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Home » piano chord maker » What are the pedals on a piano for? ?

What are the pedals on a piano for? ?

Q. I should know this and I feel stupid for asking, but really? What are the pedals for? I'm madly curious.

A. Right pedal is called the damper - is LIFTS the dampers off the strings, allowing them to continue to sound as long as energy and physisc will allow. Used well, it allows for a luch blend, Used poorly - a blurred mess.

The left pedal makes everything softer. In a grand piano, it shifts the hammers OVER so they hit 2 instead on 3 strings per note, in most areas of the piano. On a upright, it move the hammers closer - less swing less volume.

The middle pedal? Well, some pianos have none. On a grand, the will sustain the FIRST thing you catch with it - often used to sustain a bass octaves as you change chords over it, or a treble chord as you then play independently in the bass. Hardest to explain, hardest to use. In a upright, it only works in the lower half ( less) of the piano. ON some pianos, it moves a practice mute into play - it makes the entire piano VERY quiet - great for late-nite practice in an apartment.

This ia a SUPERFICIAL explanation - there are more uses, and more exceptions - and many quirks of certain makers. I hope at least this overview helped.

Original Question

Can piano sheet music be played on the organ? I have a wedding coming up and I need to purcase sheet music...?
Q.

A. Yes and no. [And for the purpose of answering this question, I'm going to assume that you're speaking of a pipe organ and not a Hammond (or electronic).] Are the notes the same? Yes. So in theory you can. But, in reality playing piano music on organ can be either extremely difficult or impossible. There are several reasons for this:

1) The piano has a sustain pedal (and not to mention 88 keys) making it possible to play very smoothly without having to stay in contact with the keys. Make sense? I'll explain it this way: If I play a key on a piano and do not remove my finger from it, it will continue to sound but will immediately begin to decay (or decrease in volume until there is nothing). If I play a single key on a piano and remove my finger immediately, the note will continue to sound if my foot is on the "sustain" pedal (but will actually still decay).

However, there is no sustain pedal on the organ (though, there is a form of sustain that is built into it). The note will sound (or sustain) and not decay as long as my finger (or foot) holds the key. But, when I remove my finger from the key the note immediately stops as there is no sustain pedal.

Because of this it is possible to make huge leaps on piano without a break in the melody since your hand does not have to stay in contact with the keyboard to sustain sound...the sustain pedal takes care of that. On the organ your fingers are in constant contact with the keyboard, there are not a lot of leaps but a lot of what we organist have come to call "finger substitutions". I'll spare you an explanation of that. If there are "leaps" in a piece of organ music, it is frowned upon and considered too pianistic because it's impossible to play on organ.

[a side note: As a result there are classical organ pieces that are wonderful because the composer was an organist and understood the instruments limits, and others that are horrible because the composer had no idea what was playable on the instrument.]

Which reminds me of another point.

2) The piano is built for making huge leaps and "banging". The keyboard is weighted, wide (88 keys), and touch sensative (if you hit it hard it'll sound loudly, if you touch it softly...etc). If you bang on an organ, you will likely break the keys. It was made for chords and finger work...it's short with only 61 keys. It usually has 3 keyboards or manuals (sometimes more, but never less than 2) identified as the Swell, Great, and Positiv...depending on the nationality of the maker and a pedal board which has 32 notes.

If you wanted to do it the other way around and play organ music on piano you'd need an additional person in order to play the pedal part which would've normally been played with your feet on the organ. But, it still wouldn't sound right as sound decays on the piano.

There are some pieces of literature that are playable on both the piano and organ. But, these are hymns or chorals which were designed specifically to be playable on both. But, even then you have to play them differently.

So for this reason most piano music is impossible to play on organ.

BOTTOM LINE:

If there were a piece of music made for piano that you wanted played on organ you would have to do one of two things:

1) Go back to the music store to see if the same piece of music is available for organ.
2) Have the organist arrange the music for organ. This can be extttrrrreeemmmmely difficult and can take anywhere from a few minutes, weeks, or never depending on the music. Most organist don't want the hassle of having to sit down and rewrite or arrange a piece of music for organ. It may just be impossible to do. And it's really not fair to the organist...we just want to play.

Therefore, if you can't find a piece of music that's been written or arranged for organ, I would strongly advise you to find another piece of music that is.

Original Question

What's a good keyboard for a beginner?
Q. Does anyone know a good keyboard for under $500. I'm 14 and want to become a singer/songwriter actor and need to learn an instrument. I love keyboard/Piano and Guitar but I'm guessing Keyboard is easier, anyway could you give me some info like how long it takes to learn and get good. THIS MEANS A LOT TO ME, no rude comments, thanks in advance

A. At your price range and as a complete (ambitious) beginner, you'd be wise to first try a keyboard as you'd find the guitar a bit more challenging as far as getting to play 'clean' notes and combinations from the start.

Here's a list of makers to look for: Casio; Korg; Williams and Yamaha. There are as well: Alesis; Kawai; Kurzweil; Rhodes and Roland. These are a bit more pricey and some models depend upon additional amplification and power monitors (speaker systems) to get all they were designed for out of them. Avoid them, not only because of the expense, but they are really intended for stage and studio use.

Kawai (top piano makers) and Williams offer up digital pianos for the pure piano player in mind, having far less features as other makes when it comes to voices (instrument samplings) and accompaniments (band, orchestra, background music, etc.) programs. Both are fine examples.

Get a keyboard with at least a 61-key layout for the 5 octave playing range most anyone can be comfortable with for nearly all the music out there. And one with a 76 key is really all anyone would need for all the music you can come up with over the years to come. Having to have a full 88 keyboard only applies for those who are already been playing for several years, OR, is required by certain instructors to become familiar with 'full orchestral' piano expression and support in music training.

Most starter keyboard will come with learning aids as lighted keys, software instruction and manuals to get anyone started out. As well, outputs (jacks) for headphones for the times you want ot play without disturbing anyone else around. Also, better keyboards will provide pedal (ad-on) input effects (as sustain and mute) to add to the 'piano' feature of the digital keyboard. Touch sensitive features as well to simulate ''weighted' keys' if the keyboard doesn't come (usually the 88's will) with them as part of the mechanical construction to make it feel like a real, 'acoustic' piano.

p.s.: Oh, and it will take a good year to discover if one can accomplish any instrument on the average, and you'd know in a few months if you are going to stick with it. There are books on piano chords and learning guides (CD and DVD) you should get as well when you purchase the keyboard.

Get to a music store, OR a piano dealer, that carries the keyboards mentioned and not a department store. Take someone with you who may already be a piano player to help make a decision and try out everything you can get your hands on.

Original Question




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Title : What are the pedals on a piano for? ?
Description : Q. I should know this and I feel stupid for asking, but really? What are the pedals for? I'm madly curious. A. Right pedal is called t...

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