Thank you! This was a while ago but I'm now playing the viola and cello at the same time and I think I will be uploading some videos of that in the near future.
Thanks for your comment. I tried it with socks of but it made it more difficult to slide quickly between notes, which is needed because I can't play with multiple toes/fingers with my feet. But thanks for your feedback :)
I'm considering trying a one-man band thing myself. My idea is to play piano while playing drums with my feet via a system of pedals. so to see videos like this is really cool. Can't say I've seen anyone play cello and violin at the same time! I should mention that I'm visually impaired to the point of being blind, so I can't actually see what you're doing. In the video description you said you were playing the cello with your feet. May I ask how you were doing that? Did you literally just try to attach the bow to your foot and slide the foot over the strings with the bow (and maybe try to use the other foot on the "fingerboard" at the same time), or are you using a system of pedals? Looking forward to your reply! Thanks, Justin Naramor
Hello Justin, thank you for your interesting comment. Your idea to play piano while playing drums with your feet sounds really cool and I'm sure that, with some experimentation, you can make it work. You're already very spot on with how you picture me playing the cello, but I'll elaborate a bit on my setup. I sit on a high stool that is high enough that when I sit on it, my feet dangle from it and do not touch the floor. On the floor I've layed down the cello with a cushion beneath it to protect it against the floor and to keep it from sliding around on the floor. I tighten the bow (not too tight) and put my right foot between the wood and the hair of the bow, pretty close to where you would normally hold the bow when you hold it with your hands. My left foot dangles above the fretboard of the cello. I've put the cello with the fretboard towards me so I don't have to reach far to put my foot down to play it. To play a note, I either use my big toe or the front of my foot to press down on the gamba/cello string. Then, with my right foot I swing from left to right and back to bow the note. I'm now in the process of optimizing this proces and maybe buying my own cello (this was a rental) and I might make some videos of this in the near future. That was a bit of a long explaination but I think you get the picture. I wish you a lot of fun with your one man band endeavours and when you have a question or recording of some sort you want to share, let me know! Have a nice day!
@@hanschristiaanhylkema Hi again. Yeah, I get the picture. Wow, that sounds like it'd be a bit complicated to play that way. Would likely be even harder with shoes on... were you wearing shoes here (or even socks) or were you literally doing this entirely barefoot? Oh, also, since you went to great length to explain your technique, I figured I'd go to equally great length to explain my "piano-playing foot percussionist" idea: There are lots of ways I could go about it, but there's one way I've just recently thought of which is really quite intriguing (and when I say recently, I mean I literally thought of this like 2 weeks ago). The idea was partially inspired by a percussion instrument called a "cajon". maybe you've heard of it, but it's also been called a "box drum" because it's a box-shaped thing you actually have to sit on to play it. So the instrument itself acts as a seat for the player. I also remember hearing that some people have played it using a bass drum pedal as opposed to playing it with your hands like you would normally. So, that gave me an idea: I could have something that essentially combines that box-shaped structure you sit on together with a drum kit. To suit piano players, the box would be tall enough that you can reach the piano keys in the normal way, without physical difficulties such as having to elevate the piano off of the floor. So just as the cajon box would act as the drummer's seat, this box would in the same way act as a piano bench, meaning a separate bench is not needed. This box would then have foot pedals mounted onto the front of it, whether that be conventional bass drum pedals or something I'd have to custom-make (I'm no woodworker or engineer though, so someone may have to build it for me). On top of the box, farther back from where I'd be sitting (in other words, behind me), would be a bunch of drums and cymbals. These could either be actual acoustic drums and cymbals, or they could be electronic drum pads like Roland V-drums or similar. When you step on the pedals, something like a cable or chain or rope would transfer the motion of each pedal to the respective beater/mallet/drumstick so that said beater/mallet/drumstick can hit the drum. There's another aspect to this which should be noted, and that is, how would I still operate the piano's sustain pedal? I don't want to compromise on the use of that pedal... the piano sounds so pretty when that pedal is used! :) My idea is to use both of my feet for the drumming, so you would think operating the sustain pedal would be almost impossible. Well, it's actually not. Someone on Reddit said they managed to control a bass drum pedal and a piano sustain pedal both with one foot. They said they used the heel of the foot to play the bass drum pedal while the ball/toes of the same foot controlled the sustain pedal. At first I thought that would be either really difficult or even impossible because I had never tried it, but I decided to test this theory using my own electronic hi-hat pedal (instead of the bass drum pedal), and it's actually