Piano Damper Pedal

This is a tutorial on some of the special points about the use of the piano’s damper pedal.

Pushing down the right pedal of a piano lifts the dampers off the strings so they ring freely.

There are several points along this up and down traveling of which to be aware.

______ 1. The top, when the pedal hits the wood.

______ 2. Where the dampers begin to lift off the strings.

25% down

50% down

75% down

______ 3. Where the dampers have all cleared the strings.

______ 4. The very bottom of travel.

The distances will vary from piano to piano. But the attentive pianist will feel and hear these positions as soon as she/he sits down to play.

  • Use the damper pedal between the two inner points (2. and 3.) to avoid clunking.
  • Listen to the sound with the pedal pushed down half-way; 25%, 75%, 10%, 90% etc.
  • Slowly lift the pedal (float off) to adjust the speed of dampening.
  • Often bass notes may tend to ring with more strength, because of the momentum of the bigger strings. So you can float off treble notes while the bass notes ring through.
  • Hold down a consonant chord while the pedal is holding a cacophony. Then slowly lift the foot off the pedal and hear the sound resolve to the held chord.

Following is a video showing these ideas:

Joshua Bell in the subway

There is a well-circulated story about an experiment that had violinist Joshua Bell playing Bach suites in a New York subway. This got very little crowd response, and only $32, which disappointed many readers of the story. This was an interesting experiment. However, many potentially wonderful ramifications are overlooked in analyses.

You will never know how many people appreciated the music and even were inspired. They were there to catch a subway and stopping was simply not an option; but they still heard the music; and even a little can make an impression. Not everyone likes classical music, violin, or street musicians of any kind; yet this may have opened them up to something new. Still others may have recognized Bell, and Bach, but did not want to interrupt or seem foolish: “what would I say to Joshua Bell?”

Outer recognition, applause and money are parts of the business of music; but not the only parts.

Music and education

Music is a primary subject. It is one of the creative areas in which people take an interest, because they like it and see it as healthy, invigorating, worthwhile, inspiring, wonderful; not because it is a step to something else.

The arts, athletics and all creative areas attract kids and adults because they are enjoyable; they are good to do; good for life. And music provides all the mind-body coordination of sports, without the bodily danger!

While research shows that studying music can strengthen the mind in other subjects, most people want to learn music just because they love music and find it interesting, not for some other reason. So, I am willing to study math, English and history, and work at getting good grades in order to be a better and more successful musician. The musical interest is first and drives the desire to be good in other subjects, so I can get scholarships, get into a better college, better job or whatever.

Music is not in schools to help academic scores, academics are in school to help kids be better musicians and improve growth in all creative areas.

The Star Of The East

In the West there is a Bible story of wise men, magi, or kings, following the star of the East to the baby Jesus. In the East, the phrase “the star of the East” refers to the light seen in deep meditation, helping to direct one’s focus to greater spiritual understanding.

The Star Of The East, musically follows the magi over the sand dunes on their journey; or your own journey from inspiration to realization. Enjoy this slide show of cards and stamps from my wife’s wonderful company, Stampendous, with The Star Of The East played by Kevin Weed. Find videos and the whole story at: http://bit.ly/TheStarOfTheEast

Happy Epiphany!

20 Pianos in 2 min. 30 sec.

“Flurry” by Kevin Weed. Played on the 20 pianos in Pacific Symphony’s, “O.C. Can U Play?”