I had watched this video series before (parts of it, at least) but had not left a comment. Just had an interesting thought though. First some context though. I'm visually impaired to the point of being blind. So the fact you gave a lot of verbal descriptions in this video is really great. With that in mind, you mentioned that the Farmer Foot Drums work by having a platform with the pedals on it (and I'm sure you'd also have a bench/stool to sit on put on that platform as well), and then all the drums and cymbals and other moving parts are underneath the platform. I'm imagining, then, that this means the platform is positioned relatively high above the floor, considering the fact that drums and cymbals generally take up a lot of vertical space. Now for guitar players, this isn't really an issue. But let's imagine this set-up for piano players. I'm a pianist myself. Not a guitarist. So, that platform being above the floor might mean that, unfortunately, this isn't really suitable for pianists. Unless you're OK with elevating the piano toward the level of the platform so your hands can comfortably reach the keys as they would normally and so your arms would also be in the right position. This might not be a big problem for electronic keyboards; the stand that holds the keyboard can be elevated if needed. And if the pedal platform has enough space, you might even be able to put the keyboard with the stand directly onto it, with the pedals in front of the keyboard. But for acoustic pianos? No way... you'd have to elevate the piano above the floor somehow. This is a general problem I've noticed in the foot-percussion world; seemingly no one uses foot drums in combination with piano, it's always guitar that's the instrument used in combination with the foot drums. It's weird. As a pianist, I've been wanting to add a foot-drumming kit alongside what I play on the piano, so knowing that the Farmer Foot Drums are set up in this way means I'll have to scrap that idea; I don't want to have to elevate the piano. Anyways, sorry this comment got a little long, but feel free to reply with your thoughts or observations or whatever if you wish. Thanks!
Wow, I had no idea my video would be suitable to the visually impaired. Thank you so much for your comment. In response to what you said, yes, the farmer kit is like a platform with the drums and cymbals underneath. When you assume it’s raised, that’s partially true. However (I’m describing it visually for you), it’s more like an angled platform. The player sits in a stool with their legs slight in front of them. The heel side of the platform is lowest, while the toe side is higher. It slopes gently upward away from the player. I assume this is because of the way the feet are angled when they’re swung forwards. The kit I made in this video is flat, because I sit closer to it. And now, as you will have seen in the later videos, I’m using real drum pedals which I can get right alongside my drum stool for flat footed playing. However, you’re right that brighter if these would fit under a real piano, unless it was a grand piano. I would recommend taking a look at the Roland SPD One Range of drum pads which are compact trigger pads designed to be operated by feet. I think they would fit under a standard upright piano.
@@HighRoadMusician My reply here will probably get a bit long again, but anyways: Yes, I did sort of consider the Roland SPD1 drum pads. I may still try that, but I'm certainly open to other ideas. I do know that, like you, I'm wanting my foot drums to be electronic, mainly for reasons of practicality but also the other obvious advantages of electronic musical instruments over acoustic ones. I might still at some point come up with something acoustic just for the insane-ness and coolness of it, but in terms of common/frequent usage and so on, something electronic is just gonna be superior for obvious reasons. At this point I feel it might be helpful to explain my actual foot-drumming layout that I've decided upon; that might give you a better idea of my "requirements" (shall we call it that? :)). My foot drumming layout may seem quite ambitious, and I really don't think anyone's really done this. But it will work as follows: Right heel: plays bass drum or snare drum sound (depending on musical/physical requirements for a given song). Right heel will swivel to the right to play the snare drum sound. Left heel: an exact coppy of the right heel, except that it will swivel to the left for the snare drum sound. I think you can imagine what this means: there are 4 heel pedals instead of 2. 2 for the bass drum and 2 for the snare drum. This already allows a lot of musical possibilities. Left toe/or ball of left foot: plays closed hi-hat, crash cymbal, and open hi-hat. To play a crash cymbal and bass drum at the same time with one foot, the ball/toes of left foot will swivel to the left while left heel stays on bass drum pedal. You've probably already noticed something odd: I didn't mention any pedals for the toes of the right foot. That was not a mistake, it's intentional. Using only my right heel for the right-foot drum sounds means I can use the ball/toes of the right foot for the piano sustain pedal. I got that idea from reading a comment on Reddit: someone said they managed to play a bass drum pedal with the heel of the right foot while the ball of the right foot controlled the piano sustain pedal. At first I didn't think that would work or it would be very difficult, but I tested that theory with my electronic hi-hat pedal and it works. However, conventional drum pedals have a big flaw here, and that is their slanted shape. Because of this, it was always feeling like my heel was much higher up than my toes, making it feel a little uncomfortable to play that high-hat pedal with the toes on the sustain pedal. I tried repositioning the hi-hat pedal such that the flatter end was closer to my heel, which did make it more comfortable. But that's another problem... the heel is then closer to the hinge point, requiring a lot more effort to push the pedal down. This same issue would apply equally to bass drum pedals. Piano sustain pedals are basically completely flat across their entire length, so they don't suffer from that. So... I'd like my foot drums to feel similar, where the pedal is flat along it's whole length. I'm not sure if anyone makes such a drum pedal though, so it's possible I may have to build it myself (or have someone build it for me, because I'm not much of a builder myself).
