pedal boards

[Bdshull@AOL.COM]

List:

I couldn't resist coming out of my hole (trying to finish my Master's degree 
this year) on this one.  The pedal board piano which I have seen was at one 
of the universities I have served.  I am pretty sure it was a Hazelton 
upright.  If I remember correctly, holes were drilled through the bottom 
board to accomodate the pedal board, and through the keybed to accomodate the 
long dowels connecting the pedals to the appropriate keys.  Old tired 
steel-wound strings must have given special meaning to the term 
"pedal-point."  

When the school went with a lease program 12 years ago this piano slipped 
away before I realized it;  the current organ instructor was doing her 
master's degree there at the time, and now we are both a bit nostalgic about 
the piano (whose pedals remain in a basement at the school, I think).  But it 
is a novelty whose main advantage lies in the possibility of organ pedal 
practice without the organ (and the required space).  If you want an organ to 
practice on at home, buy an old Allen with full AGO pedals.  Either way, if 
you are middle aged like me the left hand/feet synapses will remain highly 
resistant to electrical flow.

How do you value a pedal piano?  Take a standard approach to valuing the 
instrument, and make an assessment of the value of the whole package.  
Besides the fact that it is primarily a novelty, it is not a particularly 
complicated device, easily duplicable, which may not enhance its value.  But 
the existence of the Internet may enhance its value, as long as you can get 
the right key words for someone looking for such a beast.

Bill Shull, RPT


In a message dated 9/24/00 7:53:48 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
caccola@net1plus.com writes:

<< Hi, Tim,
 
 Didn't H.F.Miller offer pedal boards in a few uprights? These would be rare.
 
 
 Clark
  >>