Hello there. just wondering if any teachers have good explanations for their pupils on how the sustain pedal and the left/soft pedal work on the piano. I like to give a good explanation and demonstation of the use of these pedals and my adult pupils do tend to ask quite a few questions. I only have a digital piano so can't open the piano up and look in which would be useful! It's mainly the soft pedal I get confused with as a book of mine has 2 explanations varrying on grand piano and upright! Any hints and knowledge would bemuch apreciated!??????

As I understand it, the sustain pedal works by preventing the dampers coming back onto the strings after they are struck by the hammers. It's normally just a simple lever mechanism to raise all the dampers at once.

The 'soft' or 'una corda' pedal works differently in uprights and in grands. On uprights, it works by moving the hammers closer to the strings in their resting position. On a grand, it moves the hammers slightly left or right of their original alignment, meaning that rather than striking all the strings tuned to the note, they only hit 1 (or two in the case of the extreme treble range?), hence the markings 'una corda' (one string) and 'tre corde' (three strings).

Now, if anyone can explain the mechanics of how the sost. pedal works...



Mosschops

The sostenuto pedal works by holding one note only - if you play and hold one key down, then press the sostenuto pedal, let go of the key, that note holds. I've been using it with a piece which has a repeated long bass note with other things going on above it - I'm using the sustain pedal with the upper parts and the sostenuto pedal holds the one bass note each time it is played - but I don't have to lift the sostenuto pedal after the first time.

Sorry - I can't explain the exact mechanism behind it but I know how it works in practice!

Hope that's vaguely useful - it's easier to try it out at the piano than explain.


Louise

Almost, but not quite, correct. The sostenuto device keeps the dampers off ALL the notes whose keys are down when you press the pedal. So you can sustain chords as well as single notes.

Thanks - yes I agree! I knew someone else would fill in where my explanation was not quite complete.

I don't use the sostenuto very often and am only using in one piece I'm working on at the moment!


Louise

One of my favourite things to do in lessons is to dismantle my piano(s!) and have a chat abut the innards and muck about with harmonics and strings and things. Could you find a piano somewhere and get your pupils together for a proper demonstration one of these days?

I agree. And also, if you're not entirely sure yourself, best have a look.

Firstly, before explaining the pedals, the student needs to understand how sound is produced, i.e. Once a key is depressed, the hammer hits the string, while the damper is simultaneously lifted from it. This allows the strings to vibrate. Then when the key is released, the hammer and damper both return to their original positions, the damper stopping the vibrations.

The loudness of a note depends on the speed of key, that is, how quickly the key is depressed and therefore how quickly the hammer strikes the string.

So, for pedalling (with the sostenuto pedal), when the keys are released, the dampers are held away from the strings, so the vibration continues. Also, the sostenuto pedal releases the damper for each of the notes, not just the one(s) you've played, so the whole piano is free to resonate, not just the one note: therefore you get a richer (some people say louder) tone.

The soft pedal on an upright piano works by moving the hammers closer to the strings, so they effectively have less of an impact when they hit the strings.

But of course, on a digital piano, none of that happens!

Try concentrating on the effect that you are after. The mechanics are important, but ultimately the effect is what matters. Try getting a decent book on pianos from the local library or go round the internet looking at reputable websites from manufacturers or tuners?