Grand pianos contain three pedals: sustain, sostenuto, and una corda. The sostenuto pedal allows only select notes to ring out. The una corda pedal shifts the hammers on the piano so that they strike only one or two of the strings rather than all three. The result is a muffled or softer sound.

The sustain pedal — also called the loud pedal, the forte pedal, or the damper pedal — has the widest applications in music. This pedal creates a full-bodied tone and allows pianists to play beautiful legato phrases.

On a grand piano, the sustain pedal is the pedal farthest to the right. It should be played with the ball of the foot while the heel rests comfortably on the floor. FIGURE 4-10 shows you the order of all three pedals on the grand piano.

Pedaling on the sustain pedal comes down to three words: before, with, or after. Sometimes, you will want to anticipate your pedaling; you will press the pedal before you strike the keys. Other times, you will want to press the pedal as you strike the keys. Last, pianists will often strike the keys and then press the pedal; this is called syncopated pedaling. How do you know when to use each technique? It all depends on context, and in some cases, the composer's or songwriter's instructions. The bottom line is clarity. Always listen for this when you play.

FIGURE 4-10: Una Corda, Sostenuto, and Sustain Pedals

In written music, pedaling is indicated below the grand staff. There are different symbols used to denote pedaling. Sometimes, the abbreviation “Ped.” is used to indicate sustain. This is followed by an oversized asterisk, which tells you to lift up on the pedal. The use of “Ped.” and brackets is also common. More and more, publishers are simply using brackets without the “Ped.” abbreviation. This book uses brackets almost exclusively. For intricate pedaling, a fancier method is employed but this will be explained to you later. FIGURE 4-11 shows you what the basic bracket method looks like.

FIGURE 4-11: Pedaling Brackets

Blues styles like boogie-woogie and early rock-n-roll rarely use pedaling because the music is percussive and fast. Adding the sustain pedal to fast tempos often results in a washy mess. Pedaling is primarily used to add breadth and nuance to slow or sparse passages; chords, arpeggios, and melodic patterns all benefit from the sustain pedal. Be careful, however, when using the sustain pedal on music that contains lots of fast runs or complex rhythms. It can be used in these settings, but again, clarity must come first.

In this book, when pedaling is indicated on chords, you may either depress the pedal just after you strike the chord or while you strike the chord. For melodic patterns, you may depress the pedal just before the pattern or as you play the first note. It's important to listen to the way the pedal affects the flow of the music. The pedal should make each phrase sound rich and colorful. If it muddies up the sound, you need to improve your timing or omit the pedaling altogether.