handspan
jayrawzI was thinking about the Yakuza (Japanese Mafiosi) and Yubi-tsume (finger-cutting) (conversations at work can go odd directions), and I was thinking about playing various musical instruments without one's pinky. They're very important for the violin, although they're doing completely different things on the two hands. And for the piano, that thumb-pinky stretch determines what kinds of chords you can play.
But then I spread out my fingers and looked at my hand, and the thumb-ring-finger stretch is just about the same on my hands. Who'd a thunk it? (Maybe it's even longer than the pinky reach for some people?) It doesn't leave as many fingers for adding notes inside the chord, but the reach is still there. And it's a bigger finger, so it could probably be stronger than the pinky.
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