Materials Question: Shoes for Playing Organ

anything you spray on has to bind to the underlayment which would be too tacky for the pedals, unless you have a (2) part where the first part binds to the underlayment and finished coating. And I don't know of any.

so.... sole/heel replacement... go to a cobbler or a harness maker.

Maybe you could just wax the pedals...

..."For the wooden "white key" long pedals - If the pedals have a lot of scuffs/dirt try some orange glo wood cleaner, and maybe some lemon oil to polish them up. Not sure what the smaller "black keys" are made of on your pedalboard but cleaning/polishing the "white keys" should do the trick. Just a little bit, and buff/dry them off well with a clean towel so you don't get any residue on your shoes. TO avoid messing up the finish, I wouldn't use steel wool - but that's just me. Find out what your church uses if you are happy with the heel-toe action on that pedalboard."...

http://www.organforum.com/forums/showthread.php?9340-Organ-Pedal-Question

Found this....

http://www.organ.byu.edu/ORSHOE.html

Interesting! My mother played organ (mostly church) for about 50 years, and taught organ for most of that time. It could very well be my memory failing, but I don't ever remember her carrying around separate shoes for use on the organ. It makes lots of sense to do so.

Very unfortunately, I was not one of her successful students. I inherited her Wurlitzer ($2100 new in 1961), but finally conceded I would never learn to play, and gave it away.

Do you play the same organ, or different ones?

Never having felt an organists shoes (visions of kneeling under an organ while the organist plays to feel their shoes come to mind here) I can't advise much in the way of shoe treatment.

Same with organ pedals. But, if it's the same organ, SE may be on to something.

There are spray-on Teflon^® powders that would increase the slipperiness, temporarily. Steel wool may help, or sand paper if the pedals need to be sticker.

However treating pedals that others also use may cause consternation on their part.

Details?

That was my first thought. The soles are an untreated leather which has some grip but is designed to slide.

I never knew there were shoes for organists and I've played C3's, B3's for longer than I care to say - I've used whatever shoes and never had this issue - even playing toccata in Dminor with the pedals. Are there burn marks on the pedals? How fast you playing? Would love a small video demo aye.

I play synths now

Suede?

You can buy offcuts really cheaply.

It's probably best to remove the existing soles/heels, and, replace them rather than "patching" them.

Cobblers.

'Cobbler' you say?

There are a lot of different terms for those who weild a cross trying to mend a soul. Switch soul to sole and not we have them share a name with a baked fruit dessert.

You're right: purpose-made organ shoes are nearly identical to dancing shoes, and many organists just buy dance shoes to begin with. It usually depends on the player's preference...I'll probably try dance or jazz shoes at some point.

I appreciate the responses -- I will actually be playing two different instruments this weekend, so this is a good time to experiment with this. My primary instrument is 25 years old and I believe a few of the pedal surfaces are down to bare wood. They may need to be refinished.

Organists have their own shoes for two reasons: to keep dirt from the street off the pedals, and to use both your heels and toes for when music is too fast for your toes only. Maybe 5% of players play in socks or bare feet, but it's a huge strain on your ankles to try and play with your heels that way. Having a heel that's parallel to the front of the shoe is often very helpful.

I suggest gluing pieces of thin rough out leather to the bottoms of your shoes. Smooth side glued to the shoe. the leather industry uses barge cement. Rough out will last longer than a piece of suede.