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it works by decreasing the distance between the hammers and the strings. So since the hammer has less room to travel when the soft pedal is pressed it can not build up as much speed therefore can not strike the string as hard which results in softer volume.
Wiki User
∙ 14y ago
Wiki User
∙ 14y agoWhen you press the soft pedal it puts a piece of cloth over the strings in the piano, so that when you play it produces a soft, muffled sound. If you don't know how a piano works, then:
When you press the keys on the piano, it activates some hammer/s inside the piano, which taps on the strings inside. So therefore, when you use the soft pedal, it would make a muffled sound because the cloth covers the strings.
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What instruments has pedals strings and keys?
the piano or a pedal harp or concert harp
What are three names of the piano pedals?
The far left pedal on some pianos when pressed, will sustain the lower half of the piano. This ideal for holding down a chord for a long time or when both hands are needed higher up on the piano. It's rarely used. However on some pianos, it's used to lightly soften the sound of the piano. The middle pedal is the practice pedal. It dramatically softens the sound of the piano. The far right pedal is the sustain pedal. It lifts the dampers on the piano so that every note that is hit, keeps ringing until the pedal is released, dropping the dampers and stopping the sound. A side note to this is that the functions of each pedal varies from piano to piano, although, the far right sustain pedal is the same on ever piano.
What does una corde mean?
Unacorde is an Italian word that means "with the soft pedal depressed". The una corde pedal is the pedal on the far left of a piano that when depressed on a grand piano, shifts the entire action assembly to the right, causing only half of theoriginally struck strings on each note, except for the low bass notes because they are always on one string, to be struck. thus being much quieter. on most vertical pianos the una corde pedal raises the hammers to be twice as close to the strings as usual also making the sound quieter. the una corde pedal is more commonly called the "soft" pedal.
Which pedal sustains the notes while pressed on a piano?
The sustain pedal on the far right is used to sustain the notes played on a piano. This is true for both vertical and grand pianos.
How many pedals are there on a harpsichord?
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
What is a pedal to do with music?
Because, pianos have 3 pedals which are used for changing the sound of the notes.
What instruments has pedals strings and keys?
the piano or a pedal harp or concert harp
Why does brake pedal feels soft?
Your brake pedal feels soft, one reason for this could be
Why does a brake pedal feels soft?
Your brake pedal feels soft, one reason for this could be
What are the release dates for Soft Pedal - 1926?
Soft Pedal - 1926 was released on: USA: 31 January 1926
What are three names of the piano pedals?
The far left pedal on some pianos when pressed, will sustain the lower half of the piano. This ideal for holding down a chord for a long time or when both hands are needed higher up on the piano. It's rarely used. However on some pianos, it's used to lightly soften the sound of the piano. The middle pedal is the practice pedal. It dramatically softens the sound of the piano. The far right pedal is the sustain pedal. It lifts the dampers on the piano so that every note that is hit, keeps ringing until the pedal is released, dropping the dampers and stopping the sound. A side note to this is that the functions of each pedal varies from piano to piano, although, the far right sustain pedal is the same on ever piano.
What does una corde mean?
Unacorde is an Italian word that means "with the soft pedal depressed". The una corde pedal is the pedal on the far left of a piano that when depressed on a grand piano, shifts the entire action assembly to the right, causing only half of theoriginally struck strings on each note, except for the low bass notes because they are always on one string, to be struck. thus being much quieter. on most vertical pianos the una corde pedal raises the hammers to be twice as close to the strings as usual also making the sound quieter. the una corde pedal is more commonly called the "soft" pedal.
Which pedal sustains the notes while pressed on a piano?
The sustain pedal on the far right is used to sustain the notes played on a piano. This is true for both vertical and grand pianos.
How many pedals are there on a harpsichord?
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
Do piano pedals change the sound?
Yes. Modern pianos have three pedals, from left to right, the soft pedal (or una corda), the sostenuto pedal (mainly found in American-made grands), and the sustaining pedal (or damper pedal). All of them change the instrument's sound in various ways, depending on the pedal and the piano. The soft pedal, the one at the left, is designed to make the sound softer and lower the volume, but it also modifies timbre and color of the tone. The middle pedal, the sostenuto pedal, is not so common, and it's the last pedal to be added to the modern grand. This pedal is made to sustain selected notes while other notes remain unaffected. The pedal at the right, the sustaining pedal, raises all the dampers off the strings so that they can continue to vibrate and sound after a note on the keyboard has been released. It adds much expressivity to piano music, allowing notes to resonate, and certain harmonies and notes to be connected together. This is the most used pedal.
How was the piano improved?
With faster keys, more notes, dampers, the soft pedal and the legato pedal.
How would say the piano and electric piano are alike?
Electric pianos (aka digital pianos) are instruments that reproduce the sound made by acoustic pianos. Pianos produce their unique sound by the action of a felted hammers hitting strings of various lengths. Digital pianos replicate this sound with oscillators and speakers. Electric pianos and acoustic pianos are alike in that they have the same keyboard of 88 black and white keys, they produce a similar sound (though not identical), and they can be played in the same manner, especially if the digital piano has weighted keys and a damper pedal.
