Hi everybody

Indy_ex put me onto this one; he has one for his 6 year old daughter. It looks so good I am ordering one as soon as I can get through on the telephone.

It is a foot stool that also allows tiny pianists to use the pedal. Read about it here.

Steve

Yep - the footrest/damper pedal extension works great.
And we're not even using the pedal part yet - as the grade 2 pieces didn't require the pedal.
Far better than the plastic items I've seen used at festivals - which obviously are a fixed size and don't connect to the pedal.

I brought it along to the piano exam yesterday. Sadly I wasn't allowed to take it in myself to install - the steward did it. This bothered me, as posture is so important - and you can't expect a small 6-yr old to alter an adjustable piano-stool and adjustable footrest to be just right without help, and I don't think the non-piano-playing retired grandmother steward was the best person to do it without any training or instruction (there wasn't time).

The examiner liked it so much he requested details so he can buy one!

The exam went really well by the way (I'm told!), pieces went fine, and the sight-reading was a straightforward 4/4 piece in C major! And the little one was thrilled to be doing it and couldn't wait to go in!! Hope that continues. Sadly a teenager doing grade 4 came out crying - she said she couldn't adjust to the grand piano and messed up her pieces.

I am sorry this was your experience: I must say at our Centre the stewards are usually very good about allowing teachers to help set up - after all a string player can take their teacher in (even if they're not accompanying) to help tune the instrument, what's the difference with a piano teacher helping a very young student get set up. None as far as I'm concerned.

In my experience, examiners are usually delighted to welcome a caring teacher into the exam room to help with the setting up (saves them having to do it), provided it is done quickly, efficiently and the teacher then disappears promptly. If the teacher does it, it saves them the trouble though I must say, reports from pupils suggest examiners are pretty good at helping out with such matters.

I would stand your ground another time and if the steward refuses to let you in, I'd ask (as I had to on one occasion) if they would go and ask the examiner if he/she would mind if you just helped your young pupil, complete with footstool, get set up. If that is refused, I'd take it up with ABRSM because there is, as I mentioned above, in my view no difference between doing that and another kind of instrumental teaching providing loads of help with instrument and stand.

Glad the pupil's experience was a good one overall and thanks for info on the stool.

Even after 65 years as a pianist (though it was never a serious first instrument) I find the need to adjust rapidly to a different touch a major snag of piano performance;* worse still if you have to adjust to the difference between upright and grand at the same time (which no longer bothers me). This is a particular difficulty for players who combine relying on the sheet music and looking at their hands, because the angle between the eye lines is greater on a grand. I suppose a good teacher would ensure that the second was not happening, and many would also encourage memorising.

* The exam situation is the worst of all, unless you can find an opportunity to try the instrument before the exam day.