The middle (sostenuto) pedal is widely used in jazz music too. Of course, we can enjoy all three pedals also thanks to digital pianos and that is great news 🙂. Discovered late, another great video. Thank you, Merriam Music.🙂
I often refer to the middle pedal on an upright as the “practice pedal”. You can practice at lower vowel without annoying anyone else in the home. Especially, for beginners that sounds terrible at the piano. The middle help keep everyone sane. 😂
The middle pedal seems really good for ringing out a chord then playing a melody over that chord. Seems like something you could use to make it feel like many hands are on the piano at once.
Thank you kindly! The sustain/damper pedal is certainly sufficient enough when starting out. However, later on, the additional pedals may be desired with a digital piano. :)
Thanks for sharing video:) 그랜드 피아노 1:04 댐퍼페달(댐퍼를 위로 올려서 줄을 울리게 해줌) 2:34 소스테누토 페달(미리 눌러둔 한 음만 댐퍼가 올라가서 연주 내내 울림) 4:02 시프트페달(해머가 3현 중 2현만 연주) 업라이트 피아노 7:21 댐퍼페달(그랜드와 동일) 9:28 뮤트 페달 (해머가 현을 때리는 사이에 천을 넣어서 음소거함) 11:30 소프트페달(해머를 줄에 가까이 가게 해서 부드러운 소리가 남)
I love the middle pedal combined with the sustain for slow, melancholic pieces... on the other hand, I was familiar with /tamber/ and /tim ber/ but it's a first for /tomber/ (:
Winner of a video, been searching for "what is a sustain pedal keyboard?" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across - Danilliam Illustrious Dominance - (do a search on google ) ? It is a great one off guide for discovering how to learning piano fast without the headache. Ive heard some super things about it and my neighbour got cool results with it.
If you play classical music , you still need the 3 pedals . Sustenato for pieces that require bass notes to be sustained even when the LH moves in the upper register, you will find scores from Liszt , specifically his transcriptions of Bach organ work, Busoni, Ravel , Debussy, Rachamninov that require that pedal. You need the Soft pedal to change the tone color and send the right midi instructions for that effect. You will need the soft pedal in many classical pieces from the 19th century, as at that time the change of tone was even more drastic as when the pedal was pressed down only one string was hit as opposed to two on a modern grand. Also lot of pieces from Ravel, Debussy play with the change of tone colour.
Question! On the grand piano with two pedals,does the left pedal(soft pedal) have two functions of that of: 1. Reducing the number of strings by one? 2. Muting the rail , absorbing the energy and kind of reducing the volume or having quieter sound?
Hi Daniel! You are correct in your first point that the "una corda" (soft pedal) shifts the hammers over in order to strike one less string. The effect of this is a reduction in volume as well as a slightly softer and warmer tone. Also, it is important to note that the left (soft) pedal functions differently on upright pianos. Hope this helps! :)
Good explanation. Interesting to see that they behave quite differently on uprights vs grands. Thank you. This makes me wonder if there is a common standard for digital pianos. As they aren't limited by their physical construction, do they typically adopt the grand functionality or does it vary by manufacturer? For example, I see that you can get a triple pedal set for the Casio PX S-3000. What functions are assigned to its mid and left pedals?
Thank you for this amazing explanation! As a private hobby, I’m currently writing an implementation of Sostenuto for a MIDI synthesizer firmware. I have never owned an acoustic grand, so let me please ask you if the following behaviour is correct: 1. If you strike a key again that is currently ringing out in sostenuto anyway, then the tone will start anew because the hammer can still reach the strings? 2. While the sostenuto pedal is down and some notes are „sostenutoed“ but released, if you then engage and disengage the sustain pedal (while the sostenuto is still down), will these „sostenutoed“ notes keep on sustaining because their dampers are still blocked? Hope that makes sense - it will help me refine the algorithm so everything works as naturally as possible. Thank you again.
Hi there, Brent from Merriam Music here! Thanks for writing in with your questions. Happy to answer your questions: 1. Yes, that is correct. The hammer can strike the string again and the sound will once again ring/sustain. 2. I believe I am understanding correctly. If I am, that is correct. They will continue sustaining. Thanks and all the best!
@@MerriamPianos Thanks a lot! I guess these scenarios describe playing techniques which a professional piano player would probably never use. They are more like decision cases for the algorithm and must ultimately be defined. A challenging topic.
It is tough to determine that without inspecting the piano. It is possible that you are simply missing components. However, some pianos' middle pedal were designed to be another "half-blow" or "soft" pedal, except, unlike the leftmost pedal, the middle "half-blow" pedal would have the option of having it permanently locked in place by sliding the pedal into the groove to the left.
