Pedal

“ The pianist often is obliged to use the sustaining pedal to hold a note that he cannot keep down because his fingers are otherwise employed. But the music rolls are cut so that every sustained note is held down as long as the composer directs that it should be. Remember too that the term "loud pedal" as applied to the sustaining pedal, as it properly is called, is incorrect. This pedal sustains but does not increase the power of the sound that is produced. That effect is secured by a stronger pressure of the feet upon the pumping pedals. ”

“ The shifting pedal, or soft pedal as it is popularly called, moves the key-board and action so that the hammer strikes only one or two of the unison strings, leaving the other to vibrate sympathetically. Beethoven was the first to appreciate the possibilities of this effect (see the slow movement of his concerto in G major and his last sonatas) , but after him came Schumann and Chopin, and brought pedal manipulation to perfection, especially that of the damper pedal. This is popularly called the loud pedal, and the vulgarest use to which it can be put is to multiply the volume of tone. ”

“ Now when you press the pedal of a pianoforte on striking a note you do not only prolong this note, but its vibrations arouse all the notes which correspond to its overtones, and the result is a rich deep tone-color of exquisite sensuous beauty and enchanting variableness. Hence, whenever the melodic movement and harmonic changes are not too rapid, a pianist should press the pedal constantly, whether he plays loudly or softly ”

“ Very few pianists seem to comprehend the exact function and importance of the pedal. Many will be surprised to hear that the word "touch," which they suppose refers to the way the keys are struck by the fingers, has quite as much to do with the feet—that is, the use of the pedal—as with the fingers. No matter how thoroughly a pianist may have trained his fingers, if he does not use the pedal as it was used by Chopin and Schumann, he cannot reveal the poetry of their compositions. ”

“ The soft pedal is, moreover, most effective in slow movements with full chords, which allow time to bring out the singing tone, in which consists the advantage of the stroke of the hammers on two strings alone. ”

“ Another point which does not receive the attention it deserves is pedaling. Few students have a true idea of the technic of the foot on the pedal. They seem to know only one way to use the damper pedal, and that is to come down hard on it, perhaps giving it a thump at the same time. I give special preparatory exercises for pedal use. Placing the heel on the floor, and the forepart of the foot on the pedal, they learn to make one depression with every stroke of the metronome ”

“ In the modern pedal harp with double action the strings can be shortened sufficiently to raise the pitch a semitone or a tone by means of an ingenious system of levers set in motion by the pedals, which cause disks, each furnished with two studs, to turn and grasp the string, thus shortening the vibrating length. ”

“ We cannot however believe that it will be of use in a concert room. The Kunst-pedal of Herr Zachariae of Stuttgart divides the row of dampers by four cleft pedal feet into eight sections, and thus facilitates the use of the staccato. [See Sordini.]
III. In the Harp the pedals are not keys, as in the Organ, nor do they modify the colour and amount of the tone, as in the Piano; but it is their province to alter the pitch in two gradations of a semitone each. ”

“ The following page contains rapid and brilliant passages of many notes, which the pedal, at present omitted, could not follow, until finally the pace is slackened, and the movement becomes quiet; a plaintive harmonic progression is welcomed as a peaceful, serious word, when suddenly the movement is again quickened, even involving the pedal, then abandoning it, only to take it up again just before the cadence in major, which is now awaited. ”

“ All these Combination Pedals and Pistons move the draw-stop knobs, showing a valuable index of their position to the organist. There are 5 Adjustable Pistons on the treble key frame (and 5 duplicates on the bass key frame) for special combinations, on Manuals, Pedal, and Couplers. There are 5 pedals to operate the various swell boxes of the lever locking type--a locking movement allowing the performer to leave pedal in any position. The swell pedal for the Pedal stops can be coupled to any of the others. ”

“ Broken pedal straps are the most frequent annoyance. In all modern organs there is a panel above the pedals which will come out and admit the mechanic to the bellows, straps, springs, etc.; but in some old instruments the case is made solid, in which case the workman must do his work from the bottom, turning the organ down so as to get at it. Pedal straps are easily put on; generally with screws at either end. If the pedal squeaks examine the springs or oil and change their position slightly. ”

“ These are, a double escapement, which he is still perfecting, a transposing keyboard, a 'pédalier,' which can be adapted to any piano, thus enabling organists to practise pedal passages without spoiling a piano by coupling the notes, and lastly the 'pédale harmonique,' a pedal which can be used while playing chromatic passages, as it can be applied to the melody alone, or to any specific notes, at the option of the player. ”

“ The last inventions we have to mention concern the pedals, and are due to M. Montal, a blind Parisian pianoforte maker, who, in 1862, exhibited in London (1) a 'Pédale d'expression,' diminishing the range of the hammers instead of shifting them, an expedient now employed by American and German makers, and (2) a 'Pédale de prolongement,' a third pedal, by using which a note or notes may be prolonged after the fingers have quitted the keys. ”

“ The pedestal or pedal-box forms the base of the harp and contains seven pedals both in single and double action harps, the difference being that in the single action the pedals are only capable of raising the strings one semitone by means of a drop into a notch, whereas with the double action the pedals, after a first drop, can by a further drop into a second and lower notch shorten the string a second semitone, whereby each string is made to serve in turn for flat, natural and sharp. ”

“ The pedal movement connected with the dampers removes them collectively from the strings, and so long as the pedal is pressed down the instrument has virtually no dampers, the strings continuing to sound until their vibrations cease. ”

“ When the pedal has nearly reached the top, and the machine is as near a standstill as possible, she steps, still bearing her weight on this left-hand pedal, out on the left side of the machine, putting her right foot over the left foot, and letting the right foot strike the ground first. ”