fairly easy. This could then free up the heel and ball/toes of the other foot to operate the other pedals for the drum kit. With all that in mind, I've even already decided on a pedal layout and which drums/cymbals the pedals would trigger: Firstly, the heel pedals. I would have 4 of them. 2 for the bass drum and 2 for the snare drum. They would be lined up side-by-side in a 4-pedal group. The far left pedal (pedal 1 in the group) would play the snare drum. The 2 center pedals (2 and 3 in the group) would play the bass drum. Lastly the right-hand pedal (pedal 4) would again play the snare drum. pedals 1 and 2 are for left heel while pedals 3 and 4 are for right heel. The right foot has no pedals for the ball/toes as I need the ball/toes of the right foot for the piano sustain pedal. Alternatively I could also have pedals 1 and 4 play bass drum and pedals 2 and 3 playing snare drum. That's something I'm still debating on actually. One thing I know for sure is that the right bass drum heel pedal will be closest to the piano sustain pedal. Now onto the toe pedals. The toe pedals are just below the heel pedals so I can easily access them, meaning I can easily hit a heel pedal and toe pedal at the same time. The toe pedals are easier to explain. The one below the left bass drum heel pedal will play either a hi-hat or tambourine (still debating on which to use. Maybe I'll use both, so I can use one or the other depending on the musical/logistical requirements), while the one below the left snare drum heel pedal will play a crash cymbal. I might even add a ride cymbal to the left of that, meaning an extra left toe pedal would be positioned to the left of that crash cymbal pedal. Alternatively, the drums don't even have to be mounted onto the box and could instead just be positioned behind the box. This has the advantage of the size of the box not having to be as large (to accommodate both the size of the person sitting on it and the size of the drums themselves), but at the same time, the advantage of mounting the drums onto the box is that, if this system were to be taken to a live concert performance or talent show or whatever, set-up time could be a lot faster because the drums and cymbals will have already been positioned correctly long before the show. Then, when transporting the system to the performance space, you only have to carry the box itself (although it will be heavy because of the drums on it), rather than having to transport both drums and box separately. All of this is just my theory and ideas though; I do not know if this whole "box drum kit with pedals" thing will actually work well in reality. I haven't even really seen anything like it either, to be honest. Or at least, not in a way that's very specifically suited to the physical requirements for piano players. There's foot percussion for guitarists, but that doesn't mean it's automatically suitable for pianists... pianists and guitarists simply have different physical requirements because pianos and guitars are entirely different instruments physically. Just trying to put drums and cymbals under the feet of a musician won't really work with a piano. But that's my point... that'll be fine for guitars because guitars do not use physical space in the way that pianos do.
@@justinnaramor6050 Hi Justin, sorry for my late response. I didn't get a notification of your message but luckily found it by accident. I play the cello with socks on. That way I can slide easily from note to note and I find it comfortable warm :) Thanks for your elaborate explaination of your one man band idea. I know a cajon indeed. It's an interesting and smart idea I think to use it both for percussion and as a stool to sit on. I can picture you sitting on it operating a bass drum pedal (turned towards the cajon) with the heel of your foot. You should look up Farmer Foot Drums, a company that makes special foot and wire operated drums for one man bands. Really interesting you can actually use the sustain pedal and another pedal with the same foot. I can actually picture that working. The whole idea of using so many pedals sounds really cool and actually doable. I understand the benefits of attaching all the drums to one box/cajon. The only 'problem' with that I think is that you have to be very certain of the position you want to mount every one of them. My own experience with doing these one man band experiments (and I've done a heck of a lot more than is seen on my UA-cam channel ;) is that I've been constantly adjusting my setup to make it easier and less tiring to play. Because of this constant moving I usually first use cheap / rental instruments and materials until I find the right setup. Then when the setup feels good, I test it out a couple of weeks. And then, when I feel I don't get strain or injury from playing these instruments in possibly awkard positions and I feel this setup really works, only then I invest in better instruments/materials and I 'glue' it all together in a robust sturdy way. My point is, attaching all the different drums to one box is a good 'end' goal but to know what the ultimate setup is, maybe requires using detachable items at first. Just an idea ;) Oh, and don't forget your knees and elbows can also move indepentantly from your feet and hands and can (with strings) trigger certain other instruments. Also, your head can move indepentenly of your other limbs so you could even use that to hit an instrument or pull a trigger that connects to a drum :) If you progress further with your ideas I'd like to hear more and if you have a video. I'd like to see that as well if possible. I wish you good luck and a lot of fun with this project!
