{"id":6920,"date":"2013-09-24T16:17:11","date_gmt":"2013-09-24T23:17:11","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/?p=6920"},"modified":"2015-09-11T15:37:29","modified_gmt":"2015-09-11T22:37:29","slug":"evolution-of-piano-foot-pedals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rolandus.com\/blog\/2013\/09\/24\/evolution-of-piano-foot-pedals\/","title":{"rendered":"The Evolution of Piano Foot Pedals"},"content":{"rendered":"

Foot Pedals for Modern Keyboards & Synths<\/h2>\n
\"The<\/a>

Image: V-Piano Grand<\/a> Foot Pedals<\/p><\/div>\n

Have you ever wondered what some of the jacks on the back of your synthesizer or stage piano are for? On some Roland synthesizers<\/a>, you\u2019ll see inputs for \u201cHOLD\u201d and \u201cCTRL1 and CTRL2,\u2033 and on other instruments, you might see inputs for \u201cSOSTENUTO\u201d or \u201cDAMPER.\u201d These inputs are actually for foot pedals that enable the player to change the timbre or the expressiveness of the piano. The modern piano foot pedal configuration has been in its current form since the late nineteenth\u00a0century, with three foot pedals: sustain (damper pedal), sostenuto, and una corda or soft pedal (sometimes referred to as the shift pedal).<\/p>\n

\u201cThe pedal is the soul of the piano\u201d<\/i> . . . Anton Rubinstein<\/a><\/p>\n

History of Piano Foot Pedals…<\/em><\/h2>\n

The una\u00a0corda, invented by Bartolomeo Cristofori<\/a>, was the first mechanism invented to modify the piano\u2019s sound. This function is typically operated by the left pedal on modern pianos. A common name used today for the\u00a0una\u00a0corda\u00a0is the “soft pedal.” Some even refer to it as the “shift pedal” as depressing this pedal physically moves the action mechanism to the right on a grand piano. The soft pedal modifies timbre and color of the tone, not just the volume of the tone. Soon after its invention, the soft pedal was integrated on pianos of all\u00a0makers\u00a0as a standard fixture.<\/p>\n

By the late eighteenth century, piano builders had begun triple stringing the notes on the piano. This change affected the soft pedal\u2019s function. On a modern grand piano, the una\u00a0corda\u00a0pedal makes the hammers of the treble section hit two strings instead of three. (In the case of the bass strings, the hammer normally strikes either one or two strings per note.\u00a0The lowest\u00a0bass notes on the piano are a single, thicker string.)<\/p>\n

On the modern upright piano, the left pedal is not truly a soft pedal because it does not shift the action sideways. This cannot happen because the strings are strung at such an oblique angle to the hammers that if the action were moved sideways, the hammer might strike one string of the wrong note. A more accurate term for the left pedal on an upright piano is the “half-blow” pedal. When the pedal is activated, the hammers move closer to the strings so that there is less distance for the hammer to swing.<\/p>\n

Sustain and\u00a0<\/em>Sostenuto\u00a0<\/em>Pedals…<\/em><\/h2>\n

\"RPU-3\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The sustaining pedal is the right pedal on the modern piano. This pedal raises all the dampers off the strings so that they keep vibrating after a key on the keyboard has been released. It adds significant expressiveness, allowing notes to resonate and certain harmonies and notes to be mixed together.\u00a0The last pedal to be added to the modern grand was the middle pedal, the\u00a0sostenuto. This pedal allows pianists to sustain selected notes while other notes remain unaffected.<\/p>\n

The location of foot\u00a0pedals on the piano was another aspect of\u00a0pedal development that fluctuated considerably during the evolution of the instrument. Eventually, during the nineteenth century, foot pedals were attached to a frame located centrally underneath the piano to strengthen and stabilize the mechanism. This framework attached to the grand piano often took the symbolic and decorative shape and name of a \u201clyre,\u201d and it still carries the name \u201cpedal lyre\u201d today for a modern pedal assembly.<\/p>\n

Pedal Recap:<\/em><\/span><\/p>\n