Piano Pedals

Piano pedals are a pianist’s greatest friend. They give the composition life, vitality, ambition, and many other emotions you can think of. Why is the pedal so crucial to music? The answer is twofold. The pedal allows creativity in a song and also helps to further advance the sound of that song. Let’s take a look at the history of pedals.

Learn and Master The Piano By Knowing How To Use The Pedals

Did you know that in the 18th century, piano players used a lever which they moved with their knee, instead of pressing down on a pedal? There are three main pedals when it comes to pianos. They are the damper, una corda, and sostenuto pedals. What does each one do when it comes to playing music?

The damper pedal is sometimes called the sustaining pedal. Most if not all people, will use this pedal and never even touch the other two pedals. It is further on the right on the bottom of the instrument. All of the strings except for a couple octaves on the piano, have dampers attached to them, which in turn, allows this pedal to work. When you press down on the damper pedal, it releases all the dampers on the strings, thereby allowing the sound to ring and ring. It helps to smoothen out sound.

The una corda pedal is on the far left of the piano. Not too many people use this one, particularly because it moves the keys on the piano to the right. It then makes the hammers strike only two strings instead of three. What of its use today? It isn’t commonly used but was more frequently used in its earlier days. Upright pianos of today utilize a soft pedal which moves a hammer’s resting position closer to the string. It would be wise to note here, that this does not change the tonal quality of the keys being affected as it would on a damper pedal.

The last pedal we have not talked about is the middle pedal or sostenuto pedal. This pedal keeps dampers raised, that were already raised when the pedal was pressed. For example, if you had dampened your notes and wanted to continue playing, you could simply press down on the middle note. Most upright pianos do not have this pedal installed, however most grand pianos do.