© Erica Worth
Though young violinists, cellists and many wind players commonly benefit and flourish in their early development by practising on half and three-quarter size instruments, pianists have to cope in a ‘one size fits all’ world. Historically, the keys in early pianos, fortepianos, clavichords and harpsichords may have been smaller, but from the 19th century onwards all players have had to perform on instruments that have a set key size.