@@hanschristiaanhylkema Hey, thanks for your reply! Man, it's been a while :)) Just a little update though, I have since decided not to do the box drum thing, for the time being anyway. My foot drums are now gonna be entirely electronic. For that reason, drum sticks or mallets that hit things really are not required. I feel this just makes things a little simpler. Not as many things to potentially go wrong. So anyways, the reason this is possible is that you can buy (or even build) a type of electronic drum pedal that has no beaters or mallets hitting anything; these are appropriately named "beaterless" pedals. These work in either of 2 ways: (1) a simple footswitch, where stepping on the footswitch triggers an electronic drum sound, in one way or another, but usually using an electronic drum module, and (2) a simple foot lever you step on; either the underside of the lever or another part of the lever would hit a little pad which houses a piezoelectric vibration sensor. In that second case, you might say the foot lever is acting as the "beater". I like the piezoelectric sensor approach because it's versatile, and unlike simple footswitches which are only "on" or "off", piezoelectric sensors vary the intensity of the signal depending on how hard you hit them, allowing for dynamics. The pedals I plan on using are one's I'm gonna build (with help though, because again I'm not a builder or engineer), instead of just buying ones that are available commercially. There are various reasons for this, but an obvious one is that doing it DIY style can actually be cheaper; the commercial "beaterless" pedals I've seen, that are any good, are rather expensive. Secondly, though, there's something I'm wanting my pedals to do that the commercially-available ones cannot do. I'll explain that later though, because this comment is already getting long :)).
@@justinnaramor6050Hey Justin, thanks for the update. Going electronic to start off with sounds like a good decision. There's lots of things you can automate or calibrate when you use electronics so I reckon it will surely be easier to get the setup you desire faster than doing that all acoustic. I'm quite curious how your one-man-band drum setup is going to turn out. If you ever make a video of it and put it here on UA-cam, let me know via a comment here. Then I'll be sure to check it out! Little update of one-man-band gig. I've tested the acoustics of 2 different cellos on the streets (for busking purposes) and I'm going to buy a very nice big sounding cello. I'm gonna play cello with my feet + viola with my hands + in the future an array of tin whistles that I can play handsfree (work in progress). If you're curious, check back in a few months and there will probably be a video of that here. :)
Wow, you’re doing impressive performance experiments yourself ✨👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽
Thank you! This was a while ago but I'm now playing the viola and cello at the same time and I think I will be uploading some videos of that in the near future.
You might want to take your sock off on your left foot to get the notes better, lol. This cracked me up. Pretty creative.
Thanks for your comment. I tried it with socks of but it made it more difficult to slide quickly between notes, which is needed because I can't play with multiple toes/fingers with my feet. But thanks for your feedback :)
@@hanschristiaanhylkema Lol, that's hilarious. Just the idea of it all is incredibly amusing.
I'm considering trying a one-man band thing myself. My idea is to play piano while playing drums with my feet via a system of pedals. so to see videos like this is really cool. Can't say I've seen anyone play cello and violin at the same time!
I should mention that I'm visually impaired to the point of being blind, so I can't actually see what you're doing. In the video description you said you were playing the cello with your feet. May I ask how you were doing that? Did you literally just try to attach the bow to your foot and slide the foot over the strings with the bow (and maybe try to use the other foot on the "fingerboard" at the same time), or are you using a system of pedals? Looking forward to your reply!
Thanks,
Justin Naramor
Hello Justin, thank you for your interesting comment. Your idea to play piano while playing drums with your feet sounds really cool and I'm sure that, with some experimentation, you can make it work.
You're already very spot on with how you picture me playing the cello, but I'll elaborate a bit on my setup. I sit on a high stool that is high enough that when I sit on it, my feet dangle from it and do not touch the floor. On the floor I've layed down the cello with a cushion beneath it to protect it against the floor and to keep it from sliding around on the floor. I tighten the bow (not too tight) and put my right foot between the wood and the hair of the bow, pretty close to where you would normally hold the bow when you hold it with your hands. My left foot dangles above the fretboard of the cello. I've put the cello with the fretboard towards me so I don't have to reach far to put my foot down to play it. To play a note, I either use my big toe or the front of my foot to press down on the gamba/cello string. Then, with my right foot I swing from left to right and back to bow the note. I'm now in the process of optimizing this proces and maybe buying my own cello (this was a rental) and I might make some videos of this in the near future.
That was a bit of a long explaination but I think you get the picture. I wish you a lot of fun with your one man band endeavours and when you have a question or recording of some sort you want to share, let me know! Have a nice day!
@@hanschristiaanhylkema Hi again.
Yeah, I get the picture. Wow, that sounds like it'd be a bit complicated to play that way. Would likely be even harder with shoes on... were you wearing shoes here (or even socks) or were you literally doing this entirely barefoot?