“ The pedal will now assume a horizontal position, and the power of the leg with the weight of the body and the pull of the arms will all be exerted to force it downward; at this point the crank throw is in the most effective position, and the hardest work is put in. When the pedal begins to follow a backward course, the ankle-action becomes of the greatest value. ”

“ Tie a cord to the pedal of a bicycle, such pedal to be the one that is the nearer to the ground, and, standing behind the back wheel, pull the cord, when, strange as it appears, the machine will come towards you, although everyone would first imagine that the bicycle would move forward. ”

“ There are 32 Couplers operated by Draw-stops, also by Pistons and reversible Pedals. Combination Pistons, 6 to each Manual, and 4 (Pistons) to the Pedals. Four Foot Pistons on all Stops and Couplers; one Foot Piston for Great to Pedal reversible; one Foot Piston for Full Organ. Balanced Swell Pedal to Swell, Choir, and Solo; Balanced Crescendo Pedal. Tremulants to Choir, Swell, and Solo. ”

“ One of the chief arts of the pianist is to sustain a tone throughout the full value of the note which represents it, and this is accomplished either by steady pressure on the key or by the use of the open pedal, frequently misnamed the loud pedal. ”

“ The pedal, even of modern organs, extends upwards only to f'. Since the middle of the last decade, the house of Cavaillé-Coll in Paris, has applied to the larger instruments constructed by it the compass of C to g'. ”

“ The Hope-Jones plan (patented 1889) of providing the combination pedals or pistons with a double touch was a distinct step in advance for it enabled the organist by means of a light touch to move only the manual registers and by means of a very much heavier touch on the combination pedal or piston to operate also his Pedal stops and couplers. Most large organs now built are furnished with a pedal for reversing the position of the Great to Pedal coupler. ”

“ You all use the pedal too much and too often, especially on large, fine concert pianos of the new construction, which, with their heavy stringing, have in themselves a fuller, more vibrating tone; at least you do not let it fall frequently enough, and with precision. You must listen to what you are playing. You do not play for yourselves alone; frequently you play to hearers who are listening for the first time to the pieces you are performing. ”

“ The boom of a pedal Open, or the indistinct murmur of the Bourdon, become very irritating when heard for long. There is no finer effect than the entrance of a weighty pedal at important points in an organ-piece, but there are players who scarcely take their feet from the pedal-board, and so discount the impression. Care should be taken to keep the pedal part fairly near the hands. The upper part of the pedal-board is still too much neglected, and it is common to hear a player extemporising with a humming Bourdon some two octaves away from the hand parts. ”

“ But experience has quite satisfied us that if a pedal loosens (as it not infrequently does) it is as often one as the other, and the reason is that the force which loosens is not the tendency of the pedal to carry the shaft with it, but the downward pressure coming on the shaft itself. ”

“ Their use is so generally felt, that in addition to those attached to the Great Organ stops, there are usually two or three provided for the Swell of organs of even average size. In instruments that have a Pedal Organ of fair dimensions, the Great Organ composition pedals usually do, or at any rate should, act also on those of the Pedal, 'in proportion'; particularly where the latter has any Mutation, Mixture, or 16-feet Reed stops. In such cases a 'Piano Pedal' for reducing the Pedal Organ so that it may be available for use with the Swell or Choir, is very desirable. ”

“ This fact increases to an astonishing extent the resonance and sonority of any chords sounded with the help of the sustaining pedal. It makes the instrument almost orchestral in quality, opening to it an amazing range and variety of effect which Chopin, Liszt, and many piano writers after them, used with supreme and magical skill. The soft pedal opens another range of effects. On the grand piano it shifts the hammers so that they hit but one of the three strings proper to each note in the middle and upper registers. ”

“ The pedal has been called the soul of the piano. I never realized what this meant until I heard Anton Rubinstein, whose playing seemed so marvelous to me that it beggars description. His mastery of the pedal was nothing short of phenomenal. In the last movement of the B flat minor sonata of Chopin he produced pedal effects that can never be described, but for any one who remembers them they will always be treasured as one of the greatest of musical joys. The pedal is the study of a lifetime. It is the most difficult branch of higher pianoforte study. ”

“ This arrangement, which is now used only in upright pianos, where from lack of space or from the oblique direction of the strings the shifting action would not be available, gives a dull, muffled sound, which in small instruments is often so weak as to be practically useless; the shifting pedal, on the contrary, produces a beautiful and delicate quality of tone, arising from the sympathetic vibrations of the unused strings, which is by no means the same thing as the ordinary pianissimo, but is of the greatest service in producing certain special effects. ”

“ The carillon in the “Parochial-Kirche” at Berlin, which is one of the finest in Germany, contains thirty-seven bells; and is provided with a key-board for the hands and with a pedal, which together place at the disposal of the performer a compass of rather more than three octaves. The keys of the manual are metal rods somewhat above a foot in length, and are pressed down with the palms of the hand. The keys of the pedal are of wood; the instrument requires not only great dexterity, but also a considerable physical power. ”

“ This rail is stationary in the square, not moving toward the strings and shortening the stroke as it does in the upright when the soft pedal is used. The soft pedal in the square piano simply interposes a piece of felt between each hammer and its corresponding string or strings. This felt being much softer than that of the hammers, the tone is greatly subdued.
The mechanical arrangement of the dampers is very different in the square from that in the upright. The dampers are above the strings. Instead of springs to hold them against the strings, they simply rest upon them with their weight. ”

“ The old habit of pumping the Swell Pedal with the right foot, and hopping on the pedals with the left, has now probably retired to remote country churches, but the Swell Pedal is still treated too convulsively, and it should be remembered in putting it down that the first inch makes more difference than all the rest put together.
In changing stops it is important to choose the moment between the phrases, or when few keys are down. One finds still a lingering belief that repeated notes should never be struck on the organ. Nothing can be further from the truth. ”