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What do pedals on a piano do? The three pedals that have become more or less standard on the modern piano are the following. From left to right: una corda, sostenuto and damper. The damper pedal (also the sustaining pedal or loud pedal) is the most frequently used. It is placed as the rightmost pedal in the group. Every string on the piano, except the top two octaves, is equipped with a damper, which is a padded device that prevents the string from vibrating. The damper is raised off the string whenever the key for that note is pressed. When the damper pedal is pressed, all the dampers on the piano are lifted at once, so that every string can vibrate. This serves two purposes. First, it assists the pianist in producing a legato (playing smoothly connected notes) in passages where no fingering is available to make this otherwise possible. Second, raising the damper pedal causes all the strings to vibrate sympathetically with whichever notes are being played, which greatly enriches the piano's tone. The una corda pedal (also the soft pedal) is placed leftmost in the row of pedals. On a grand piano this pedal shifts the whole action to one side, slightly to the right, so that hammers that normally strike all three of the strings for a note strike only two of them. This softens the note and modifies its tone quality. On many upright pianos, the pedal operates a mechanism which moves the hammers' resting position closer to the strings. This reduces the volume as the hammers have less distance to travel, but this does not change tone quality in the way the una corda pedal does on a grand piano. However when this pedal is depressed on the vertical, it changes the action creating what is called lost motion, that is the jack is now further from the hammer butt, and now has to travel further to engage the hammer. This lost motion changes the touch and feel of the playing action, and as a result many pianists never use the soft pedal on a vertical. Since the grand piano soft pedal simply shifts the action sideways, it does not change the touch and feel of the action, another advantage grand pianos have over vertical pianos. The sostenuto pedal (also the middle pedal) keeps raised any damper that was raised at the moment the pedal is depressed. This makes it possible to sustain some notes (by depressing the sostenuto pedal before notes to be sustained are released) while the player's hands are free to play other notes. This can be useful for musical passages with pedal points and other tricky or impossible situations. The sostenuto pedal was the last of the three pedals to be added to the standard piano, and to this day, many pianos are not equipped with a sostenuto pedal. Almost all modern grand pianos have a sostenuto pedal, while nearly all upright pianos do not. Some upright pianos have a celeste pedal (practice pedal) in place of the sostenuto. This pedal, which can usually be locked in place by depressing it and pushing it to one side, drops a strip of felt between the hammers and the strings so that all the notes are greatly muted-- a handy feature for those who wish to practice without disturbing everyone else in the vicinity. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piano#Pedals

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15y ago
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14y ago

2 on a piano and i think 11 on an organ.


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On a piano, normally 2 or 3. One is 'sustain' which lets the notes keep sounding when you release the keys. One is 'soft' which dampens the volume of the playing. The third one is optional, it is a 'practice' pedal which mutes the sound even more.

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14y ago

the same # it has of keys 88.

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three

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3

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Q: How many pedals are there on a harpsichord?
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Does harpsichord have pedals?

Generally, no. However, there are some modified hapsichords that have a set of pedals for the bass, like the organ.


What is the difference between piano and a harpsichord?

1. The way it generates sound - the harpsichord plucks the string while the piano hammers it; 2. The sound - the harpsichord has a more metalic sound, a cross between guitar and harp, while the piano has a more refined soft-edged sound; There are also no louds or softs in harpsichord. The notes have always the same volume; the sound on a hapsichord also fades away faster; 3. The existence of pedals - the harpsichord has no pedals; 4. Appearance - pianos are generally paint black, or wooden, while the haprsichords usually have various paintings.


Who is the inventor of the piano pedal?

Pedals for the piano began life as pedals for the harpsichord. Very few harpsichords were outfitted with pedals because the purpose of the pedals was to change registration quickly and easily on the harpsichord, without having to lift the hands from the keys to do the same thing. Mostly, it was the English who dabbled in applying pedals to the harpsichord. As a result, they were also the first to add pedals to pianos. Before that, the earliest pianos made had no pedals at all because they were considered to be harpsichords with loud and soft (in Italian, "Gravicembalo col Forte e Piano") When the addition of stops on the forte-pianos were created to change the sound, it involved manually shifting the keyboard or pulling or pushing a handstop to effect the change. Later, the Austrian and German fortepiano makers invented the knee lever to raise and lower the dampers. The English pianoforte makers were applying pedals to do the same thing about the same time. By 1815, pedals were standard equipment on almost every piano. In Vienna from 1828- 1845, piano makers would customarily have as many as 5 - 7 pedals on a piano. These pedals activated bells, drums, snare effects and muffled effects, as well as the usual damper lifting and keyboard moving actions. In England, piano makers limited themselves for the most part to only 2 or 3 pedals. These differences were largely dictated by the peculiar nature of the action designs for the pianos from these different areas of Europe.