You ignore the crucial factor of Grand una corda: 75% of the tonal change is due to finding a less-compressed section of hammer felt. That's whay it still works on the bottom notes where there's only one string per note
An interesting thought @studentjohn36, certainly made me go "hmmmmmm". IMO I don't see how this would apply to newer instruments where there had been little to no compression due to the specific strike points on the hammer, especially in the bass where the frequency of hammer strikes are substantially less than the mid and upper range...but in an aged instrument this could certainly be a factor. Also, when the una chorda was first deployed (by most accounts the late 1700's,), many pianos weren't using felt but in fact leather...so even if your suggestion applies to an aged modern piano, it would not have likely been the conceived mechanism behind the softened effect for designers of earlier instruments. Thanks! -Stu
Both viewpoints are valid; so I guess on some grands the single copper strings are not really softened via una corda? Or does the striking angle change / something else? Pre-destruction, Angela Hewitt's touring F278 was customized for the una corda pedal to act like one in an upright, shortening the striking gap while hitting the same number of strings although the angles might be adjusted for slight alteration on hers. Would def. feel noticeable change in the action tho like you mentioned for uprights ;)
I think my pedals are broken, at least the middle one. On my upright piano, the middle pedal does pretty much the same thing as the right pedal, except maybe a bit quieter. And it doesn't work like it does on a grand piano either, I've tested it. I don't think the left one works perfectly either, it barely makes a difference to me.
Allright So the sustain /dumper pedal in real piano sustain notes longer then we push it !over the course we damp again right ? As sound engineer i ve listen that this won t happely hapend on MIDI Software /controlers whatever! There we have a sound that s purrely recorded at certain lengh in time !Once we ignite the sustain software apply chancges adding effect or comb /processing additional sample (that are sustained recorded allready! That s way i do not hear a natural sound !Bassicaly if we push a note on a MIDI Without having a MIDI pedal we can hear a sound decay or if you want a natural sound decay recorded just for a certain amount of time !Sow how in the world we can play piano on a MIDI ?With my trained hearing is very hard even to try to play !Also is nother thing called latency that makes me crazzy too!IsTo me like begainer piano player is very hard to play on this toys!Because is mentaly imposible is like playing mecanicly without listening or anticipating the real deal with is the sound i m waiting for from the toy !
The left pedal of a grand piano is known as the "una corda" pedal. While the result is similar to that of the "soft" / "half-blow" left pedal of an upright piano, which is that you get a softer sound, the way that is achieved is quite different on a grand piano. The "una corda" pedal of a grand moves the whole piano action, including the keyboard, slightly to the right. The result is that the hammer strikes fewer strings per note, making the sound quieter and changing its tonal colour as well.
Wow! That was an awesome demonstration & was very educational, thank you! 😃
You're very welcome! We're glad you found it helpful! :)
Same with me it was very educational
Out of the 3 first UA-cam results, your explanation was the most extensive and yet more clearer
Thanks so much! We're glad you enjoyed it! :)
The middle (sostenuto) pedal is widely used in jazz music too. Of course, we can enjoy all three pedals also thanks to digital pianos and that is great news 🙂. Discovered late, another great video. Thank you, Merriam Music.🙂
You're very welcome! Thanks so much for tuning in and sharing! We appreciate that. :)
I often refer to the middle pedal on an upright as the “practice pedal”. You can practice at lower vowel without annoying anyone else in the home. Especially, for beginners that sounds terrible at the piano. The middle help keep everyone sane. 😂
Right up until you start learning Trumpet 🎺 lol.
Thank you for the great explanation, however I missed a demo of the una corda and soft+mute combo :)
You're very welcome! And thank you for the suggestion! We will try to incorporate more demonstrations for the next video in this style. :)
Very informative, thanks.
I was just about to call about my left pedal, luckily I googled your video first.
The middle pedal seems really good for ringing out a chord then playing a melody over that chord. Seems like something you could use to make it feel like many hands are on the piano at once.
Yup! Exactly! The sostenuto pedal of a grand piano is quite interesting and allows for some very sophisticated musical passages. :)
@@MerriamPianos thanks for the video!
Wow! This was terrifically helpful. I will be using this info with my piano students.
We're glad to hear that you found the video helpful! Thanks so much!
Thank you so much for making this very clear and informative guide. I really enjoyed it.
