Dec 1 / Olivia Adams

Research to Practice: One Hand and a Piano

Our research to practice blogs provide a summary of current research and best practices on specific topics in adaptive music education, with practical applications to music teaching and learning.

When I first began teaching piano, a family friend would come to visit and would bring their 5-year-old child. Em was born with an extremely rare genetic mutation and was missing their left hand. Em was enthralled with the piano and would sit on the bench and play, often asking for longer and longer piano lessons. I modified music for them, and we played duets. It was great fun, and we enjoyed making music together when we saw each other. A few years later, after I moved provinces to complete my undergraduate degree, I taught a student with digit differences named Sam. Sam had mild cerebral palsy and didn’t have full use of their right foot and two digits of their right hand. This student loved the piano but decided not to continue with music examinations or festivals. When I asked Sam and their parents about it, they told me that previous adjudicators made the comment that Sam’s hand “looked strange” and commented on how they maneuvered the piano without the use of their 4th and 5th fingers. These two students led me down a path of learning more about piano music for one hand to find practical and engaging resources for them to engage with the instrument in the unique way their bodies were capable of.

Logistics of Playing the Piano with One Hand

The majority of the music that exists for piano one hand is written for the left hand. This is due in part to a few reasons. First, is that much of the repertoire written in the 19th and 20th century was written specifically for pianists with injuries to or without a right hand. It is believed that 90% or more of humans are right-handed. 1 In the not-so-distant past, there was the belief that being left-handed was “wicked.” 2 Children who were naturally left-handed were forced to learn to become right-handed. As a result, we see more injuries in the right hand than the left. 3 All of these reasons factor into why more 80% of the piano literature for one hand is composed for the left hand. 4 When playing the piano with just one hand, often adjustments need to be made. One of the most notable adjustments is to the pianist’s posture. When playing the piano with two hands, the pianist sits in the middle of the piano so both their right and left hand can play roughly an equal number of keys.

When playing the piano with one hand, however, the pianist will often position themselves to the right side of the piano when playing the piano with the left hand, and the left side of the piano when playing with the right hand so that the entirety of the piano is at their disposal. When positioning the piano bench, the pianist must also consider whether they have sufficient access to the pedals, and what pedals they will use helps to determine how far to the right or left they sit.

Some adjustments to a one-hand approach are to the physical space, while others are adjustments that happen to the score. A common score adjustment is editing to the fingering written into a score to suit the needs of the pianist. For example, I would re-finger the repertoire for my student Sam, who used only three of her fingers and the side of her hand, so that she should play the piece with the fingers she had available. Additionally, the pianist may need to rework the fingering in the repertoire to adjust it for their hand size and mobility. If the piece for one hand is fingered for the left hand, the pianist will need to re-finger the piece for the right hand. In line with the idea of reworking the fingering is that some pianists may choose to drop doubled notes due hand size, strength, or adaptation for mobility. This is a common adjustment not just for pianists with limb differences but also for pianists with small hands.

Piano music for one hand is most often divided into two categories: Monophonic and Contrapuntal or Homophonic. Monophonic music is characterized by single note melodic passages and the bass is implied rather than explicitly written. Contrapuntal music gives the illusion of both hands playing (Figure 1) and most emulates the writing and voicing most often found in Baroque music. The damper pedal is often used to cover up gaps and there is often quick movements along the keyboard are required. Regardless of contrapuntal or homophonic repertoire, there is a greater use of both damper and sostenuto pedals in one-hand piano music to help expand the sound of the piece. When playing piano must for the left hand, the pianist must learn to control the thumb in the melodic line, which is often seen as a disadvantage in left hand repertoire. 5

Pedagogical Resources for One Hand Piano

One of my favourite resources for one-hand piano is the Rainbow of Sound series by Debra Wanless. The collection spans from preparatory music to late intermediate in four books totalling 32 pieces for one hand alone with equal emphasis given to both the right hand and the left hand. Each piece includes a colour in its title, such as “Bright Blue Boogie” or “White Lightning.”Wanless writes “these works are a result of my fascination with existing works for one hand as well as the need for one-handed repertoire (often for the injured athletes) in my studio.” “The Rainbow Rumba” is from Rainbow of Sound 4 and is a particular favourite in my studio. This fun dance is suitable for the intermediate student. This piece is composed for the RH alone and is a quick, syncopated dance that uses contrasts of articulation, and style. The challenge in this piece is keeping the melody legato in the 4th and 5th fingers of the RH while contrasting it with the dance rhythms in the bottom of the hand. This piece is an effective one for introducing multiple voices within one hand and contrasting articulation.

Whether you are looking for resources for your students with limb differences, wanting to strengthen technical skills in one hand, or find resources for a student with an injured finger or arm, the following list is an excellent place to begin.

Books for Piano One Hand (Google Spreadsheet)
Levelled Piano Scores for One Hand (Google Spreadsheet)
One-Hand Alphabetized Syllabus (PDF)
Piano Music for One Hand (YouTube Playlist)
Index of Piano Music for Left Hand curated by Hans Brofeld
Public Domain Scores for Piano Left-Hand
Public Domain Scores for Piano Right-Hand

There is plenty of musical learning that can happen with just one hand, and a piano!

 

References:

1. McManus, I. C. (2009). The history and geography of human handedness. In Language
Lateralization and Psychosis (pp. 37–58). https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511576744.004.
2. Lombroso, C. (1903). Left-Handedness and Left-Sidedness. The North American
Review, 177(562), 440–444. http://www.jstor.org/stable/25119452.
3. Drozdov, I., Kidd, M., & Modlin, I. M. (Eds.). (2008). Evolution of one-handed piano
compositions (pp. 782–785).
4. Ibid.
5. Ibid.
Created with