soft, una corda pedal

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Dave Nereson" <dnereson@dimensional.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: October 26, 2001 1:44 AM
Subject: soft, una corda pedal


> > I press that left pedal, all the keys are loose - see them move!" Well,
> > lady, your una corda pedal is a bit squeaky, but it seems to function
> > reasonably well
>
> The left pedal on a grand came to be called the "una corda" pedal since it
> shifted the action so that the hammers would hit only one (una) rather
than
> both strings of the unison (pianos had two-string unisons back then).  But
> now that they have three-string unisons, "due cordi" would be more correct
> ("two strings").  But on a vertical, when the left pedal is used, all
three
> strings (two in the bass, of course) are still struck, so "soft pedal" is
> more correct than "una corda".
------------------------------------------------


This is mostly, though not exclusively, the case. There have been vertical
pianos--indeed, there still is at least one being built in Japan--using an
action shift. The damper mechanism is mounted on a separate, stationary rail
and the action is mounted on a full keyframe which, like that of the grand,
shifts to the right as the pedal is actuated.

Del