Funny you should mention knee levers, Frank, as that crossed my mind, too. Like a melodeon, only different. (A hat that plays pedals is just TOO cool!) She plays out a lot, at nursing homes and other community sites, so something portable would be good. On the other hand, I suspect she spends most of her playing time at the church and at home. Since she's unlikely to ever use the una corda at church, I suppose I could reconfigure the rods and linkages. I'm open to nearly any suggestion or idea, so thanks in advance for more of 'em! Annie G. > Hi Annie, > > I once modified a computer "joystick" to function as a knee lever on the > piano bench, in conjunction with a PianoDisc pedal solenoid, to > accommodate an amputee-pianist. Researching the project, I found a patent > for a mercury switch, mounted in a hat for the switching device. A tilt > of the head would activate the switch. Neither of these solutions would > easily meet the portability requirements of your situation. A few years > after this project, I was contacted by a university research group, who > were working on a similar situation. In their case, portability was also > an issue. I don't recall how they dealt with that aspect of it. I'll > have to do some digging, but maybe I can find some of their correspondence > with me with more information. > > Frank Emerson >
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