<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] More Thoughts on Pedaling</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> On 3/23/05 10:22 PM, "Jeff Olson" <jlolso= n@cal.net> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>In other words, why = the bias to an artificially induced softness as opposed to an artificially i= nduced loudness? If one is deemed desirable, why not the other? Imagine instead of shifting the action to strike one string = (as it did originally), the default was one string, and the shift caused two= strings to be struck. Is there any reason, other than subjective preference= , for one to exist and not the other? For that matter, if a mechanically ind= uced softness is desirable, why not employ a "mute" pedal (one tha= t places a strip of felt between hammers and strings)? Surely that would dra= matically alter the timbre (harmonic series emphasis), and thus be a good th= ing? </BLOCKQUOTE> Hi Jeff,     I realize your post is, for the most part, thorough= ly tongue in cheek, but want to take the opportunity to point out that there= were many, many inventive folks who came up with various “effects&#82= 21; pedals, especially in the late 18th and early 19th century. The “m= oderator” pedal (felt between hammers and strings) was very common &#8= 211; almost invariably present in uprights and squares, and often in grands,= for quite some time – without the mechanical “catch” we n= ow see on uprights allowing it to be used as a “practice” or &#8= 220;apartment” stop. IOW, it was intended as an “artistic”= pedal, not one to be used to avoid annoying the rest of the families and th= e neighbors. On the loud side of the spectrum, there was the “Bassoon&= #8221; pedal – a strip of parchment rested lightly on the strings &#82= 11; and in some cases an early version of “honky-tonk” (hard lea= ther strips instead of metal tabs). Along with tambourines and a bass drumst= ick against the soundboard and much more. There’s a great video done b= y Badura-Skoda, available from U Indiana Press, which has performance sample= s of some of these.     While CPE Bach didn’t have an una corda to us= e, he did perform his solo stuff mostly on a clavichord, where he had the po= ssibility of “bebung” (vibrato, created by varying pressure on t= he key and hence the hammer). So maybe Wim’s prof was trying to emulat= e that effect by varying pressure on the pedal <g>.     But the bottom line on an effectively voiced una co= rda is that one is creating an additional range of timbral possibilities, in= addition to what one has put into the hammers in their tre corde position b= y voicing. Additional range of volume as well, especially for fast and furio= us playing where it becomes difficult to achieve an even pp (but that is oft= en called for).     As for half-pedal and any amount of intermediate pe= dal voicing, it’s not just to satisfy the needs of those obsessive ped= alists like Wim’s prof. Anyone using una corda will need a reasonably = even voicing gradient through the range of the pedal play for transitional p= assages, where there are long and gradual crescendi and decrescendi. If you = have the pedal fully depressed for your pp, and need to move gradually to mf= , f and ff, you don’t want to suddenly let up on the pedal. The timbra= l change is too great. So you gradually let up on the pedal. Which is why an= y “surprises” between fully depressed and back to tre corde are,= shall we say, to be avoided. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico </BODY> </HTML>