Chords for What do the pedals on a piano do? | Cunningham Piano Company, Philadelphia, King of Prussia, PA

Tempo:
124.2 bpm
Chords used:

C

D

F

E

G

Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
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What do the pedals on a piano do? | Cunningham Piano Company, Philadelphia, King of Prussia, PA chords
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Welcome to Cunningham Piano, I'm Hugh Sung.
In this video, I'm gonna answer the question,
what do the pedals on a piano do?
Now, depending on the keyboard or piano that you have,
you'll find anywhere from one to three pedals
that you operate with your foot,
and they all have different functions.
So let's start off with the pedal
that is most commonly used.
On acoustic pianos, it'll always be the pedal
on the furthest right, or on a digital keyboard,
and especially low-end keyboards,
if you only have one pedal, it'll always be this pedal.
It's called either a damper pedal or a sustain pedal.
Basically, it does the same thing.
In fact, the names are synonymous with their function, okay?
So let's take a look at the damper or sustain pedal.
The damper pedal or the sustain pedal
controls these pieces of wood
with felt underneath, resting on top of each string.
Every key [C] has a damper that's connected to it, all right?
When I play a note on the piano, when I push down a key,
that lifts up the corresponding damper.
When I let go of this note with my finger,
the damper comes back down and stops the sound.
[D] [E] Every note [F] will have its [G] own damper to [D] control
[Bm] when it [C]
sounds and when the sound is released.
Now, when I push the damper pedal down,
notice all of the dampers come up all at once
for every single string.
When I play the keys,
[F]
I keep my foot on that damper pedal down,
the keys will continue to ring until I let go of the pedal
[C]
and the dampers come back down
and the felt stops the strings from vibrating, okay?
So this is a great way to keep,
this is one of the most magical sounds that you can create
on the piano, pushing the damper pedal down
and letting the sound ring
and then lifting up your foot to stop the sound.
That's what the damper or the sustain pedal does.
It's one of the most essential functions
in making music on the piano.
Okay, so now let's say you have a piano
or a keyboard with two pedals.
What does that second pedal do?
Well, the second pedal will always be to the furthest left
and that pedal is the soft pedal or an una corda.
What is an una corda?
Well, again, the name kind of is synonymous.
The soft pedal makes the piano or keyboard sound softer.
Let's take a look and see how this works.
When I push down the soft pedal or the una corda,
look carefully, you may miss this.
I'm gonna push the pedal down.
Did you see that?
Did you see the keys shifting slightly to the left?
What this is doing is moving the action over
and if you'll notice, you have three strings
for each key or each note.
By moving the action over slightly,
what that's doing is moving the hammers over
so instead of striking all three of these strings,
you only strike one of the strings.
Hence the name una corda or UC as an abbreviation.
So here's the sound of the piano played normally.
Now I'm gonna push the una corda pedal down.
Notice everything moves slightly to the right.
Can you hear it's slightly softer now?
That's what the left pedal, the far left pedal will do.
It's our soft pedal or the una corda.
Now let's talk about the middle pedal.
Now this pedal's function will differ
depending on whether you're on an upright piano
or on a grand piano and some uprights
will mimic the grand piano's function.
So let's talk first about what it does on a grand piano.
On a grand piano, the middle pedal
is called the sostenuto pedal
and when you push this, it has a really cool function.
Let's take a look at what this does.
Some music calls for certain notes to be held and sustained
while other notes stay disconnected or stopped
like you would [D] normally,
[Em] like you would [Gm] with [D] [C] each individual note.
To do that, we use what's called the sostenuto pedal
which is the pedal in the middle as I mentioned.
Okay, so how does this work?
The way this works is you play the note first,
you hold it with your fingers,
then I push the sostenuto pedal.
Notice these three notes are still having
their dampers held up and that's being done
with my sostenuto pedal in the middle.
But all the rest of the notes,
the dampers come right back down.
It's only these notes that I've pre-held and locked
with the sostenuto pedal that are being sustained.
So once again, I have to first play with my fingers,
hold the note while I'm holding those notes,
then I push the sostenuto pedal
and then those notes are held.
Now if I want to, I can still use the damper pedal
at the same time with my sostenuto pedal.
So watch, I can do this, play these notes,
catch it with the sostenuto pedal,
push the damper pedal down and then control.
Now everything is ringing now
but when I lift the damper pedal,
those other notes are stopped
and these notes are still sustaining.
That's the sostenuto pedal.
Now on an upright piano, that middle pedal
is sometimes used as a practice pedal
and when you push this down, you'll have the option
to sometimes lock it by pushing it also to the left
and what this will do is it'll bring
another thicker piece of cloth between the hammers
and the strings for a really muted sound
designed really for practicing so that when you play,
it's super soft and doesn't disturb your neighbors.
Some higher end upright pianos will actually preserve
the sostenuto function that you find in grand pianos
like we just demonstrated.
Anyway, that's a look at what the three pedals on pianos do.
I hope you found this explanation helpful.
I'd love to get your feedback
and if you have other questions,
we love answering them here in our video blog.
Be sure to leave your questions, comments and feedback
in the comment section below
and as always, we have a weekly newsletter
so be sure to subscribe so that we can let you know
whenever we have new videos
and articles answering your questions.
Once again, I'm Hugh Sung for Cunningham Piano.
Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next time.
Key:  
C
3211
D
1321
F
134211111
E
2311
G
2131
C
3211
D
1321
F
134211111
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_ Welcome to Cunningham Piano, I'm Hugh Sung.
In this video, I'm gonna answer the question,
what do the pedals on a piano do?
Now, depending on the keyboard or piano that you have,
you'll find anywhere from one to three pedals
that you operate with your foot,
and they all have different functions.
So let's start off with the pedal
that is most commonly used.
On acoustic pianos, it'll always be the pedal
on the furthest right, or on a digital keyboard,
and especially low-end keyboards,
if you only have one pedal, it'll always be this pedal.
It's called either a damper pedal or a sustain pedal.
Basically, it does the same thing.
In fact, the names are synonymous with their function, okay?
So let's take a look at the damper or sustain pedal.
_ The damper pedal or the sustain pedal
controls these pieces of wood
with felt underneath, resting on top of each string.
Every key [C] has a damper that's connected to it, all right? _ _
When I play a note on the piano, when I push down a key,
_ that lifts up the corresponding damper.
When I let go of this note with my finger,
_ the damper comes back down and stops the sound.
_ _ _ [D] [E] Every note [F] will have its [G] own damper to [D] control
[Bm] when it [C]
sounds and when the sound is released.
_ Now, when I push the damper pedal down,
notice all of the dampers come up all at once
for every single string. _ _
_ _ When I play the keys,
[F] _
I keep my foot on that damper pedal down, _
the keys will continue to ring until I let go of the pedal
[C]
and the dampers come back down
and the felt stops the strings from vibrating, okay?
So this is a great way to keep,
this is one of the most magical sounds that you can create
on the piano, pushing the damper pedal down
_ _ _ and letting the sound ring
and then lifting up your foot to stop the sound.
That's what the damper or the sustain pedal does.
It's one of the most essential functions
in making music on the piano. _
Okay, so now let's say you have a piano
or a keyboard with two pedals.
What does that second pedal do?
Well, the second pedal will always be to the furthest left
and that pedal is the soft pedal or an una corda.
What is an una corda?
Well, again, the name kind of is synonymous.
The soft pedal makes the piano or keyboard sound softer.
Let's take a look and see how this works. _
When I push down the soft pedal or the una corda,
look carefully, you may miss this.
I'm gonna push the pedal down. _
Did you see that?
Did you see the keys shifting slightly to the left?
What this is doing is moving the action over
and if you'll notice, you have three strings
for each key or each note.
By moving the action over slightly,
what that's doing is moving the hammers over
so instead of striking all three of these strings,
you only strike one of the strings.
_ Hence the name una corda or UC as an abbreviation.
So here's the sound of the piano _ played _ _ normally.
Now I'm gonna push the una corda pedal down.
Notice everything moves slightly to the right.
_ _ _ Can you hear it's slightly softer now?
That's what the left pedal, the far left pedal will do.
It's our soft pedal or the una corda.
Now let's talk about the middle pedal.
Now this pedal's function will differ
depending on whether you're on an upright piano
or on a grand piano and some uprights
will mimic the grand piano's function.
So let's talk first about what it does on a grand piano.
_ On a grand piano, the middle pedal
is called the sostenuto pedal
and when you push this, it has a really cool function.
Let's take a look at what this does.
_ _ Some music calls for certain notes to be held and sustained
while other notes stay disconnected or _ stopped
like you would [D] normally,
[Em] like you would [Gm] with _ [D] [C] each individual note.
To do that, we use what's called the sostenuto pedal
which is the pedal in the middle as I mentioned.
Okay, so how does this work?
The way this works is you play the note first,
you hold it with your fingers,
then I push the sostenuto pedal.
_ _ Notice these three notes are still having
their dampers held up and that's being done
with my sostenuto pedal in the middle.
But all the rest of the notes,
_ _ _ the dampers come right back down.
It's only these notes that I've pre-held and locked
with the sostenuto pedal that are being sustained.
So once again, I have to first play with my fingers,
hold the note while I'm holding those notes,
then I push the sostenuto pedal
and then those notes are held.
_ _ _ Now if I want to, I can still use the damper pedal
at the same time with my sostenuto pedal.
So watch, I can do this, play these notes,
catch it with the sostenuto pedal,
push the damper pedal down _ _ _ and then control.
Now everything is ringing now
but when I lift the damper pedal,
those other notes are stopped
and these notes are still sustaining.
That's the sostenuto pedal. _
_ _ Now on an upright piano, that middle pedal
is sometimes used as a practice pedal
and when you push this down, you'll have the option
to sometimes lock it by pushing it also to the left
and what this will do is it'll bring
another thicker piece of cloth between the hammers
and the strings for a really muted sound
designed really for practicing so that when you play,
it's super soft and doesn't disturb your neighbors.
Some higher end upright pianos will actually preserve
the sostenuto function that you find in grand pianos
like we just demonstrated.
Anyway, that's a look at what the three pedals on pianos do.
I hope you found this explanation helpful.
I'd love to get your feedback
and if you have other questions,
we love answering them here in our video blog.
Be sure to leave your questions, comments and feedback
in the comment section below
and as always, we have a weekly newsletter
so be sure to subscribe so that we can let you know
whenever we have new videos
and articles answering your questions.
_ Once again, I'm Hugh Sung for Cunningham Piano.
Thanks so much for watching and I'll see you next time.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _