i believe this 3rd pedal is used to hold one chord and not anything else
e.g. Rachmaninov Prelude in C# minor last 16 bars....thundering C#minor chord at the bottom then 3 chords at the other end all unblurred and all sustained

is this true?

Depends on the piano I believe - on an upright it's a practice (mute) pedal, on a grand it sustains the note(s) you are playing when it is held down but no others. Don't know how it works exactly - never had the pleasure. That's how I understand it - pianists will obviously be able to help more.

ok

Spot on, Sarah.

If one doesn't have a luxury, it can be faked to a certain extent through half-pedalling; takes a little practice, but it's worth it.

Wooo! I learned something

I've always been confused about pedals. Mine (digital clavinova) only has 2 pedals, the sustain and this other one. The piano at music school has three , the middle one apparently you can press down and turn to left or something and it makes stuff quiet...is the one GCBS was talking about the one on the left then?

No, it must have been the middle pedal.

Oh..maybe i'll just stay confuzzled then...

I've got a digi, which does the following:

Left: Soft
Middle: Sustain notes are already held down, but succeeding notes play as if no pedal is pressed
Right: Sostenuto

Guess it ain't all bad having a digi then

You've got no damper pedal(right)! Isn't it a bit difficult to play some peices?

What you have is the pedal-system of grand pianos.
Grands don't have damper pedals (middle, not right !) but they have una-corda instead. A damper pedal is only meant for studying; it's not considered useful on a "professional" piano.

Isn't the damper the sustain pedal?

I'll go and shut up now.

No, the damper pedal (middle on upright pianos) damps the sound, the sustain pedal (right) sustains it.

There is a nice little slide-switch with the word 'Volume' printed above it though, so I suppose a damper pedal is kind of obselete on it

Yes it is. Different people use different terminology. To me, it is the sustaining pedal because pressing it helps to sustain the sound. To others, it is the damper pedal because letting go of it allows the dampers to fall on the strings and stop the sound.

Not sure what its 'official' name is.

Steve

I'm confuse, if we use the middle pedal (what is the name??) it mean that we held one chord, and then if we want to use the sustain pedal for the next notes, how can our right feet can press it together?? sorry if it is a silly question, but I need your help..

Hi sania

Use your left foot for the middle pedal.

Steve

Just make sure your right foot is not holding the damper down at the same time as you depress the sustain pedal otherwise ALL the lower notes will be sustained as well as the chord you're wanting!!

Hi!
Thanks Steve and Chocolate dog!
Useful answer

I think it depends on the type of piano you have - some piano's middle piano hold on one note while others give a very muffled sound - I heard that this one is not made anymore.