Oh, also, since you went to great length to explain your technique, I figured I'd go to equally great length to explain my "piano-playing foot percussionist" idea:
There are lots of ways I could go about it, but there's one way I've just recently thought of which is really quite intriguing (and when I say recently, I mean I literally thought of this like 2 weeks ago).
The idea was partially inspired by a percussion instrument called a "cajon". maybe you've heard of it, but it's also been called a "box drum" because it's a box-shaped thing you actually have to sit on to play it. So the instrument itself acts as a seat for the player. I also remember hearing that some people have played it using a bass drum pedal as opposed to playing it with your hands like you would normally. So, that gave me an idea:
I could have something that essentially combines that box-shaped structure you sit on together with a drum kit. To suit piano players, the box would be tall enough that you can reach the piano keys in the normal way, without physical difficulties such as having to elevate the piano off of the floor. So just as the cajon box would act as the drummer's seat, this box would in the same way act as a piano bench, meaning a separate bench is not needed.
This box would then have foot pedals mounted onto the front of it, whether that be conventional bass drum pedals or something I'd have to custom-make (I'm no woodworker or engineer though, so someone may have to build it for me). On top of the box, farther back from where I'd be sitting (in other words, behind me), would be a bunch of drums and cymbals. These could either be actual acoustic drums and cymbals, or they could be electronic drum pads like Roland V-drums or similar.
When you step on the pedals, something like a cable or chain or rope would transfer the motion of each pedal to the respective beater/mallet/drumstick so that said beater/mallet/drumstick can hit the drum.
There's another aspect to this which should be noted, and that is, how would I still operate the piano's sustain pedal? I don't want to compromise on the use of that pedal... the piano sounds so pretty when that pedal is used! :)
My idea is to use both of my feet for the drumming, so you would think operating the sustain pedal would be almost impossible. Well, it's actually not. Someone on Reddit said they managed to control a bass drum pedal and a piano sustain pedal both with one foot. They said they used the heel of the foot to play the bass drum pedal while the ball/toes of the same foot controlled the sustain pedal. At first I thought that would be either really difficult or even impossible because I had never tried it, but I decided to test this theory using my own electronic hi-hat pedal (instead of the bass drum pedal), and it's actually fairly easy. This could then free up the heel and ball/toes of the other foot to operate the other pedals for the drum kit. With all that in mind, I've even already decided on a pedal layout and which drums/cymbals the pedals would trigger:
Firstly, the heel pedals. I would have 4 of them. 2 for the bass drum and 2 for the snare drum. They would be lined up side-by-side in a 4-pedal group. The far left pedal (pedal 1 in the group) would play the snare drum. The 2 center pedals (2 and 3 in the group) would play the bass drum. Lastly the right-hand pedal (pedal 4) would again play the snare drum.
pedals 1 and 2 are for left heel while pedals 3 and 4 are for right heel.
The right foot has no pedals for the ball/toes as I need the ball/toes of the right foot for the piano sustain pedal.
Alternatively I could also have pedals 1 and 4 play bass drum and pedals 2 and 3 playing snare drum. That's something I'm still debating on actually. One thing I know for sure is that the right bass drum heel pedal will be closest to the piano sustain pedal.
Now onto the toe pedals. The toe pedals are just below the heel pedals so I can easily access them, meaning I can easily hit a heel pedal and toe pedal at the same time.
The toe pedals are easier to explain. The one below the left bass drum heel pedal will play either a hi-hat or tambourine (still debating on which to use. Maybe I'll use both, so I can use one or the other depending on the musical/logistical requirements), while the one below the left snare drum heel pedal will play a crash cymbal. I might even add a ride cymbal to the left of that, meaning an extra left toe pedal would be positioned to the left of that crash cymbal pedal.
Alternatively, the drums don't even have to be mounted onto the box and could instead just be positioned behind the box. This has the advantage of the size of the box not having to be as large (to accommodate both the size of the person sitting on it and the size of the drums themselves), but at the same time, the advantage of mounting the drums onto the box is that, if this system were to be taken to a live concert performance or talent show or whatever, set-up time could be a lot faster because the drums and cymbals will have already been positioned correctly long before the show. Then, when transporting the system to the performance space, you only have to carry the box itself (although it will be heavy because of the drums on it), rather than having to transport both drums and box separately.
