Harsh on pedals

[dana_minmin]

Just practised for a few hours I heard a guy next door playing all his pieces forte, and I coud HEAR his pedaling (the pianos are like 20 feets apart). I don't know which pedal he was using, but I'm sure he's VERY harsh on it.

I wonder if this is the correct way to use pedals because there's no "pop" sound from that piano when I use it. Or it's just the person matters.

[Petter]

pedal to the metal?

[franzliszt2]

I used ot get told off for stamping on the pedal when I was younger. I have broke a few pedals in my life. But I think I have sorted that little problem out now hehe

[rachfan]

The pedals should always be operated as noiselessly and discreetly as possible.  Bumps and thumps add nothing aesthetic to a performance.  One of the most famous pianists of recent history was Rudolph Serkin.  Although I admired his playing, once in awhile his foot would slip off the pedal with a BANG! when playing Beethoven Concertos with the Boston Symphony Orchestra.  It sure didn't enhance the music at all! 

[franzliszt2]

Sometimes it will be noisy though, I did a Bach prelude and fugue, and I wanted to articulate the fugue a certain way, but in 1 passage I couldn't get legato with the fingers. I decided to go through the pain of pedalling every single quaver....which was very fast for the foot. The pedal made a bit of noise, but I got it legato, afetr weeks of ankle training.

The noise of the pedal depends on the piano though, some will be very noisy, others won't. I HATE noisy soft pedals! They are the worst by miles!

[dana_minmin]

omg! every pedaling was loud and clear. i don't think it's a slip off the pedal.

I was playing on the "best" piano available earlier and I heard his pedalings. Then we switched coz the"best" piano was reserved for him. I don't make that sound when I play on both pianos. so...

I was thinking he's gonna break the best piano available in my university.

[Petter]

maybe he has a crush on you and trying to make contact? 

[rachfan]

Hi franzlist2,

I sympathize with your pedaling every quaver in that Bach P & F.  For a similar challenge, there is Rachmaninoff's Prelude, Op. 23, No. 1 in F#m.  What is necessary there is also to pedal every 8th note for most of the piece.  In 4/4, that's seven (7) pedal changes per measure as required by the LH passagework.  Even though the tempo is largo, it's still a killer. 

I also find that playing piano in stocking feet keeps the pedaling quiet too.

Here is a recording I made of the prelude:

www.pianostreet.com/smf/index.php/topic,18900.0.html 

[dana_minmin]

maybe he has a crush on you and trying to make contact? 

My ex-teacher taught me not to release a "full" pedal. i.e. she taught me to use the patch of muscle right next to the big toe, then your ankle cannot bend that far if you keep your heels on the ground. and the result is silent pedaling.

I also find that playing piano in stocking feet keeps the pedaling quiet too.

What is this?

[gerryjay]

 i remember watching a video of one of those old bluesman...

 he lift his right feet like 40-50 cms of the ground, and then



 release it to hit the pedal... 

 
 200th

[rachfan]

Hi dana,

What I had in mind in particular was making recordings at home, which I do frequently.  I've found that rubber-soled shoes can produce squeaking sounds (the friction of rubber on brass pedals).  Leather soles do not create the same problem.  Most men's casual shoes usually have rubber soles.  So making recordings in socks totally solves that problem.   

[dana_minmin]

Hi rachfan. I guess we're talking about 2 different kinds of noices. Today I taught one of my friends to play piano (or I should say "share"), I heard that familiar pedaling noice, which is exactly like
, about 96 times per minute. (Thanks for the pic, Gerry)

and I looked at her feet: her feet was covering only the oval part of the pedal, whereas I could see a little bit of the pedal when I use "next-to-toe" muscle for pedaling.

Most of my shoes are rubber-soled and luckily I don't have the squeaking problem. (I play on quite a few pianos)

How did your teachers taught you to use pedals? Is it every teacher has his own way to do it?

[gerryjay]

Thanks for the pic, Gerry

you´re welcome!

[rachfan]

Hi dana,

I find the worst "squeaking" rubber sole offenders are the kind (like on moccasins or boat shoes, for example) that have those very fine, almost razor thin cuts in the tread design.  They're great walking over ice in the winter, but they squeak on piano pedals.  Tire companies use that same process on winter tire treads.  The manufacturing process has a specific name, but I can't recall it at the moment.

Joseph Banowitz, author of The Pianist's Guide to Pedaling, is probably the foremost expert.  He states that the pressure point between the foot and the pedal should be at the junction of the foot and toes.  But everyone is slightly different.  Horowitz though used to lay the outside edge of his right shoe on the floor with the inside edge touching the damper pedal.  Then, instead of depressing the pedal as you or I might, he would then apply pressure from the inside edge of the shoe down along the right-most edge of the damper pedal.  So he actually operated the pedal from the side of it instead of front-on from the top!

[dana_minmin]

instead of depressing the pedal as you or I might, he would then apply pressure from the inside edge of the shoe down along the right-most edge of the damper pedal. So he actually operated the pedal from the side of it instead of front-on from the top!

wow!

[dan101]

Some of these replies are very informative. With today's sensitive microphones and digital recording studios, pedal control is very important. At all costs, keep your pedaling technique as silent as possible.