Designing a pedal assist for a grand? to pedal damper with left foot

Animisha

Good luck with your surgery ShiroKuro!

iternabe For one, the left foot did not have the same sensitivity of the right foot. (Maybe not a problem for pianists?).

I learned to pedal with my left foot, and it took a while, but it is not very hard. My pedals are connected with a cable, so I could just shift them to the left. But once the pedal is in the correct place, it is perfectly doable.

So ShiroKuro, it is absolutely worth it trying to find a way to move your pedal. I would disencourage playing with a crossed foot, I think you'll get other problems.

ShiroKuro

Gombessa Is there a floor you can drill into?

Absolutely not!! 😅 No drilling into the floor, and no drilling into the piano!!!

IMO anything with enough leverage to depress the right pedal from the left is going to be big and heavy and any slight bump is going to dislodge it or nick your pedal box/lyre.

I had not thought of that.... But I see what you mean. Hmmm...

Animisha it is absolutely worth it trying to find a way to move your pedal.

I can't move the pedal, I have an acoustic grand, so there aren't a lot of options. Unfortunately.

And yes, I'm worried about the impact of sitting at an angle or twisted around if I try to pedal with the left foot.

iternabe

ShiroKuro And yes, I'm worried about the impact of sitting at an angle or twisted around if I try to pedal with the left foot.

I wonder if seat distance would have an impact. The farther away you seat, the less twist is needed to use left foot on right pedal.

Animisha

ShiroKuro that means I won’t be able to pedal with my right foot for possibly two months or maybe more.

ShiroKuro I can't move the pedal, I have an acoustic grand, so there aren't a lot of options. Unfortunately.

And yes, I'm worried about the impact of sitting at an angle or twisted around if I try to pedal with the left foot.

My advice to you, and it is probably not what you want to hear, is simply to accept it.

This November, I also had right foot surgery and I needed to keep my foot up for weeks, in the beginning preferably above my heart, later just on a stool. I tried putting my foot on my piano and then play, and later I tried to put a stool underneath my piano, but both positions were uncomfortable, so I simply did not play the piano. In my case, my foot healed beyond expectation, so I was back at the piano after maybe a month (but in the beginning, without right foot pedalling - just keeping my right foot down and relaxed.)

For you, worst case scenario, you'll heal slowly, and won't be able to pedal for three months. Yes, it is unfortunate, but it is what it is. By the way, the hard part of foot surgery for me was my immobility. We don't have a car, and I am used to go or bicycle everywhere, and suddenly, I could not even take a walk to the doctor's office to get my stitches pulled out, and needed to take a cab. I still remember my first walk (50 steps and then back again) outside in the fresh air, oh, such a delight!

So ShiroKuro, the best of luck with your surgery, and a speedy recovery! ❤️

TLH21

ShiroKuro Ah, I can't see how far out the bit that attaches to the pedal extends. You may be right.

Option 2, clown shoe on your left foot? 🤪

pianoloverus

If pedal modifications don't work, spend the time working on Bach, Scarlatti, and Mozart.

pianoloverus

I think sitting a little more to the right would be the best way to make using the left foot on the sustain pedal the most comfortable.

ShiroKuro

Animisha is simply to accept it.

this is certainly one approach, but given that I have four limbs, and only one will be out of commission, it seems logical to me to see what other options I have.

My approach to piano has always been "just keep playing." I committed to that back in 2008 when I started grad school. I knew I would be beyond busy, and that making time for piano would become increasingly challenging as my studies advanced. But I also knew that if I didn't keep playing, it would be harder to get back to it after a prolonged absence, and probably close to impossible when starting a new career (which was the whole point of grad school, which I started at almost 40 years old btw). So I resolved to keep playing. It was a promise I made to myself, and I have kept that promise.

My desire to figure out a way to keep pedaling in the event that I have to have surgery is part of that. If there's a work-around (a way to pedal with the left), then I want to find it. If there's no work-around, there's no work-around. But I am not ready to give up yet.

Animisha We don't have a car, and I am used to go or bicycle everywhere, and suddenly, I could not even take a walk to the doctor's office to get my stitches pulled out, and needed to take a cab. I still remember my first walk (50 steps and then back again) outside in the fresh air, oh, such a delight!

I can imagine!!! I'm glad you're better now! 🙂

MRC Why not use the time to explore all you can do without the pedal?

Sure, I can do that, and I may not have a choice. But at this stage, after playing the piano for 20+ years, I have my own set of piano goals and I know what I want to play. So I'd prefer to keep working on that, if at all possible.

We'll see how it goes. I still don't know if I'll be having surgery or not, but if I do, I am not yet ready to give up the idea of left-foot pedaling...

MRC

Why not use the time to explore all you can do without the pedal? You're not limited to Bach and Scarlatti: if you're not familiar with the keyboard works of Bull, Blow, Gibbons, Purcell, Frescobaldi, Couperin and a host of others, now is a great time to go on a voyage of discovery. And of course you have Mozart, Haydn and their contemporaries.

There is also an awful lot to be learnt from playing romantic repertoire without pedal. I wouldn't want to spend two months doing only that: not only could it get frustrating, you'd be missing out on the opportunity of discovering all that wonderful music written for keyboard instruments which didn't have a sustain pedal. But being forced to work without pedal on a piece that usually needs a lot of it can be very rewarding.

I know I've already posted this video here somewhere, but here it is again: Yeol Eum Son playing the Rachmaninof-Kreisler Liebesleid first with, then without pedal.

Animisha

ShiroKuro My desire to figure out a way to keep pedaling in the event that I have to have surgery is part of that.

If you manage, congratulations!
Still, one more thing. If your surgery means full narcosis, don't underestimate how tired you will be because of it. Your body will need to rest and recover.

pianoloverus

Have you tried sitting at the piano and depressing the sustain pedal with your left foot?

I just did, and either by moving slightly to the right(a few inches) on the bench and/or just moving the left foot a little to the right from its usual position(say in front of the middle pedal) and putting it at a small angle from perpendicular, depressing the pedal can be done quite easily. The left foot does not have to be completely parallel to or lined up with the pedal it is depressing.

I think the only difficulty, which might be considerable, will be getting used to using the left to do the pedaling. There really is no issue IMO with comfortably placing the left foot on the sustain pedal.

ShiroKuro

Animisha full narcosis

I don’t know if it does or not, I will have a pre-surgery appt and so will confirm.

Also we don’t call it that in the US, we call it “general anesthesia,” so it took me a minute to figure out what you meant! 😁

Animisha

You gave me a good laugh! Or, actually I did. Of course, you are quite correct.

I had a choice and I am very happy I chose general anesthesia. I hope for you that the surgery won't be necessary, so you can continue to play your heart out.

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