All Matters Music
If you love music and wish to learn the piano, then it is very important to cover some basics first before you move ahead to playing it. A piano consists of various tools which include keys and pedals. These two components play a major role in forming a melodious tone. A key is a set of notes around which music revolves, whereas, pedals are situated just beneath the pilot seat in front of him. They assist you in changing the instrument’s sounds in numerous ways.
There are three types of pedals and the role of each pedal has been discussed below. Keep reading to find out.
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The role of pedals in a piano
If you go from left to right in a piano there are three pedals which are known as soft pedal, sostenuto pedal and sustain pedals. For those people who have not played the piano previously, ask the role of pedals in piano. To explain what pedals do in a piano, dig a little more.
The Sustain pedal
The sustain pedals are situated on the right side of the piano. The sustain pedal is also known as a damper pedal. If you want to learn piano perfectly you need to understand the basics of sustain pedals as they are involved in every music piece.
Moving ahead, to understand the role of damper pedal we first need to dig into the mechanics of it. Whether it is an acoustic piano or a digital piano, both work on the phenomena of sympathetic resonance. It is an effect that produces vibration in one body due to the vibration in other bodies. The mechanics of pianos work on the same pattern as well.
A piano is a music body which consists of strings, hammers, pedals, and keys. When keys are pressed, it causes the hammer to hit the strings and in turn produces a sound. When the key is lifted or comes to its original position, the ring stops as the hammer returns to its origin as well.
A damper bar is used to prevent the string resonating with other notes. When a pianist press the sustain pedal, the damper bar is released which causes the notes to ring even when the keys are not pressed. The role of the sustain pedal is to make sure the notes ring which gives a harmonic and melodious sound to the audience.
Formerly, many people believed that sustain pedal helps in producing a louder piano sound or music. On the contrary, it is just an effect of vibrations which makes the sound louder. Sustain pedals help to maintain your flow when you are playing it which means you can continuously play notes without any interruption or disconnection.
The Sostenuto Pedal
The sostenuto pedal is located in the medal and functions just as same as a sustain pedal. The sostenuto pedal helps the pianist to sustain notes which are being played at the end for added bass notes or chords. The notes that are being played will sustain only, while the ones which are played afterward will not be affected. The sustain notes will continue to ring until the pedal is lifted off.
The middle pedals only come into action at the end of the sound produced. Moreover, if you are a beginner and want to understand the basics of piano first. The sostenuto pedal is swapped with practice pedal so that newbies can practice it perfectly and polish their skills.
The practice pedals produce a muted sound and as the name suggests, it is usually used by newbies. Many pianos nowadays come without the middle pedal or the sostenuto pedal. There are some major differences that make sustain and sostenuto pedals keep apart. The notes from middle and lower ‘C’ are sustained by the sostenuto pedal. Secondly, the notes played at the end are sustained by the sostenuto pedal. As compared to sustain pedal, sostenuto pedal is complicated and difficult to understand. But if you have covered all the basics right, there would not be a problem for you.
Soft pedal
The soft pedal is located onthe left side of the piano and is also known as Una corda. This pedal helps in producing a softer tone. Usually, when you play a note, the piano normally hits three strings in order to create a ring that is loud enough. To make this sound softer, a soft pedal is used.
Normally, when the soft pedal is used the hammer can only reach one or two strings which produce a lower pitch. Una means one and Corda means chord which clearly states the function of soft pedals. If the pianist will play soft music you would usually see soft pedals being pressed.
In the early ’90s, when piano strings were not close to each other, the soft pedal would hit only one string at once. Nowadays, because of space constraints,the piano strings are nearer to each other, the soft pedal would usually strike two strings at once which brings a change in the tone and volume. On the other hand, a digital piano produces these low pitch effects are produced digitally. The reason why acoustic piano sounds miserable is that they are out of tune. Secondly, the soft pedal is not being used properly. It is very important to understand when to lower the pitch and when to increase it.
Final words for beginners
To learn to play the piano, it is important to understand the mechanics and basics of it. The three pedals play an important role in sound production from a piano. Before playing the piano, make sure you are relaxed and your knees are in a perfect position to play with the pedals. Whether it is the sustain, sostenuto or soft pedal each has its own importance, and together they help to create a melodious sound. In a nutshell, the understanding of pedals is certainly not enough to play the piano, but you must understand the other parts as well. Moreover, you must know the basics of chords and notes as well if you want to become a pro in playing the piano.
