<!DOCTYPE html PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.01 Transitional//EN"> <html> <head> <meta content="text/html;charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv="Content-Type"> <title></title> </head> <body bgcolor="#ffffff" text="#000000"> <big><big><big><big>Hi, David Can't reach far enough sitting down -- I put it well behind the dampers. Doesn't seem important enough to carry a stick just for that. By putting the muting strip in well away from the agraffe end, I can get it in without pinching the felt. Susan </big></big></big></big> David Skolnik wrote: <blockquote cite="mid:0MAT00LJVZF65VF0@mta1.srv.hcvlny.cv.net" type="cite"> At 02:45 PM 9/23/2012, Susan Kline wrote: <blockquote type="cite" class="cite" cite=""> I used to stand on my bent left leg so I could reach the right grand pedal, and raise the dampers while I put in my muting strip. Can't do that anymore, so I just put it in very carefully, standing on two legs. </blockquote> Hey Susan - Sorry to hear about pain, but it seems you could come up with a work-around... - sit down while stepping on pedal and inserting strip mute? - stick with one end forked and leather or rubber on the other, cut to length (from pedal to underside of keybed) to hold down sustain pedal while you insert strip mute. I must be missing something. David Skolnik At 02:45 PM 9/23/2012, you wrote: <blockquote type="cite" class="cite" cite=""> I'm sorry to hear about this, Rick. I have a very slightly similar situation, since I have fibromyalgia and arthritis in my left knee. One can compensate for a lot of things, but of course activities like piano-moving (as opposed to moving a piano around a stage, which I do) are out of the question. I used to stand on my bent left leg so I could reach the right grand pedal, and raise the dampers while I put in my muting strip. Can't do that anymore, so I just put it in very carefully, standing on two legs. I use knee pads if I have to go down on the floor to work on pedals. They help a tremendous amount. By the way, my arthritic knee started because of tight inner quadriceps, so maybe knee pads might help you also. I use some from a gardening place, with wide velcro straps to keep them on. They just live in the car. For tall uprights, I have to stay sitting down as much as I can despite the fatigue of reaching upwards. Then I'll spend ten or fifteen minutes standing, but take frequent breaks. And I gave up tuning squares a long time ago, because of the hours of leaning over. Keeping the number of tunings a day down till you're sure you're back up to strength is probably a wise tactic. I've heard that exercising the GOOD leg has a strange effect, speeding healing on the injured one. Also that cold treatment helps and reduces pain. Good luck. Susan Kline <a moz-do-not-send="true" href="mailto:richarducci@comcast.net">richarducci@comcast.net</a> wrote: <blockquote type="cite" class="cite" cite=""> <pre>List, In 2010 I injured my left leg. Complete tear of quadriceps tendon. Surgery, eight weeks of complete immobility, and ten weeks pt. Given the nature of our business , and the physical requirements , how would you say this type of injury would effect your ability to perform? Rick Ucci Uccipiano.com 609-677-0444   </pre> </blockquote> </blockquote> </blockquote> </body> </html>