The pedal of the piano is often considered no more important in playing the piano than the foot in writing on the typewriter, but actually it can ruin any performance, and it often can make a composition. This is particularly true of the ear player, who strives for the main effects rather than the little details. The pedal deserves careful consideration.

Pianos have three pedals! Few people know what the other two are for. What are they?

Right

The right-hand pedal, the so-called "loud" pedal, is correctly named the "sustaining pedal." Its chief function is to sustain notes by preventing the dampers from dropping back on the strings when the player releases the keys. This builds up volume and loudness, but the effect is merely incidental.

Left

The left-hand pedal is usually the "soft" pedal. On upright pianos it moves the hammers nearer the strings so that they strike with less momentum; in grand pianos it shifts the entire keyboard to the right just enough so that the hammers hit two strings instead of three, and the bass hammers hit on their edge where the felt is not packed down. Experienced pianists use this pedal to change tone quality rather than to gain softness; they frequently play loudly with the soft pedal down.

Middle

The middle pedal varies on different pianos. With upright pianos it is sometimes a "practice pedal" which drops a piece of felt between the hammers and strings so that the unwel­come sounds of scale practice are audible only to the player. Sometimes it is a trick pedal, providing mandolin effects or sustaining the bass tones. But in all the better grand pianos this middle pedal is known as the "sostenuto pedal" and sustains all the keys that are down at the time the pedal is depressed. The sustaining pedal must be up when the sostenuto pedal is taken, though it may be used freely after the sostenuto pedal is down. This makes it possible to sustain an important bass tone through long passages in the upper voices which require a change of the sustaining pedal. Also, if the same low octave must be struck repeatedly, it may be taken on the sostenuto pedal so that any false tones can be eliminated as soon as they are struck. You will find fascinating exploration in trying out the possibilities of this pedal.

Sustaining

The sustaining pedal makes the greatest contribution to piano literature. It is commonly used to connect melody tones or chords which cannot be connected by the fingers. Good connection requires that the pedal be syncopated—put down just after the note or chord is taken and not with it.

The ordinary wham-bang pianist pedals thus:

            chords
            pedal
                                    down

By this method the chords are not connected, but a roar comes out with each chord, which soon becomes monotonous.

Syncopated Pedal

A series of chords is correctly pedaled thus:

chords
                        up
            pedal
                                    down

The ear must be very attentive to determine how long the pedal must remain up to kill completely the resonance of the previous chord.

Some players pick this up unconsciously without any practice. If you do not have this ability, practice the following simple exercise.

1.	Play the C major chord, big and loud, with both hands.
2.	Put down the sustaining pedal.
3.	Take the hands off the keys and get ready to play a similar chord on D.
4.	As you play this chord, let up the pedal.
5.	Put down the pedal.
6.	Remove the hands and get ready to play a chord on E.
7.	As you play this chord let up the pedal.
8.	Put down the pedal and continue on up the octave

Be sure that you listen to make the connection perfect. You must do it a little differently on every piano; the ear is the only guide. Do it very slowly at first. You will be surprised how soon syncopated pedal becomes a habit. Then you will never give it another thought.

The sustaining pedal is often used to hold bass notes while the left hand plays other things. Indeed, the bass part usually determines when the pedal should be changed. The old rule was: Change the pedal when the harmony changes. Nowa­days, however, we accept more blur and often use the pedal to secure a certain amount of smear. The piano does not have a great variety of tone color available, and the blurring effect compensates for this lack. How long the pedal should be held is a matter of personal preference and interpretation.

None or All?

The use of the pedal is influenced by the type of music one is playing. Polyphonic music which requires that the listener hear all the voices separately needs very little pedal—perhaps none at all. The impressionistic style, on the other hand, may not require any particular voice to stand out from the mass of sound. Modern music calls for more pedal and dissonance than music of the 18th or early 19th century.

Playing Through the Pedal

Much also depends upon the way the melody or harmonies are played. A melody can be carefully punched through a great mass of tone sustained by the pedal, or it can be lost in the roar. New chords can be played in such a way that they stand out in strong contrast to the background of previous harmonies; or they may be played so that they fight the previous harmony and the listener wants to push the player's foot from the pedal.

Orchestration by Pedal

This great variety of possibilities leads to what is called orchestration at the piano. Individual voices are brought to the front and again submerged in the mass, just as one instrument after another comes to the foreground in the orchestra and then sinks back into the total ensemble.

Finally, do not be afraid to omit the pedal entirely. All too often the pedal is used as a matter of habit or to hide clumsy technique. Be clever with your fingers and get interesting effects that are entirely impossible when the pedal is used. Dry tones, sharp tones, half-sustained tones are possible, and they are interesting because they are seldom heard. Since the pedal is used almost continuously, its very absence is pleasing. Big chords are much more effective after total silence.

In general, the release of pedal adds punctuation to our music, just as we add punctuation to our speech by taking a breath or making a long pause. Experiment with the pedal. As always, the ear is the best guide.

WHAT TO DO Practice syncopated pedal. Play a piece with as little pedal as possible. Play a piece with as much pedal as possible. Try for different effects when passages are repeated.

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