For those that have no control in their legs but would like to be able to work the sustain pedal on their piano, I have a solution. It's activated by tilting the head and after some practice, the body language of pedal activation is not the least bit unpleasant to watch. The bulk of the mechanism is mounted under the piano for grands and inside the piano for verticals. There is a small "disconnect" or jack mounted under the key board on either end of the piano and some thin wire going to the player's head. This wire can be concealed or somewhat hidden by running it along the arm rest of the chair and up along the player's side to the head band where the sensor is.
This device is run on standard house current, and the voltage to the sensor is 5 volts at very low current. It is in no way a permanent installation and doesn't do permanent damage to the piano. The existing pedals function as they did before, however, on a grand piano they need to be removed so the footrests of the wheelchair don't hit anything when the player is positioned at the keyboard.
You can email me at larryf@pacifier.com
Back to homepage