Sustain pedal

A sustain pedal is the most commonly used pedal in a modern piano. It is typically the rightmost of two or three pedals. When pressed, the sustain pedal "sustains" all the damped strings on the piano by moving all the dampers away from the strings and allowing them to vibrate freely. All notes played will continue to sound until the vibration naturally ceases, or until the pedal is released.

This lets the pianist sustain notes that would otherwise be out of reach, for instance in accompanying chords, and accomplish legato passages (smoothly connected notes) that would otherwise have no possible fingering. Pressing the sustain pedal also causes all the strings to vibrate sympathetically with whichever notes are being played, which greatly enriches the piano's tone.

Terminology

It is also called a sustaining pedal (also called damper pedal, loud pedal, or open pedal)

History

A device similar to the sustain pedal in effect was invented by the piano pioneer Gottfried Silbermann; it was operated by the player's hands rather than a pedal. A later builder, Johann Andreas Stein, may have been the first to allow the player to lift the dampers while still playing; his device was controlled by a knee lever.

Until the onset of the Romantic era in music, the sustain pedal was considered a special effect, used only in particular circumstances. Only with the Romantics did a fairly constant use of the pedal come to be regarded as an essential element of piano sound.