The Pedals of the Piano
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The Pedals of the Piano There are three pedals that have become standard on almost any grand piano made today. These pedals are called the Damper Pedal, the Sostenuta Pedal, and the Soft Pedal. The Damper Pedal is found to the very right of all three pedals. It is also known as the “sustain” pedal. This pedal is most important and will be used more often than the other two. It is named the “damper” pedal because of it’s action – it allows the stings that have been struck to continue vibrating by raising all of the dampers. This allows the tone of teach note to resound until the pedal is released and the dampers return to the strings to stop the sound. It can also be used to enrich a tone by allowing two or more strings to vibrate in unison. The indication for the use of a damper pedal in music is usually a long line found underneath the grand staff. At each end is a right angle where the line curves sharply upward. To the left of the line, this shape makes an “L” angle. This means you need to press the damper pedal down. Continue to hold the pedal in place until the end of the line when it curves sharply upward. This indicates that you are to release the pedal . (Please refer to the exercise at the end of this section for more information) When the pedal is pressed down, each note played creates the effect of a crescendo. The sound builds on top of each other, and it layers and layers to create sounds your hands are not capable of making alone. When releasing the pedal, do not lift your foot completely off. Instead, lift up in a controlled manner. You can create a whole new effect by releasing the pedal slowly: this creates a diminuendo – the diminishing of sound. The damper pedal works only when notes are played that are related and can form chords. It also works when chords of the same harmony are sustained together. The damper pedal will make a tone sound muddy or unpleasant if notes (or chords) are sustained together that are not related or are from different harmonies. Because of the above reasons, many piano players are confused when and where to use the damper pedal. For beginners, it is best to follow the markings on the music one is playing. For those that are more advanced or are improvising, it is best to release and press down the pedal when changing related chords and harmonies to a new set of chords and harmonies. It is changed as much as needed to keep the clarity of your music. For the smoothest transitions between notes and to avoid unpleasant dissonance, the pedal is changed immediately after the note is struck. The Sostenuto Pedal is found in the middle of the three pedals. It was the last pedal to be added, so some pianos do not have it – and only have 2 pedals: the damper and soft pedals. It is ordinarily used in organ-type music, but is the most least used of all the pedals. It acts as a selective damper pedal. For example, it can be used to sustain long bass notes under harmonies and melodies. To use the sostenuto pedal, all you need to do is hold down a chord or note, then press down the pedal. After you release the chords or note, the sound will continue to resonate until you release the pedal. This pedal can also be played with the damper pedal. The notes you originally held down by the sostenuto pedal will not be affected by the damper pedal as long as you are still holding down the pedal with your left foot. The Soft Pedal is the pedal that is found to the far left of all the pedals. When you press down this pedal, you will notice the keyboard shift to the right. Each key has a different number of strings. The lowest keys have only 1 string, while the lower/mid to upper keys have 2 strings, and the highest keys have 3 strings. When played without the soft pedal, all strings are struck by the hammer. When the soft pedal is pressed, the keyboard shifts so that one less string is hit by the hammer. The lowest notes with only one string are hit off-center when using this pedal. The effect is that the sound is dulled, and is softer than without the pedal. The soft pedal is to manipulate the sound quality – to make something sound distant, like a fantasy, etc. A word of caution: do not use the soft pedal to compensate for not being able to play softly without the pedal. This is a very important skill to achieve is called “dynamics.” It is meant to be played with your hands. .