Piano Pedals

[swim4ever_22]

On most pianos, there are three pedals. The one to the far right is the sustaining pedal, the one to the far left is the sostenuto pedal, but what is the middle pedal used for?

The reason I ask is because on my piano at home, the middle pedal does absolutely nothing. It's a 1984 Kimball upright. Now, on my aunt's piano, the middle pedal mutes the strings so that one can practice without disturbing other people. You can only hear the notes being played if you are right next to the instrument, but if you're in another room, you wouldn't even know the piano is being played. My aunt's piano is a 2003 Chang upright.

Does anyone have any info on this?

[quantum]

Middle pedal is variable depending on make an model.

A number of uprights use it to lower a practice mute.  On some models it is used as a bass sustain. 

On good quality grands it is a sostenuto.  This allows you to keep the dampers lifted on only the keys you hold before applying the pedal. 


By far left I think you mean una corda.  Which on a grand shifts the keybed so hammers strike one less string, and also use a fleshier part of the hammer felt.  On an upright it is most likely a "soft pedal" which simply moves the hammers closer to the strings to make it easier to play quiet - this does not have the tone color change of an una corda. 

[swim4ever_22]

Hey. That makes a lot of sense. Thank you!

[dan101]

You already have a well informed answer to your question. I thought I'd just add that the sostenuto pedal is used very infrequently by myself and my colleagues. Quick half pedals with the sustain pedal do an equally good job.

Having said that, the mute pedal seems quite useful in apartment living, where curfews are in place for music playing.

[gerryjay]

On an upright it is most likely a "soft pedal" which simply moves the hammers closer to the strings to make it easier to play quiet - this does not have the tone color change of an una corda. 

maybe it's the most stupid question but why we can't have a proper una corda pedal in an upright?
 and why so few pianos have the fundamental sostenuto pedal?
 thanks for some answer.

[richard black]

I thought I'd just add that the sostenuto pedal is used very infrequently by myself and my colleagues. Quick half pedals with the sustain pedal do an equally good job.

Frequently not, I find. I use the sostenuto loads and would doubtless use it even more if either if my instruments at home had it to practise with.

why we can't have a proper una corda pedal in an upright?

There's no fundamental reason why it can't be done, I think old habits die hard in the piano-making business.

Almost all grands these days have a sostenuto, but very few uprights. It's conceptually extremely simply on an upright, and easy enough to build into a tall one (slightly trickier in restricted space), but in practice it seems to upset the touch quite significantly.

[ahinton]

Yes, it's a pity that so few uprights have ever had a sostenuto (middle) pedal; Mason & Hamlin used to make them with such pedals (and probably still do, I'm not sure) and I believe that Bösendorfer also do/did.

It may also be worth noting that the present-day sostenuto pedal mechanism is different to that which was built into pianos up until around WW1 (I may be abit adrift on my dates here); my 1896 Steinway B has the older type which (irritatingly) does not permit legato pedalling with it, whereas more recent instruments' middle pedals do. I do not know who devised the "upgraded" design or which manufacturer first introduced it.

Best,

Alistair