You probably know that pianos generally have 3 pedals. You may have seen pianos with only 2 pedals (mostly older European and Asian pianos). But have you seen any pianos with 4 pedals? Believe it or not, there are pianos with 4 pedals and it’s very interesting how this works.
One example is the piano company Stuart & Sons from Australia which builds pianos with 4 pedals. Before we get into what the fourth pedal does, let’s do a quick review of the functions of the standard 3 pedals.
The right pedal (the sustain or damper pedal) enables all the notes to carry their sound even after you lift your hands off the keys. Virtually all modern pianos (even digital pianos) have this pedal and your piano almost certainly has one.
The left pedal (the soft pedal or una corda pedal) shifts the action to the side slightly – which you can actually see on grand pianos when you depress the pedal. The hammers strike only two of the three strings directly producing a more mellow tone.
The middle pedal is a selective hold (sostenuto) pedal in that it only holds the dampers up for the keys you press and hold down just before pressing down the middle pedal. Yet, any additional notes you play after, will not sustain without holding the keys down. If this sounds confusing you can watch my video on What Does the Middle Pedal on a Piano Do?
The above descriptions of all these pedals pertain to the actions on grand pianos. Upright pianos have pedals that typically don’t have the same functions as pedals on grand pianos with the exception of the damper or sustain pedal on the right.
On upright pianos, the right (damper) pedal still functions the same as they do on grand pianos in that it holds up the dampers on all notes allowing all notes to sustain without holding down the keys. The middle pedal on a upright pianos is typically a practice pedal which places felt over the strings for quiet playing. Some middle pedals on upright pianos sustain only low notes which mimics the use of sostenuto pedals (middle pedals) on grand pianos. The left pedal though is where things get really interesting.
The left pedal on upright pianos sets the hammers closer to the strings instead of shifting the action to only strike two of the three strings as in grand pianos. This doesn’t change tone, but it does change the touch of the piano making it harder to play loud because it lessens the momentum of the strike of the hammers. This is what the fourth pedal does on Stuart & Sons pianos.
This may be useful because you still have the availability of the una corda pedal for tonal change, but you also can change the response of the action making it easier to play softly with the fourth pedal. While not a requirement for your music, but it’s a nice option to have.
Thanks again for joining us here at Living Pianos. If you have any questions about this topic or any others, please contact us directly: Info@LivingPianos.com (949) 244-3729