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Summary: Learn how to use the sustain and damper pedals on the piano in this free how-to video clip lesson on advanced piano techniques.
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About the Expert
Dani Rhodes Dani Rhodes is a professional actress, singer, dancer and musician based in New York City. She also teaches all of the above throughout New York. She is a pro... read more
Let us pay attention to the pedals now, this is how your feet become involved with the piano. The piano to the right is the sustained pedal and this is what you will be using the most. Now, if you hear a regular note being played, that’s all you hear, put the pedal down… it sustains the note and once you lift up the note it closes off again, there is a little pad that goes off as it is lifted off of the string when the sustain pedal is down and it makes it just resonant and then lift it up, the pad goes back, the pad off, pad on, pad off, pad on… Now this pedal over here as opposed to this pedal are two different things, now on an upright piano you are not to be using this one, because it does not make any difference. On a grand piano, though it will actually take the bottom keyboard and shift it over to make the bottom softer than the top, the middle though however you can do it and lock it over and it will actually make it… softer. This piano is a little bit older so you would not hear it as well but on newer pianos you will have a definite damper and that is what it is, a damper pedal.