Not sure what the Farmer Kick measurement is, but mine is a 22 inch that's been shortened. The kick pedal in this wooden version was very crude, it was literally made of chunks of wood and dowel screwed together. The moving parts had no bearings or lubrication. It was just a prototype to see if the layout and overall concept worked. If I were to to it again, I'd use bearings (like the ones in skateboard wheels) to help the moving parts work better. Check out the Freeze frame at 3:03 to see a clear picture of the kick pedal parts. Unfortunately this prototype has been dismantled and thrown away, I can't take any more photos of it.
ok... just use a backing drum track as most guitar players can't keep time with their hands much less their hands AND feet! (just kidding guitar players, love ya anyway!)
Excellent job! I’ve had my eye on a farmer’s few years and I’ve considered crafting my own. Thank you for sharing. What a wealth of knowledge.
That split drumstick is my favorite part.
Well done, great detail. Thanks for sharing!
Glad you liked it Paul. Did you watch the rest of the videos? There's 7 or 8 of them with more on the way
I had watched this video series before (parts of it, at least) but had not left a comment.
Just had an interesting thought though. First some context though.
I'm visually impaired to the point of being blind. So the fact you gave a lot of verbal descriptions in this video is really great. With that in mind, you mentioned that the Farmer Foot Drums work by having a platform with the pedals on it (and I'm sure you'd also have a bench/stool to sit on put on that platform as well), and then all the drums and cymbals and other moving parts are underneath the platform. I'm imagining, then, that this means the platform is positioned relatively high above the floor, considering the fact that drums and cymbals generally take up a lot of vertical space.
Now for guitar players, this isn't really an issue. But let's imagine this set-up for piano players. I'm a pianist myself. Not a guitarist. So, that platform being above the floor might mean that, unfortunately, this isn't really suitable for pianists. Unless you're OK with elevating the piano toward the level of the platform so your hands can comfortably reach the keys as they would normally and so your arms would also be in the right position. This might not be a big problem for electronic keyboards; the stand that holds the keyboard can be elevated if needed. And if the pedal platform has enough space, you might even be able to put the keyboard with the stand directly onto it, with the pedals in front of the keyboard. But for acoustic pianos? No way... you'd have to elevate the piano above the floor somehow. This is a general problem I've noticed in the foot-percussion world; seemingly no one uses foot drums in combination with piano, it's always guitar that's the instrument used in combination with the foot drums. It's weird. As a pianist, I've been wanting to add a foot-drumming kit alongside what I play on the piano, so knowing that the Farmer Foot Drums are set up in this way means I'll have to scrap that idea; I don't want to have to elevate the piano.
Anyways, sorry this comment got a little long, but feel free to reply with your thoughts or observations or whatever if you wish. Thanks!
Wow, I had no idea my video would be suitable to the visually impaired. Thank you so much for your comment.
In response to what you said, yes, the farmer kit is like a platform with the drums and cymbals underneath. When you assume it’s raised, that’s partially true. However (I’m describing it visually for you), it’s more like an angled platform. The player sits in a stool with their legs slight in front of them. The heel side of the platform is lowest, while the toe side is higher. It slopes gently upward away from the player. I assume this is because of the way the feet are angled when they’re swung forwards.
