Would any players have been better than Mike if they were the same size?

[Vladimir777]

That's awesome. Go for it. But make sure that you have goals and dedicate some regular time. More importantly, don't just think about it logically like many tend to. Enjoy the beauty of the tone, harmonies, melodies and music.

As for your question, all of the above -

I've been in bands since I was young (on guitar, bass, keys, drums at one point), grew up concertmaster so had my share of classical violin, but spent all of my hours in school/conservatory on classical piano. That said, I'm now dedicating time to becoming a jazz musician and have been transcribing a lot of Oscar Peterson, establishing trios, and working with a Ecuador(Ian?) vocalist.

What makes you want to learn piano? It's by far the most high-maintenance, but also the most rewarding if you can get it down. Do you want to learn rock? Classical? Or jazz?

Let me know if you ever want advice. I love teaching and helping since it's such an obsession. If you want to write music or play songs, I highly recommend finding a great jazz teacher. The easiest way to do this is definitely the guitar, but go for your passion.

Curious - Is your screen-name your regular name or after Horowitz/Ashkenazy? If it's your name, then you already have the best piano name there is

Fun fact: sight-reading two-handed piano fires more neurons in your brain than any human activity, with the exception of having a seizure (which is bad, obviously). The point being though, it's fantastic mental work.

Here's what I started transcribing today and can't get enough of -

Watch on YouTube

Oscar playing Latin jazz is just stunning.

Haha, I have no clue why I have my screen name. It's not my real name, but I think I just thought it sounded cool. Mostly just had no clue what to make my name. I have heard of both of those Vladimirs, though, as they're obviously some of the most famous classical pianists ever.

Why do I want to play piano? Mostly, I just love the sound of the piano, its huge range in terms of notes played, the fact that it's used in so many different genres, the fact that so many songwriters write their songs on piano first, and also just its history.

I'd learn all three of the genres you listed, but rock is what I'm most familiar with. I want to start listening to more classical and jazz, though. Been listening to a bit of Rachmaninoff lately, who was no piano slouch himself. Jazz I definitely have the least experience with, but I have great respect for it.

I'll let you know whenever I start playing, but it might not be for a bit, since I'm going through nursing school now, and it's a bit stressful, to say the least. Thanks for sending the vid--I will listen to it now.

And I definitely am the type of person who goes for passion over logic. I can't stand people who play classical music because it's the "sophisticated" thing to do, or because their families pressured them into it. That disgusts me--I won't lie, haha.

Thanks for the encouragement! Good luck with your transcriptions.

You have great taste. Rachmaninoff is my hero. His 3rd concerto is my favorite music, period, and I performed some of his preludes in my master's recital (prelude op 23 no 5 in g minor and the b minor prelude op 32 no 10).
I'm now learning some of his etude-tableaux as well. At one point, Rachmaninoff went through a severe depression after exile from Russia and if he didn't see a hypo-therapist, he may have not written any of his great music. He was also said to have reached an octave and a fifth (from C to G). They have pictures confirming this. Isn't that insane?

I totally get it with nursing school. I dated a nurse in college and she had so much information to memorize. Another friend also always complained about how much work he had. My current girlfriend is actually a nurse as well and went through the same thing.

Godspeed to you! You'll make it through alive.

Thanks! And yes, I have heard the stories about his huge hands, as well as his depression after a lackluster reception of his first Piano Concerto, and the therapy that helped him out (although I don't know many of the details). Great stuff!

[clyde21]

maybe Allen Iverson

[penbeast0]

Thanks! And yes, I have heard the stories about his huge hands, as well as his depression after a lackluster reception of his first Piano Concerto, and the therapy that helped him out (although I don't know many of the details). Great stuff!

The hand reach can be worked on. My mother and sister were both classical pianists and while my hands are a hair larger than my sister's, I can only reach an octave and one with difficulty while she can reach and play and octave and three in tempo. Flexibility and stretching exercises. It does help that genetically we both have good sized hands, my first wife was also a pianist but dropped out of Oberlin and switched to jazz piano after some hand injuries because her hands and wrists were just not strong enough to handle the work involved.

Damn shame I have all the musicality of a rock.

[bledredwine]

Thanks! And yes, I have heard the stories about his huge hands, as well as his depression after a lackluster reception of his first Piano Concerto, and the therapy that helped him out (although I don't know many of the details). Great stuff!

The hand reach can be worked on. My mother and sister were both classical pianists and while my hands are a hair larger than my sister's, I can only reach an octave and one with difficulty while she can reach and play and octave and three in tempo. Flexibility and stretching exercises. It does help that genetically we both have good sized hands, my first wife was also a pianist but dropped out of Oberlin and switched to jazz piano after some hand injuries because her hands and wrists were just not strong enough to handle the work involved.

Damn shame I have all the musicality of a rock.

That’s neat that your wife went to Oberlin. I went to the Cleveland Institute of Music for my MM, had a girlfriend at Oberlin and would party/practice there all the time. It was maybe a two hour drive tops, probably less.

The injury issue is real. I have a ganglion cyst from tendinitis and had to learn a recital program three weeks before performing. It was the most stressful and probably rewarding thing I’ve done. Pianists have by far the most performance injuries of any musician, over doubling the next in line.

I’m venturing into jazz for similar reasons to your wife (more because I love it, but also because I’m tired of the perfectionism classical music requires, and that I’m rarely satisfied).

[The Explorer]

Nobody. MJ had great skills and athleticism no doubt, but the thing that separated him the most of all factors was competitive maniac mindset. Everyone listed in this thread is competitive, but nobody ever reached MJ level competitive. This man lived to dominate his competition. You all know the stories and anecdotes. I haven't seen anything close to that kind of killer mentality from any other star player.

[Buckets22]

If you have the speed of Muggsy Bogues and the size of MJ that would be game over for the league...same with a lot of other small players - AI, Calvin Murphy, Walt Frazier...heck, imagine Russel Westbrook or Curry being taller :O

[Zasterror]

"Perhaps" he's still not as good in the midrange. Wade with 2 more inches would still trail Jordan in terms of: shooting (everywhere), finishing, post game, all aspects of individual/help/team defense (save perhaps for shotblocking - but I'm of the mind that younger MJ would average 1.5+ bpg annually under zone rules), footwork, triple-threat game, off-ball game, mental game...the list goes on. Only place Wade would be MJ's equal would be penetration.

You’re kind of exaggerating here but i can tell you’re probably an MJ fan by your instant defensiveness.

Jordan has that stuff over Wade but it’s not by some big gap, and most of it goes away with Wade getting taller. Wade was probably already stronger, so with a bigger frame I don’t think Jordan any longer holds an edge in finishing and such. And I don’t see how Jordan is still better defensively in that scenario, according to Elgee’s film study he seemed to think Jordan gambled more on defense than Wade.

It’s easy to say that Jordan is still better at all those things, but if you flipped their heights I think Wade would be better and it wouldn’t really be a debate.

Yeah...no.

Great rebuttal.

No-more-rings is right, the gap is not as higher as you making it out to be. The only thing I give Jordan in this particular scenario is shooting in all forms and passing. Defensively, Wade would be an even bigger threat especially with his shot blocking (though Jordan would still be better at defense slightly). Slashing and penetration was already close if not even between the two BEFORE the 2 inch difference. Mental game has nothing to do with this particular argument because it is not something that is augmented through height.

[Cavsfansince84]

No simply because I don't think any of these shorter guys had the all around intangibles that made MJ not just a 5 time mvp but arguably the goat peak of any player and then able to be even better in the playoffs. Most can't match his athleticism either.

[bledredwine]

No simply because I don't think any of these shorter guys had the all around intangibles that made MJ not just a 5 time mvp but arguably the goat peak of any player and then able to be even better in the playoffs.

Exactly. It’s kind of funny how much people are negating mentality and skill for size. We’ve had thousands and thousands of NBA players ranging from five foot three to seven foot eight, and it just so happens that the greatest was somewhere in the middle at six foot six, while a few of the other candidates were above seven feet.

That six foot six guy was pretty damned near flawless, especially compared to some of the guys being mentioned in this thread.

[Cavsfansince84]

No simply because I don't think any of these shorter guys had the all around intangibles that made MJ not just a 5 time mvp but arguably the goat peak of any player and then able to be even better in the playoffs.

Exactly. It’s kind of funny how much people are negating mentality and skill for size. We’ve had thousands and thousands of NBA players ranging from five foot three to seven foot eight, and it just so happens that the greatest was somewhere in the middle at six foot six, while a few of the other candidates were above seven feet.

That six foot six guy was pretty damned near flawless, especially compared to some of the guys being mentioned in this thread.

Then on top of that there is also the work ethic factor to keep improving and make the most of your potential.

[picko]

The answer will always be someone who is incredibly short. Not someone who is a few inches shorter than Jordan.

The margin of error for someone like Isaiah Thomas (5'9) or Nate Robinson (5'9) is incredibly small. Even making the league at that size is an extraordinary feat. Averaging 28.9 ppg as Thomas did in 2016-17 in among the most remarkable of statistical outliers we have seen in NBA history. Certainly as impressive, if not more impressive, than any of Jordan's scoring feats.

Could Michael Jordan have made the NBA at 5'9? The statistical likelihood is no. Almost nothing that made Jordan the GOAT would work in a 5'9 frame. Could he have developed tricks to succeed? Maybe.

That said, there is no fixed relationship between height and production. We can say with some certainty that Isaiah Thomas with an extra nine inches would be a better player but we don't know to what degree. Plus his game would likely be very different owing to the fact that at 6'6 he never would have had to develop half the tricks required to succeed at 5'9.