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Topic: Dealing with disability |
Steve Mallett
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 7 Jan 2021 6:25 pm |
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I am a long-time guitar player who lost a great deal of functionality in my left hand due to a nerve damage problem. Essentially, it's a significant loss of grip - I'm unable to exert the necessary thumb and first finger pressure to fully form a barre chord. Having always loved the sound of the pedal steel, I decided to see if I might be able to continue on as a musician by learning to play the instrument. Unfortunately, I'm facing a challenge here, too.
Specifically the nerve damage affects my ability to effectively control the bar. From a typical playing position, I am, for example, unable to lift the bar off the strings. I can move the bar up and down the neck, but my grip is so tenuous that even that tends to cause some problems.
I'm hoping someone in the forum might have an idea or two on how I might overcome this problem. Thanks in advance. |
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Pat Chong
From:
New Mexico, USA
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Posted 7 Jan 2021 9:27 pm
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Hey, Steve.
Sorry to hear about the nerve damage, I hope you can recover. However, I can identify with this, to some extent. I play guitar, also, but have a form of cts in both hands, and can only play 1 song before my hands have to rest, so I, too, have moved to pedal steel. Other than a ridged bar, I have no other answer or suggestion....... I wish you the best on your endeavor.
...Pat |
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Bill Burch
From:
California, USA
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Posted 7 Jan 2021 10:34 pm
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Steve,
Your story mirrors my experience exactly. I have had good luck constructing a custom-molded index finger "tube" using InstaMorph plastic flakes and then securing this finger tube to my bar.
The process is simple. Pour some IM flakes in a bowl with very hot water. The white flakes become clear when they've heated up. Carefully roll the flakes into a ball and roll out to a small flat sheet. Wrap the sheet tightly around your finger to mold the plastic for a custom fit. You can drop the tube into hot water to redo the the plastic to give you more working time to make the tube. Once cooled, I fashioned strips and attached them to the finger tube to make the curved shape needed to mesh with the bar. You can use a hot glue gun or JB Weld to secure the finger tube to the bar.
This works very well for me. Sometimes I'll use an elastic hair tie looped around my middle, index fingers and thumb to assist my grip on the bar. I feel like I have good control with this set up and that my left hand weakness is NOT a limitation in learning pedal steel.
Bill Burch
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Pat Chong
From:
New Mexico, USA
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Posted 7 Jan 2021 11:02 pm
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Hi Bill,
Cool invention. Sticking on to the bar, and with a finger mold would fit quite well for the situation! Noticed you have a Dekley, too.
...Pat |
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Gene Tani
From:
Pac NW
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Steve Mallett
From:
Massachusetts, USA
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Posted 8 Jan 2021 7:26 am
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| Thanks all for the kind thoughts and responses. Bill - this is very much the sort of thing I'd been conceptualizing; much appreciated and I'll definitely give this a try. |
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Andrew Goulet
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Posted 8 Jan 2021 9:10 am
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Hi Steve, sorry to hear about this. I believe Jacek Jakubek has developed some strategies for dealing with left hand challenges, like a modified armrest to help support the bar, and using medical tape to secure bars to a finger. Maybe they'll chime in here. Wishing you the best.
_________________
Marlen S12 and a ZT Club |
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Dennis Montgomery
From:
Western Washington
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Butch Mullen
From:
North Carolina, USA 28681
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Posted 8 Jan 2021 11:29 am
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| Players talk about not being able to pick up the tone bar. I can pick up the bar but I never do. Anybody else do that? Butch in NC |
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