All of this is just my theory and ideas though; I do not know if this whole "box drum kit with pedals" thing will actually work well in reality. I haven't even really seen anything like it either, to be honest. Or at least, not in a way that's very specifically suited to the physical requirements for piano players. There's foot percussion for guitarists, but that doesn't mean it's automatically suitable for pianists... pianists and guitarists simply have different physical requirements because pianos and guitars are entirely different instruments physically. Just trying to put drums and cymbals under the feet of a musician won't really work with a piano. But that's my point... that'll be fine for guitars because guitars do not use physical space in the way that pianos do.
@@justinnaramor6050 Hi Justin, sorry for my late response. I didn't get a notification of your message but luckily found it by accident.
I play the cello with socks on. That way I can slide easily from note to note and I find it comfortable warm :)
Thanks for your elaborate explaination of your one man band idea. I know a cajon indeed. It's an interesting and smart idea I think to use it both for percussion and as a stool to sit on. I can picture you sitting on it operating a bass drum pedal (turned towards the cajon) with the heel of your foot. You should look up Farmer Foot Drums, a company that makes special foot and wire operated drums for one man bands.
Really interesting you can actually use the sustain pedal and another pedal with the same foot. I can actually picture that working. The whole idea of using so many pedals sounds really cool and actually doable.
I understand the benefits of attaching all the drums to one box/cajon. The only 'problem' with that I think is that you have to be very certain of the position you want to mount every one of them. My own experience with doing these one man band experiments (and I've done a heck of a lot more than is seen on my UA-cam channel ;) is that I've been constantly adjusting my setup to make it easier and less tiring to play. Because of this constant moving I usually first use cheap / rental instruments and materials until I find the right setup. Then when the setup feels good, I test it out a couple of weeks. And then, when I feel I don't get strain or injury from playing these instruments in possibly awkard positions and I feel this setup really works, only then I invest in better instruments/materials and I 'glue' it all together in a robust sturdy way. My point is, attaching all the different drums to one box is a good 'end' goal but to know what the ultimate setup is, maybe requires using detachable items at first. Just an idea ;)
Oh, and don't forget your knees and elbows can also move indepentantly from your feet and hands and can (with strings) trigger certain other instruments. Also, your head can move indepentenly of your other limbs so you could even use that to hit an instrument or pull a trigger that connects to a drum :)
If you progress further with your ideas I'd like to hear more and if you have a video. I'd like to see that as well if possible. I wish you good luck and a lot of fun with this project!
@@hanschristiaanhylkema Hey, thanks for your reply! Man, it's been a while :))
Just a little update though, I have since decided not to do the box drum thing, for the time being anyway. My foot drums are now gonna be entirely electronic. For that reason, drum sticks or mallets that hit things really are not required. I feel this just makes things a little simpler. Not as many things to potentially go wrong.
So anyways, the reason this is possible is that you can buy (or even build) a type of electronic drum pedal that has no beaters or mallets hitting anything; these are appropriately named "beaterless" pedals. These work in either of 2 ways: (1) a simple footswitch, where stepping on the footswitch triggers an electronic drum sound, in one way or another, but usually using an electronic drum module, and (2) a simple foot lever you step on; either the underside of the lever or another part of the lever would hit a little pad which houses a piezoelectric vibration sensor. In that second case, you might say the foot lever is acting as the "beater".
I like the piezoelectric sensor approach because it's versatile, and unlike simple footswitches which are only "on" or "off", piezoelectric sensors vary the intensity of the signal depending on how hard you hit them, allowing for dynamics.
The pedals I plan on using are one's I'm gonna build (with help though, because again I'm not a builder or engineer), instead of just buying ones that are available commercially. There are various reasons for this, but an obvious one is that doing it DIY style can actually be cheaper; the commercial "beaterless" pedals I've seen, that are any good, are rather expensive. Secondly, though, there's something I'm wanting my pedals to do that the commercially-available ones cannot do. I'll explain that later though, because this comment is already getting long :)).
@@justinnaramor6050Hey Justin, thanks for the update. Going electronic to start off with sounds like a good decision. There's lots of things you can automate or calibrate when you use electronics so I reckon it will surely be easier to get the setup you desire faster than doing that all acoustic. I'm quite curious how your one-man-band drum setup is going to turn out. If you ever make a video of it and put it here on UA-cam, let me know via a comment here. Then I'll be sure to check it out!
Little update of one-man-band gig. I've tested the acoustics of 2 different cellos on the streets (for busking purposes) and I'm going to buy a very nice big sounding cello. I'm gonna play cello with my feet + viola with my hands + in the future an array of tin whistles that I can play handsfree (work in progress). If you're curious, check back in a few months and there will probably be a video of that here. :)
blow this up
With dynamite?
@@hanschristiaanhylkema 😂