You're very welcome! We're happy to hear that you enjoyed the video. :)
Hania Rani, Olafur Arnaulds, and other European composer-performers are using muffler rails in small 43 inch uprights as part of their live gigs.
Great video Stu ! you give a clear explanation of the pedal and its use !
Thanks so much! We appreciate that! :)
Your videos are always very informative, thanks for sharing your knowledge. You're the best out there on YT
Thank you so much for the kind words! I will be sure to pass them onto Stu! :)
Great video. Sounds like if I'm new and getting a digital piano, I really only need to worry about the sustain pedal.
Thank you kindly! The sustain/damper pedal is certainly sufficient enough when starting out. However, later on, the additional pedals may be desired with a digital piano. :)
Thanks for sharing video:)
그랜드 피아노 1:04 댐퍼페달(댐퍼를 위로 올려서 줄을 울리게 해줌) 2:34 소스테누토 페달(미리 눌러둔 한 음만 댐퍼가 올라가서 연주 내내 울림) 4:02 시프트페달(해머가 3현 중 2현만 연주)
업라이트 피아노 7:21 댐퍼페달(그랜드와 동일) 9:28 뮤트 페달 (해머가 현을 때리는 사이에 천을 넣어서 음소거함) 11:30 소프트페달(해머를 줄에 가까이 가게 해서 부드러운 소리가 남)
You're very welcome! Thanks so much for tuning in! We appreciate it. :)
I love the middle pedal combined with the sustain for slow, melancholic pieces...
on the other hand, I was familiar with /tamber/ and /tim ber/ but it's a first for /tomber/ (:
Canadian accent?
Wonderful explanation!
Winner of a video, been searching for "what is a sustain pedal keyboard?" for a while now, and I think this has helped. Have you ever come across - Danilliam Illustrious Dominance - (do a search on google ) ? It is a great one off guide for discovering how to learning piano fast without the headache. Ive heard some super things about it and my neighbour got cool results with it.
very informative
Thank you! Glad you enjoyed! :)
This is amazing. Thank you so much 😊
You're welcome! Thanks for tuning in! :)
Great explanation thank you! Do you have a similar explanation for why three pedals would be useful for a digital piano?
If you play classical music , you still need the 3 pedals . Sustenato for pieces that require bass notes to be sustained even when the LH moves in the upper register, you will find scores from Liszt , specifically his transcriptions of Bach organ work, Busoni, Ravel , Debussy, Rachamninov that require that pedal.
You need the Soft pedal to change the tone color and send the right midi instructions for that effect.
You will need the soft pedal in many classical pieces from the 19th century, as at that time the change of tone was even more drastic as when the pedal was pressed down only one string was hit as opposed to two on a modern grand. Also lot of pieces from Ravel, Debussy play with the change of tone colour.
Very well explained...thanx!
Great detail Explanation..Thank you for this Informative Video
It is very useful. Can I present this knowledge in my video? I will definitely give you credit.
We're glad you found it useful! Of course - that is not a problem at all. :)
Thanks for sharing with this VDO
THANK YOU
You're very welcome! :)
Well done 👍
Question!
On the grand piano with two pedals,does the left pedal(soft pedal) have two functions of that of:
1. Reducing the number of strings by one?
2. Muting the rail , absorbing the energy and kind of reducing the volume or having quieter sound?
Hi Daniel!
You are correct in your first point that the "una corda" (soft pedal) shifts the hammers over in order to strike one less string. The effect of this is a reduction in volume as well as a slightly softer and warmer tone. Also, it is important to note that the left (soft) pedal functions differently on upright pianos. Hope this helps! :)
great info
wow thank you.....very clear and informative! :D
You're very welcome!
Good explanation. Interesting to see that they behave quite differently on uprights vs grands. Thank you.
This makes me wonder if there is a common standard for digital pianos. As they aren't limited by their physical construction, do they typically adopt the grand functionality or does it vary by manufacturer? For example, I see that you can get a triple pedal set for the Casio PX S-3000. What functions are assigned to its mid and left pedals?
Thanks so much
What is the upright piano you showed
Thank you for this amazing explanation!
As a private hobby, I’m currently writing an implementation of Sostenuto for a MIDI synthesizer firmware. I have never owned an acoustic grand, so let me please ask you if the following behaviour is correct:
1. If you strike a key again that is currently ringing out in sostenuto anyway, then the tone will start anew because the hammer can still reach the strings?
2. While the sostenuto pedal is down and some notes are „sostenutoed“ but released, if you then engage and disengage the sustain pedal (while the sostenuto is still down), will these „sostenutoed“ notes keep on sustaining because their dampers are still blocked?