What was the harpsichord made out of?

the harpsichord comes from many countries in Europe like Italy for example.


How many foot pedals does a harp have?

There are many different sizes and styles of harp. Typically the larger ones, like in a symphony orchestra, do have pedals while smaller ones do not. The pedals facilitate a wider range of notes than what you could get without them.

Related questions

Does harpsichord have pedals?

Generally, no. However, there are some modified hapsichords that have a set of pedals for the bass, like the organ.


Do all pianos have pedals?

No. There are hundreds of piano that have different settings. Remember that the piano of today evolved from many different changes that occurred to the harpsichord piano.


What is the difference between piano and a harpsichord?

1. The way it generates sound - the harpsichord plucks the string while the piano hammers it; 2. The sound - the harpsichord has a more metalic sound, a cross between guitar and harp, while the piano has a more refined soft-edged sound; There are also no louds or softs in harpsichord. The notes have always the same volume; the sound on a hapsichord also fades away faster; 3. The existence of pedals - the harpsichord has no pedals; 4. Appearance - pianos are generally paint black, or wooden, while the haprsichords usually have various paintings.


Who is the inventor of the piano pedal?

Pedals for the piano began life as pedals for the harpsichord. Very few harpsichords were outfitted with pedals because the purpose of the pedals was to change registration quickly and easily on the harpsichord, without having to lift the hands from the keys to do the same thing. Mostly, it was the English who dabbled in applying pedals to the harpsichord. As a result, they were also the first to add pedals to pianos. Before that, the earliest pianos made had no pedals at all because they were considered to be harpsichords with loud and soft (in Italian, "Gravicembalo col Forte e Piano") When the addition of stops on the forte-pianos were created to change the sound, it involved manually shifting the keyboard or pulling or pushing a handstop to effect the change. Later, the Austrian and German fortepiano makers invented the knee lever to raise and lower the dampers. The English pianoforte makers were applying pedals to do the same thing about the same time. By 1815, pedals were standard equipment on almost every piano. In Vienna from 1828- 1845, piano makers would customarily have as many as 5 - 7 pedals on a piano. These pedals activated bells, drums, snare effects and muffled effects, as well as the usual damper lifting and keyboard moving actions. In England, piano makers limited themselves for the most part to only 2 or 3 pedals. These differences were largely dictated by the peculiar nature of the action designs for the pianos from these different areas of Europe.


How many pedals on a standard harp?

7 Pedals


How many parts are there in a harpsichord?

8


What was the harpsichord made out of?

the harpsichord comes from many countries in Europe like Italy for example.


How many foot pedals does a harp have?

There are many different sizes and styles of harp. Typically the larger ones, like in a symphony orchestra, do have pedals while smaller ones do not. The pedals facilitate a wider range of notes than what you could get without them.


How do you use harpsichord in a sentence?

sentence of harpsichord


What is the difference between a harpsichord and a piano and an electric piano?

1. The way they generate sound - the harpsichord plucks the string while the piano hammers it, and the electric piano produces sound digitally on the columns. 2. The sound - the harpsichord has a more metalic sound, a cross between guitar and harp, while the piano has a more refined soft-edged sound; There are also no louds or softs in harpsichord. The notes have always the same volume; the sound on a hapsichord also fades away faster; The electric piano is the only one that can simulate sounds from various instruments, though generally not as good as the instrument itself. 3. The existence of pedals - the harpsichord has no pedals; 4. Appearance - pianos are generally paint black, or wooden, while the haprsichords usually have various paintings. Electric pianos have a variety of plain colours, from metal, to white, to black, etc. 5. Technology - from the most advanced to the least: electric piano, piano, harpsichord. 6. Way of functioning - unlike pianos and harpsichords which are purely mechanic, electric pianos run on electricity, and depend on various electric circuits to work.


Was Handel's Capriccio written for harpsichord or piano?

Harpsichord


Where can one buy Hardwire pedals?

One can buy Hardwire pedals from the Hardwire Pedals website. Some other popular websites where can one can purchase Hardwire pedals are eBay, Amazon, Premier Guitar and many more.