friend who says that she gently stretches her hands before each practise session to help her reach her octaves. I have no idea if this works, but I guess it doesn't hurt. Urm... Only other thing to day is to relax your hand before you attempt a stretch, but you probably already know that.

Everyone here is right - there's no need to worry!

Chances are, your hands will eventually get a little bigger, but even if they don't, it still isn't as limiting as you think

If a piece has lots of widely spread chords in one hand, you can often use the other to play some of it, if it's not too busy doing other things. Depending on what it is, you might even leave out a note from a chord - one that won't make too much difference to the sound. A lot of the time the listener "fills in" that note in their own head (if it's not too conspicuous), without physically having heard it

I don't have small hands but lots of my pupils do, and I think it's often more a case of using a different technique, rather than "stretching" the hands. Some will play arpeggios and forget they are allowed to move their hand as they play If they complain about the stretch, it's usually a case of them still being over the bottom note while trying to reach the top one.

Not sure how to get over the consecutive octaves if it really is a problem with reaching. You could try moving you hand a little further into the keys? If all else fails, just play the notes singly on whichever end of the octave fits the piece best - it's not a catastrophe

Dont worry there are few who cannot get at elast an octave when theyve grown enough.
Do you remember Benjamin Grosvenor who got to the piano final of Young Musician on the BBC. He had a similar problem, and had to carefuly choose his repertoire because of it.
Just let your hands develop naturally, dont force them to do what they dont want to do.

I couldn't stretch an octave until I was about fifteen. These days I can play octave chords (ie an octave with notes in between) and can just about stretch a ninth but not with anything in between. As others have said, you will just have to wait for your hands to grow and in the meantime there are ways of getting round the problem which any good teacher should be able to help you with.

This lecture focussed a bit on hand size
http://www.arttowermito.or.jp/music/sndlec09.html

but you end up with what ever you get .....

Yeah, like most people mentioned, don't worry about it! I know someone who had to wait a year before taking her grade 7, then another year before her grade 8 because her hands were small and fingers real short and she was 16 & 17 at that time. So in the mean time, go explore some other interesting music

I'm 28 and only managed to reach a 9th in the last couple of years!!! Don't worry about it, you will grow and in the meantime you can enjoy having brilliant, small, nimble hands that can do some things a bit easier than big old spades!!!!