Hope that makes sense - it will help me refine the algorithm so everything works as naturally as possible. Thank you again.
Hi there, Brent from Merriam Music here! Thanks for writing in with your questions. Happy to answer your questions:
1. Yes, that is correct. The hammer can strike the string again and the sound will once again ring/sustain.
2. I believe I am understanding correctly. If I am, that is correct. They will continue sustaining.
Thanks and all the best!
@@MerriamPianos Thanks a lot! I guess these scenarios describe playing techniques which a professional piano player would probably never use. They are more like decision cases for the algorithm and must ultimately be defined. A challenging topic.
What does Pat Sajak's pedal do? Answer me that 🤭😊
If the my spinet piano has a middle pedal but no mute rail then what does it do ? Or is my kimball piano just broke and missing the mute rail ?
It is tough to determine that without inspecting the piano. It is possible that you are simply missing components. However, some pianos' middle pedal were designed to be another "half-blow" or "soft" pedal, except, unlike the leftmost pedal, the middle "half-blow" pedal would have the option of having it permanently locked in place by sliding the pedal into the groove to the left.
Do we have any grand piano with practice pedal like on Kawai/Yamaha uprights?
You ignore the crucial factor of Grand una corda: 75% of the tonal change is due to finding a less-compressed section of hammer felt. That's whay it still works on the bottom notes where there's only one string per note
An interesting thought @studentjohn36, certainly made me go "hmmmmmm". IMO I don't see how this would apply to newer instruments where there had been little to no compression due to the specific strike points on the hammer, especially in the bass where the frequency of hammer strikes are substantially less than the mid and upper range...but in an aged instrument this could certainly be a factor. Also, when the una chorda was first deployed (by most accounts the late 1700's,), many pianos weren't using felt but in fact leather...so even if your suggestion applies to an aged modern piano, it would not have likely been the conceived mechanism behind the softened effect for designers of earlier instruments. Thanks! -Stu
Both viewpoints are valid; so I guess on some grands the single copper strings are not really softened via una corda? Or does the striking angle change / something else? Pre-destruction, Angela Hewitt's touring F278 was customized for the una corda pedal to act like one in an upright, shortening the striking gap while hitting the same number of strings although the angles might be adjusted for slight alteration on hers. Would def. feel noticeable change in the action tho like you mentioned for uprights ;)
I think my pedals are broken, at least the middle one. On my upright piano, the middle pedal does pretty much the same thing as the right pedal, except maybe a bit quieter. And it doesn't work like it does on a grand piano either, I've tested it. I don't think the left one works perfectly either, it barely makes a difference to me.
What is the name of the outro song ? Btw really informative video as always thank you
Very elucidating, thanks!
Blüthner style 4 has two pedals.
Thank you Stu! Very intersting...everybody knows just about the right one... PS Next time: The three pedals of car; on a Ferrari!! : )
I don't think ferrari makes any cars with three pedals for about 10 years now, they're all automatic and have only 2.
Allright So the sustain /dumper pedal in real piano sustain notes longer then we push it !over the course we damp again right ?
As sound engineer i ve listen that this won t happely hapend on MIDI Software /controlers whatever!
There we have a sound that s purrely recorded at certain lengh in time !Once we ignite the sustain software apply chancges adding effect or comb /processing additional sample (that are sustained recorded allready! That s way i do not hear a natural sound !Bassicaly if we push a note on a MIDI Without having a MIDI pedal we can hear a sound decay or if you want a natural sound decay recorded just for a certain amount of time !Sow how in the world we can play piano on a MIDI ?With my trained hearing is very hard even to try to play !Also is nother thing called latency that makes me crazzy too!IsTo me like begainer piano player is very hard to play on this toys!Because is mentaly imposible is like playing mecanicly without listening or anticipating the real deal with is the sound i m waiting for from the toy !
👍🏻
Thanks so much! :)
The middle pedal pulls only the dampers on the left side of the piano on the piano inhabe
why dont u show what the left pedal does on grand piano :(
The left pedal of a grand piano is known as the "una corda" pedal. While the result is similar to that of the "soft" / "half-blow" left pedal of an upright piano, which is that you get a softer sound, the way that is achieved is quite different on a grand piano. The "una corda" pedal of a grand moves the whole piano action, including the keyboard, slightly to the right. The result is that the hammer strikes fewer strings per note, making the sound quieter and changing its tonal colour as well.
that saucy noodle seems very useful for cheating in 3 parts instead of 2
Thanks so much for taking the time to tune in! :)