Piano Techniques - Pedaling ****CANON IN D****

For the last topic in the book Improve Your Piano Playing, Dr. John Meffen concludes his talk about piano techniques. The last technique he discusses is pedaling.

The pedals are located at the bottom on the piano and are controlled by your feet to enhance the sound of your playing. Pianos usually have two pedals, each with a different function. (Meffen 108). The one farthest to the left is called the soft pedal, and the one farthest to the right is called the damper pedal.

The soft pedal's function is exactly what it sounds like, it makes all the notes sound softer. It does this by moving all the hammers that strike the strings slightly to the right so the hammers that usually hit three strings only hit two and the hammers that usually hit two strings only hit one (Meffen 109). By hitting less strings, less sound is produced therefore creating a softer sound. Here is a video of me holding the soft pedal down to make the first section of Canon in D lot quieter. 

The damper pedal on the far right is used more commonly than the soft pedal. Its function is to "raise all the dampers, allowing the strings to vibrate freely" (Meffen 109). Dampers are the things that touch the strings to stop the sound, so when you hold the pedal down, these dampers do not touch the strings and the sound is sustained. This is a very important pedal because it allows notes to connect to each other. Without it, piano would sound very choppy and abrupt all the time. Here is a video of me using the damper pedal for the rest of Canon in D to connect the notes and make them sound smooth.  Sorry it's in two videos. Blogger couldn't upload one big video because it was too long. And sorry that they are upside down too. 

QOTD: What is your favorite instrument to play and why?

Citation: Meffen, John, Dr. Improve Your Piano Playing. New York: Allworth Press, 2007. Print.