I find this fascinating. The physical feel of organ pedals is very
different from the kick drum pedals I
play, much more keyboard-like, which means the technique is
totally different. But it clearly works well, and Keller is able to
play something musical, coherent, and (despite having only two feet!)
very full. When I imagine playing this interface I expect I'd miss
the rebound of my pedals (which feels a lot like stamping my foot on
the floor, where all of this came from), and needing to move around
horizontally would take some getting used to. On the other hand, it
would be amazing to have the broader palette, with 17 different
(virtual) drums to choose from!
I've previously written about how musicians
massively underuse their mouths, and it seems clear to me
that feet are similarly undervalued. Two different videos, to give
more of a taste of what's possible here, both acoustic:
Someone submitted my musical multitasking post to Hacker News, where Rochus Keller saw it and left some fascinating comments. He's developed a method of foot drumming, using midi organ pedals:
youtube
Here's another one:
youtube
Additional, audio-only, examples: 1, 2.
I find this fascinating. The physical feel of organ pedals is very different from the kick drum pedals I play, much more keyboard-like, which means the technique is totally different. But it clearly works well, and Keller is able to play something musical, coherent, and (despite having only two feet!) very full. When I imagine playing this interface I expect I'd miss the rebound of my pedals (which feels a lot like stamping my foot on the floor, where all of this came from), and needing to move around horizontally would take some getting used to. On the other hand, it would be amazing to have the broader palette, with 17 different (virtual) drums to choose from!
I've previously written about how musicians massively underuse their mouths, and it seems clear to me that feet are similarly undervalued. Two different videos, to give more of a taste of what's possible here, both acoustic:
youtube
(Todd Cowart)
youtube
(Noah VanNorstrand in Buddy System)
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