What do the pedals do on a piano, and when should they be used?
The piano’s mysterious pedals demystified.
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Here’s a question I often get from piano students: What do the pedals do on a piano? This is important information for beginning pianists to know for sure, but a question that is just as important is: When should I use these pedals?
Acoustic Pianos typically have three pedals: the damper pedal (sometimes called the sustain pedal) on the right, the sostenuto pedal in the middle, and the una corda pedal on the left.
The Damper Pedal
The damper pedal lifts all of the dampers off the strings inside the pianos, allowing the pitches you’re playing to ring out and the neighboring strings to vibrate. Why would you want this? There are two primary reasons: to connect notes you can’t connect by finger legato playing alone and to create a full, lush tone.
If a pianist uses a pedal, it will almost always be the damper pedal. It is the most commonly used pedal, and you will want to ensure that yours works on your home piano. In your scores, composers will ask you to depress and lift the damper pedal with marks such as:
This pedal mark is indicating a “discontinuous” damper pedal sound- simply push the pedal down when the line goes down, and lift it up when the line comes up.
This pedal marking is asking for a “continuous” damper pedal sound- the triangles indicate a quick “up down” clearing of the pedal while you are holding the notes down with your fingers. The damper pedal will clear seamlessly without loosing the pedal effect when done correctly.
The damper pedal is fun! It adds a new palette of color to the sounds you make at the piano. Beginning students can be nervous about adding the pedal; layering on foot motion to the complex action of playing with 10 fingers can be daunting, as is the fear of doing it “wrong”. But the sooner you start using it, the sooner it will become second nature to add it to your pieces. Start by simply holding it down while you play something, and listen. Do you like the effect? Or is it too much blur? Try lifting, or changing, the pedal when the pedaled notes become too blurred.
Young children are often inspired to use the damper pedal but can have difficulty reaching it. Consider purchasing a pedal extender if you have a small pianist at home. Here is one I’ve had my smaller students use until they grow tall enough to use the pedals unaided; the longer base on this model makes it more stable than others I’ve used (click here).
The Sostenuto Pedal
Now, onwards, to the middle pedal. The sostenuto pedal is the least used pedal out of the three. It was the last addition to the modern grand piano as we know it, added in the 1870s. It has an interesting function that is rarely used; it allows you to select which specific notes you want to sustain, leaving the rest of the notes functioning normally. You can add another layer of sound by playing detached notes over the top or adding the damper pedal with your right foot and clearing it like you usually do, but with your left foot holding your sostenuto pedal notes.
When would a pianist use the middle pedal? One instance is when we have a low note we’d like to sustain for measures at a time and a melody over the top that needs regular damper pedal changes. I used it recently when working on Debussy’s Pagodas:
In this passage, I “caught” the bass whole notes by using the sostenuto pedal with my left foot, then used the damper pedal with my right foot to connect without blurring the melodies above by changing when needed.
If you have an upright piano, most likely your middle pedal is not a sostenuto pedal but a practice pedal- when pushed down, it places a strip of felt, called the “mute rail,” between the hammers and the strings, drastically softening the overall volume. This pedal is handy for keeping the peace with your family members or neighbors, who may not want to hear your piano playing at all hours!
The mechanics and string direction of upright pianos make it impossible to have the same sostenuto pedal as grand pianos have. But don’t worry- traditional sostenuto pedals are fun to play with, but rarely used even in advanced playing. I’ve used sostenuto pedals a handful of times in my 45+ years of piano playing. The practice pedal, however, I’ve used much, much more frequently.
The Una Corda Pedal
The pedal on the left is the una corda pedal. This pedal allows you to have more control when playing very softly. **It’s important to note: this pedal doesn’t completey do the work for you. You still need to depress the keys lightly if you want them to be softer. But it will make it easier for you to play softly without the dreaded “invisible note” happening. (Invisible notes are when you push the key so lightly that the hammer inside doesn’t strike the string.)
On a grand piano, the una corda pedal also changes the tone slightly to a more muted sound, perfect for more intimate passages. The tone change occurs because on a grand piano, when depressed, the una corda pedal shifts the hammers inside slightly to the right, forcing them to strike only two of the three strings allotted for most of the keys (hence the name: una corda is Italian for one string.) When composers want you to use the una corda pedal, you will see an italicized UC (for una corda) under the measure. When they want you to release it, there will be an italicized TC (for tres corda, Italian for three strings.) Here is what that looks like in Albeniz’s Cadiz:
Una Corda pedals are handy to use in some situations, even when the composer doesn’t ask for it; if I have to play a lot of notes pianissimo, low and/or fast especially, I’ll often use the una corda pedal to help me play soft without invisible notes. Or, if I am playing a quiet piece on an unfamiliar piano, I will often start with the una corda pedal down until I get a better feel for that piano.
Give it a try on your home piano, if you have one. Does it help you play pianissimo a bit easier? Does it change the tone of your piano? Both are good to note when getting acquainted with the una corda pedal on a piano, and then, like an unfamiliar spice with cooking, you’ll know to use it sparingly, or liberally!
Digital Pianos and Keyboards
Most digital pianos and keyboards only come with one pedal- the damper pedal. Don't worry that you don't have all three pedals. You can get by with just the damper pedal with your playing for quite some time. If you have a digital piano or keyboard that came without any pedals, it’s an easy fix; you should be able to purchase a damper pedal and plug it into the back of your keyboard. There will be an outlet on the back labeled "damper" or "sustain" that you would plug it into.
*Pro tip for keyboard or digital piano owners: Purchase a pedal that looks and feels like an acoustic piano pedal. This will give you much more control and make it easier for you as a player to switch to an acoustic instrument when the situation arises. I recommend this pedal to my students using digital pianos or keyboards: click here.
In closing
So there you have it, the pedals on the piano explained! The right pedal, the damper pedal, is the one we pianists use most of the time and gives our music a rich, lush tone. The left pedal, the una corda pedal, is used occasionally to give us more control over very soft passages. And the middle pedal is the rarely used sostenuto pedal if you have a grand piano, or the handy practice pedal if you have an upright piano.
Not long ago, I had a very enthusiastic young student who insisted that the pedals on the piano were like the pedals on a car and that they made the piano “go.” While this is not exactly how it works, the pedals can inspire and add surprising color to our playing. The next time you sit down at your piano, I encourage you to start experimenting with these pedals and make your piano “go”—and explore where these new colors can take you musically! Have fun.