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#2560046 07/31/16 04:17 PM
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dmd Offline OP
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I may have reason to learn to pedal with my left foot. I am right-handed and I assume right-footed.

I am wondering if anyone else has had to make this change and would be willing to share how it worked out.


Don

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IIRC, Marian McPartland used her left foot on the sustain pedal by choice, so that her face would be turned slightly toward the audience in most playing situations. It didn't seem to slow her down any smile

I haven't tried it myself, but I would think you'd get used to it after a brief adjustment period. There might be a risk of introducing unwanted tension into your upper body because your hips will be a little bit rotated relative to your shoulder girdle. Apart from that, if you have to make the change, I don't see why it would cause any major problems.

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Two years ago I acquired a Broadwood square piano of 1804. The damper pedal had just been invented, and is located on the left rather than on the right. (There is only the one pedal.) I wondered how on earth I was going to learn to pedal with my left foot, and initially I found it very difficult to pedal properly. Then, after having had the piano for about three weeks, I suddenly found that I could do it perfectly. The rapid transition from great difficulty to perfect ease was really quite astonishing. Just to be quite clear - it was not a question of the left foot having to learn how to pedal in the way that the right foot had once done. The left foot seemed to suddenly absorb the full pedalling capability previously learnt by the right foot. It was as if the part of the brain that controls pedalling had suddenly managed to make a connection to the left foot.

This is an interesting question, and I think you might get additional replies if you were to post it also in the Piano Forum.

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Thanks to all for the replies.

At least, now I feel that it can be done seamlessly if it has to be.

Thanks again


Don

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When playing acoustic piano I pedal with my right foot.
When playing keyboard - often but not always set to a piano sound - right foot works a volume pedal, left takes sustain.
I barely even notice the change. Neither will you.

I play brass too. Mostly trombone, but I sometimes pick up valved instruments. You finger trumpet with the right hand, horn with the left. And, again, you barely notice.

We are pianists. Our "wrong" hands can play a scale in 16ths at q=200. We don't have to make too much fuss over which "handed" we are!


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