Organ Pedals for Drumming

July 25th, 2026
footdrums, music, tech
Someone submitted my musical multitasking post to Hacker News, where Rochus Keller saw it and left some fascinating comments. He's developed a method of foot drumming, using midi organ pedals:

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Here's another one:

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Additional, audio-only, examples: 1, 2.

I find this fascinating. The physical feel of organ pedals is very different from the kick drum pedals I play, much more keyboard-like, which means the technique is totally different. But it clearly works well, and Keller is able to play something musical, coherent, and (despite having only two feet!) very full. When I imagine playing this interface I expect I'd miss the rebound of my pedals (which feels a lot like stamping my foot on the floor, where all of this came from), and needing to move around horizontally would take some getting used to. On the other hand, it would be amazing to have the broader palette, with 17 different (virtual) drums to choose from!

I've previously written about how musicians massively underuse their mouths, and it seems clear to me that feet are similarly undervalued. Two different videos, to give more of a taste of what's possible here, both acoustic:

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(Todd Cowart)

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(Noah VanNorstrand in Buddy System)

EDIT 2026-08-04: Rochus made a recording with a much better view of his feet, demonstrating the pedals both individually and in action:

youtube

Comment via: facebook, lesswrong, mastodon, bluesky

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