Voetpedalen piano: A Rope, Sustained, Sustainpedaal
1. Una Corda foot pedal
The Una Corda pedal is the left pedal and is played with the left foot. It's also known as the 'soft pedal'. The Una Corda pedal is used to strengthen soft played notes. The soft pedal should be used with notes that are already soft played and do not produce the desired effect on louder notes. The Una Corda was the first mechanism to adjust the sound of the piano and was originally hand operated. It was invented in 1722 by Bartolomeo Cristofori and quickly became a standard addition to the piano. Most treble attached to two or three strings. The Una Corda shifts the strings so that the hammers touch only one or two of them, creating a softened sound. Some bass keys are only connected to a single set. In this case, the pedal makes a shift so that the hammer ends up on a less used part of the string. In piano notation, the use of the soft pedal begins with the words Una Corda (meaning “a sequence”) and is released by the words tre corde (meaning “three series”). Most upright pianos use a “piano” pedal instead of a real Una Corda pedal. The piano pedal brings the hammers closer to the strings, preventing them from hitting full force. This produces a similar effect on volume to the original Una Corda.
