What is the pedal for on the grand piano?!
Question: There are three pedals on a grand piano.
From left to right, here are their functions:
The first pedal is the una corda pedal. It moves the hammers slightly to the left so the hammers hit only two strings, instead of three. This is helpful for achieving extra soft sounds.
The middle pedal is the sustaining pedal. If you press a note and then press the sustaining pedal, it will sustain that note. Very helpful for sustaining low notes or chords in the bass clef while playing other notes or chords above them.
The right pedal is the damper pedal: this is the familiar pedal used to "blur" notes or chords together. Used very often in music from Beethoven through Debussy and Ravel.
Answers: There are three pedals on a grand piano.
From left to right, here are their functions:
The first pedal is the una corda pedal. It moves the hammers slightly to the left so the hammers hit only two strings, instead of three. This is helpful for achieving extra soft sounds.
The middle pedal is the sustaining pedal. If you press a note and then press the sustaining pedal, it will sustain that note. Very helpful for sustaining low notes or chords in the bass clef while playing other notes or chords above them.
The right pedal is the damper pedal: this is the familiar pedal used to "blur" notes or chords together. Used very often in music from Beethoven through Debussy and Ravel.
"Modern pianos usually have three pedals, from left to right, the soft pedal (or una corda), the sostenuto pedal, and the sustaining pedal (or damper pedal)."
There's much more info on wikipedia.
There are a couple pedals on pianos.. but I'm sure the one your talking about is the one all the way to the right.... and it resonates the notes you hit while pushing the pedal, so that they continue to sound after you take your hand off the keys.
For pianos with two pedals, one is a "sostenuto" which lets notes sustain after you release the keys; the other silences them and is called the "damper" pedal. For those with three, the third is a "soft pedal" for playing notes softer; it changes the tone quality a little bit.
The two (or three) pedals are usually arranged as follows (from RIGHT to LEFT): soft pedal (if three), sostenuto/sustain, and damper.