Questions about piano pedals?

Question

What does 'pedale simile' mean? Does that mean that you press both pedals at once? Are there any times when you have to press one pedal and not the other? If so, how do you know which one to press?

Answer 1

Pedal in a similar way.

So for instance if pedals were marked every 2 beats then it said "pedale simile" it means carry on pedalling every 2 beats.

You can tell which pedal to press because the left "soft" pedal is marked as "una" (instead of simply 'ped') - because the correct name for this pedal is "una corda" - so called because in the original pianos only one of the 3 strings played when you pressed this pedal.

When pedalling you almost always only use the right pedal, unless told to use the left pedal as well, in which case you'd hold the left down whislt normally pedalling with the right.

Answer 2

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There have been a few questions in regards to pedal and I'll some it up here. First the sustain pedal is on the right of the piano lyre and is the same for grands and uprights. The middle pedal is different though. On an upright, it is called an apartment pedal. It you press it down and then shift it to the lock position a piece of felt material drops between the hammers and the strings so that the sound is dampened when the string is struck. This mechanism was designed for pianos in Asia because everyone lives in condos/apartments and this reduces the sound so it doesn't disturb your neighbors. On a grand piano the middle pedal is called softened. When you play a note(s) and hold it down, only that note(s) will be sustained. All other notes played after the pedal is pressed will not be sustained but sounded and then the damper goes back to the rest position. This pedal is used with 20th Century and modern music. Some uprights have this, but only a select few. The left pedal is not called a soft pedal! It is incorrect to call it a soft pedal as what many call it. It is called the una corda pedal and what it does is shifts the entire keyboard action over to the right so the hammers strike only two strings (in the treble), 1 string (tenor) and half a string (bass). The sound is muted when this pedal is pressed. Soft would indicate a volume change, but that is not right. The sound is muted and there is a tonal color change that takes place because one less string is being struck by the hammer. This is for a grand piano. In the upright the hammers are moved forward when the pedal is pressed reducing the distance the hammer has to strike the string. The sound is muted here as well, however the difference in tone is negligible. Just don't call it a soft pedal!

Answer 3

Pedal Simile