🎹What Do The 3 Pedals on a Piano Do? - Grands & Upright Pianos🎹

Grand Piano: 0:37
Upright Piano: 6:53
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#PianoPedals #WhatDoPianoPedalsDo #DigitalPiano
In this video, Stu Harrison of Merriam Pianos takes us through the three pedals on both upright and grand pianos, and discusses what each one and when you might use it. Although most piano players instinctively know what the right pedal does, the middle and left are often misunderstood by a large percentage of beginner students and hobbyist players.
We hope this clears up all of your pedal questions! Also, thanks for checking out the channel - if it’s the first time here and you find the video helpful, please subscribe and stay up to date on all our new video content!
Upright Pianos:
The Right Pedal
The right pedal on an upright piano lifts all the dampers off the strings at once, and keeps them raised as long as the pedal is depressed. A damper is a piece of felt which mutes the strings, so by raising the dampers, the strings are free to ring for a long time. When all the dampers are raised, it generally means that you could press as many notes as you wanted and they would all begin ringing and continue to ring for as long as you held the pedal down.
This can be used to create ‘stacks’ of notes which blend nicely together, either in chords or scales, without the restriction of only 10 fingers to playing them at one time. A common practice is to push the pedal down while within a single chord or tonality, and quickly release it and depress again when switching to a different chord.
The Middle Pedal
On an upright piano, in 95% of cases the middle pedal acts as a mute rail pedal. Depressing the pedal pulls down a piece of felt to rest between the hammers and the strings, preventing the hammer from ever fully striking the strings with full force and dramatically reducing the quality and quantity of tone the piano is able to produce. This is also called a practice pedal sometimes.
Left Pedal
The left pedal moves all the hammers a few centimeters closer to the strings before the strings are struck, essentially lowering the maximum force and velocity with which the hammers can strike the strings. This is sometimes called a quiet pedal, or incorrectly referred to as an una corda (the name on a grand)...it is incorrect to refer to it as such, because the hammer doesn’t shift left or right, therefore reducing the number of strings it strikes...the same strings are struck, but with less force.
Sostenuto on an Upright
Occasionally a high-end upright will be equipped with a Sostenuto pedal as the middle pedal . Sostenuto could be explained as a selective sustain pedal...when specific notes are depressed on the piano, and then the sostenuto pedal is depressed at the same time, those keys will remain sustaining, while any other note played on the piano will not. This is different than the sustain pedal, where ALL keys sustain without differentiation when the pedal is played.
Grand Piano
Just like on the upright piano, the right pedal is the sustain pedal or damper pedal. Both names are used, and are interchangeable. One describes the purpose, and one describes the function...it raises the dampers so that the strings sustain.
The middle pedal is nearly always a sostenuto on most grand pianos, which functions the same as described above with the upright piano sostenuto. It is a selective sustain which lets the player decide which notes will sustain by pressing them down, followed by the middle pedal.
The left pedal on a grand is called the una corda pedal, and actually moves the entire keyboard and hammers to the right. When it’s set up correctly, the hammers move enough to the right that the treble hammers only strike two strings instead of three, thereby reducing the total sound output and also changing the timbre slightly.
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[@andrewc.343]

Wow! That was an awesome demonstration & was very educational, thank you! 😃

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! We're glad you found it helpful! :)

[@MichelleNaidoo-bi1bh]

Same with me it was very educational

[@tien1328]

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. 😂

[@Harlem55]

Right up until you start learning Trumpet 🎺 lol.

[@eemarko]

Out of the 3 first KZbin results, your explanation was the most extensive and yet more clearer

[@MerriamPianos]

Thanks so much! We're glad you enjoyed it! :)

[@wendybell7753]

Wow! This was terrifically helpful. I will be using this info with my piano students.

[@MerriamPianos]

We're glad to hear that you found the video helpful! Thanks so much!

[@rrjjgg101]

Great detail Explanation..Thank you for this Informative Video

[@MyKamiFox]

Very informative, thanks.

[@cabotcat1]

Well done 👍

[@curtpiazza1688]

Very well explained...thanx!

[@scdobserver835]

Wonderful explanation!

[@mercylopez5181]

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.

