This story appears in the September 2019 issue of National Geographic magazine.

View Images What’s believed to be Bach’s skeleton, photographed in 1895 by anatomist Wilhelm His. Andreas Otte examined the left hand, as too many bones are missing from the right hand. Saxon State and University Library Dresden

It would seem that musical genius has many dimensions. In the case of composer Johann Sebastian Bach (1685-1750), an anatomical endowment may have enhanced his virtuosity. In a study published in a German scientific journal, anatomist and musician Andreas Otte deduced that Bach—a gifted organist and harpsichordist—had an exceptional reach at the keyboard.

Using a photo of what historians believe to be Bach’s skeleton, Otte calculated the hand’s size—nearly 8½ inches from wrist to fingertips—and its reach, as much as 10¼ inches from thumb to last finger with the hand open wide. Using those measurements, Otte figured that Bach could play what’s called a 12th: a position bridging 12 white keys. That reach is uncommon even today, when humans generally are larger than in Bach’s time.