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Last month I saw a brilliant preformance of a Beethoven Sonata, and a Debussy Prelude (Fireworks, i think). The whole time, this pianist moved his left foot back and forth again and again. Why? This pianist is VERY accomplished and is the head proffessor at a university in my state. What is up with the left foot? Is it a nervious habit or something?


Matt

I know when I play, occasionally I'll get a case of "metronome" foot with my left foot. Typically if I come across a run of 8ths or 16ths in a piece where they are uncommon, my left foot will keep a steady 1-2-3-4 or 1-2-3 tempo depending on the time signature. Perhaps nervousness... I don't really know why; I do it subconsciously.

It's likely a nervous response. It can be quite distracting if it's excessive. I recall attending a recital by Marek Jablonski (the late Polish-Canadian pianist and teacher) at the Banff School of Fine Arts in the mid-70s. The concert was oversold so they put the students on the stage so I had a close-up view. His left foot never stopped moving - back and forth, then would wrap around a leg of the bench,...

I find myself doing this a lot when I'm involved in a piece and I think it's a little bit to do with balance. I don't think it's a nervous response or a bad habit - (with maybe the exception of wrapping round the stool leg), just kind of a way of allowing you to balance or stable your body as it gently 'flows' with the music... anybody know what I mean?

I agree with Will, I do it as well, and I think it all has to do with balancing myself out.

My left foot is always in motion. I use wwaaaayyyyy too much of that left doo-hicky pedal that moves the keys around for some reason.

More and more, I think that my left foot should be on the sostenuto pedal as a default position. There are times when I would use it to good effect if it were there, and it is reasonably close to the soft pedal when that is needed. The sostenuto pedal is a good antidote for too much damper pedal.

I plant my foot to the left of the pedals and keep it there. It just seems natural for me. I never really got why people move their left foot back and forth over and over... but hey, everybodies different

Matt

Very gentle heel tapping is an excellent time keeper and manifestation of the inner metronome. The leg muscles have an instinctive ability to march in time, even a five year old child can march in perfect time with a parade. We do not have digital clocks in our heads, using heel tapping takes advantage and taps into the primitive biological instincts ingrained in our ambulatory nerves and the large leg muscle groups. Heel tapping is managed from a loose springy knee joint and a springy heel joint. The heel need not even come in contact with the floor. The up and down stroke of the knee should be as fluid and relaxed as a conductors arm. The upstroke is actually more important than the down stroke. You realize that dancing evolved in humans much earlier than piano playing. Many master musicians don't have very steady timing and could benefit from some time spent tapping their feet.