Off the Bench Piano Pedaling
Syncopated piano pedaling is a lot like toe touches. Initially, it feels more natural for many students to want to push the pedal down at the same time as they press their hands down for the chords, but this exercise mimics the desired motions needed for proper pedaling of depressing or changing the pedal slightly after you play the chord.
1- Sit on the floor flat with your legs stretched out in front
2- Count a measure of 8th notes aloud (1&2&3&4&).
3- Add "arm stretches" on beat one (Stretch &2&3&4&) and stretch your arms towards your toes on beat one for a few measures. (For pedal and chord changes on the first beat of each measure)
4- Add "toe flexes." Chant "Stretch - Up-Down &3&4&" while flexing and pointing our toes after the arm stretches on the following beats
1-Arm Reach & - Toe Flex 2 - Toe Point &3&4& - Keep Toes Pointed
By allowing students to see and feel their foot movements isolated away from the keyboard they can more easily grasp the timing of pedaling.
After a week of practice, I was amazed by the results. The pedaling problem was fixed, and she was so excited that she had memorized the song and asked if she could perform it at our upcoming group lesson. I love it when my crazy late-night strokes of ideas yield results!
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One idea that seems to work for my students is that the hands and foot move *towards* each other when the pedal is changed. As the fingers go down to press the notes, the foot comes up to release the pedal, then quickly back down to reengage the pedal.
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