The kit I made in this video is flat, because I sit closer to it. And now, as you will have seen in the later videos, I’m using real drum pedals which I can get right alongside my drum stool for flat footed playing.
However, you’re right that brighter if these would fit under a real piano, unless it was a grand piano.
I would recommend taking a look at the Roland SPD One Range of drum pads which are compact trigger pads designed to be operated by feet. I think they would fit under a standard upright piano.
@@HighRoadMusician My reply here will probably get a bit long again, but anyways:
Yes, I did sort of consider the Roland SPD1 drum pads. I may still try that, but I'm certainly open to other ideas. I do know that, like you, I'm wanting my foot drums to be electronic, mainly for reasons of practicality but also the other obvious advantages of electronic musical instruments over acoustic ones. I might still at some point come up with something acoustic just for the insane-ness and coolness of it, but in terms of common/frequent usage and so on, something electronic is just gonna be superior for obvious reasons.
At this point I feel it might be helpful to explain my actual foot-drumming layout that I've decided upon; that might give you a better idea of my "requirements" (shall we call it that? :)).
My foot drumming layout may seem quite ambitious, and I really don't think anyone's really done this. But it will work as follows:
Right heel: plays bass drum or snare drum sound (depending on musical/physical requirements for a given song). Right heel will swivel to the right to play the snare drum sound.
Left heel: an exact coppy of the right heel, except that it will swivel to the left for the snare drum sound.
I think you can imagine what this means: there are 4 heel pedals instead of 2. 2 for the bass drum and 2 for the snare drum. This already allows a lot of musical possibilities.
Left toe/or ball of left foot: plays closed hi-hat, crash cymbal, and open hi-hat. To play a crash cymbal and bass drum at the same time with one foot, the ball/toes of left foot will swivel to the left while left heel stays on bass drum pedal.
You've probably already noticed something odd: I didn't mention any pedals for the toes of the right foot. That was not a mistake, it's intentional. Using only my right heel for the right-foot drum sounds means I can use the ball/toes of the right foot for the piano sustain pedal. I got that idea from reading a comment on Reddit: someone said they managed to play a bass drum pedal with the heel of the right foot while the ball of the right foot controlled the piano sustain pedal.
At first I didn't think that would work or it would be very difficult, but I tested that theory with my electronic hi-hat pedal and it works. However, conventional drum pedals have a big flaw here, and that is their slanted shape. Because of this, it was always feeling like my heel was much higher up than my toes, making it feel a little uncomfortable to play that high-hat pedal with the toes on the sustain pedal. I tried repositioning the hi-hat pedal such that the flatter end was closer to my heel, which did make it more comfortable. But that's another problem... the heel is then closer to the hinge point, requiring a lot more effort to push the pedal down. This same issue would apply equally to bass drum pedals.
Piano sustain pedals are basically completely flat across their entire length, so they don't suffer from that. So... I'd like my foot drums to feel similar, where the pedal is flat along it's whole length. I'm not sure if anyone makes such a drum pedal though, so it's possible I may have to build it myself (or have someone build it for me, because I'm not much of a builder myself).
Still a great project. Well done !!
Thank you sooooo much!!! Bless you!
👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻 great work
Fantastico 😍
what is the diameter of the kick farmer drums? how did you make the kick pedal? can you shoot a video in more detail or send drawings please?
Not sure what the Farmer Kick measurement is, but mine is a 22 inch that's been shortened. The kick pedal in this wooden version was very crude, it was literally made of chunks of wood and dowel screwed together. The moving parts had no bearings or lubrication. It was just a prototype to see if the layout and overall concept worked. If I were to to it again, I'd use bearings (like the ones in skateboard wheels) to help the moving parts work better. Check out the Freeze frame at 3:03 to see a clear picture of the kick pedal parts.
Unfortunately this prototype has been dismantled and thrown away, I can't take any more photos of it.
Interesting...
Food
for thought?
ok... just use a backing drum track as most guitar players can't keep time with their hands much less their hands AND feet! (just kidding guitar players, love ya anyway!)
I’m not most guitar players :-)
@@HighRoadMusician that’s true, you ARE awesome!