[@urd4651]

wow thank you.....very clear and informative! :D

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome!

[@mastermindmasterpiece7120]

great info

[@MuziccoveR1]

Thanks for sharing with this VDO

[@crazyxld7055]

Thanks so much

[@sarahotay3712]

This is amazing. Thank you so much 😊

[@MerriamPianos]

You're welcome! Thanks for tuning in! :)

[@matteomarrone5693]

Your videos are always very informative, thanks for sharing your knowledge. You're the best out there on YT

[@MerriamPianos]

Thank you so much for the kind words! I will be sure to pass them onto Stu! :)

[@richarpadilla1891]

Great video Stu ! you give a clear explanation of the pedal and its use !

[@MerriamPianos]

Thanks so much! We appreciate that! :)

[@yangsx1984]

I was just about to call about my left pedal, luckily I googled your video first.

[@brawksolid6285]

Thank you so much for making this very clear and informative guide. I really enjoyed it.

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! We're happy to hear that you enjoyed the video. :)

[@kpg8848]

very informative

[@MerriamPianos]

Thank you! Glad you enjoyed! :)

[@TheZotman5]

Great video. Sounds like if I'm new and getting a digital piano, I really only need to worry about the sustain pedal.

[@MerriamPianos]

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. :)

[@balooterzo]

THANK YOU

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! :)

[@masterxyr]

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/ (:

[@djmips]

Canadian accent?

[@studentjohn35]

Hania Rani, Olafur Arnaulds, and other European composer-performers are using muffler rails in small 43 inch uprights as part of their live gigs.

[@user-lz5gd8xu8k]

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)

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! Thanks so much for tuning in! We appreciate it. :)

[@goddessworshipper]

Great explanation thank you! Do you have a similar explanation for why three pedals would be useful for a digital piano?

[@ChristianJoannes]

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.

[@AarPlays]

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.

[@MerriamPianos]

Yup! Exactly! The sostenuto pedal of a grand piano is quite interesting and allows for some very sophisticated musical passages. :)

[@AarPlays]

@@MerriamPianos thanks for the video!

[@lumpichu]

Thank you for the great explanation, however I missed a demo of the una corda and soft+mute combo :)

[@MerriamPianos]

You're very welcome! And thank you for the suggestion! We will try to incorporate more demonstrations for the next video in this style. :)

[@pianounited7967]

It is very useful. Can I present this knowledge in my video? I will definitely give you credit.

[@MerriamPianos]

We're glad you found it useful! Of course - that is not a problem at all. :)

[@pranavjayaprakasanut]

What is the name of the outro song ? Btw really informative video as always thank you

[@Canonall]

Very elucidating, thanks!

[@davidiscool1072]

What is the upright piano you showed

[@danielsiame4810]

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?

[@MerriamPianos]

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! :)

[@JLXcellent]

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?

[@TheTektronik]

Blüthner style 4 has two pedals.

[@zainalu]

Do we have any grand piano with practice pedal like on Kawai/Yamaha uprights?

[@Harlem55]

What does Pat Sajak's pedal do? Answer me that 🤭😊

[@bluelotus1109]

👍🏻

[@MerriamPianos]

Thanks so much! :)

[@Arifaeth]

The middle pedal pulls only the dampers on the left side of the piano on the piano inhabe

[@francescodefendi3201]

Thank you Stu! Very intersting...everybody knows just about the right one... PS Next time: The three pedals of car; on a Ferrari!! : )

[@AmorDeae]

I don't think ferrari makes any cars with three pedals for about 10 years now, they're all automatic and have only 2.

[@studentjohn35]

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

[@MerriamPianos]

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

[@Li-yt7zh]

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 ;)

[@omeganave7425]

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.

[@PrettyUglyR6]

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 ?

[@MerriamPianos]

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.

[@prenumenumedefamilie3418]

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 !

[@avideosomeday3913]

why dont u show what the left pedal does on grand piano :(

[@MerriamPianos]

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.

[@USBYDProductions]

that saucy noodle seems very useful for cheating in 3 parts instead of 2

[@MerriamPianos]

Thanks so much for taking the time to tune in! :)