Pedal Assignment Final

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THE ROMANTIC PERIOD

Piano Pedals and Their Effect on Composition

During the Romantic period

By: Kieran Dale

Teacher: Mr Hume



HISTORY OF THE PEDAL

The inventor of the piano himself, Bartolomeo Cristofori, first integrated the

pedal into the piano in 1722, but this pedal was nothing like the pedals we areused to today. Firstly, it was operated by your hand, so that would mean a pianist

would have to stop playing one hand to use it, or hire an op erator who would do

it for you. This was an una corda pedal (see Three Pedals and their Uses). This,as he found, was very impractical and was modified to be operated by the knee.

The next alteration came in the form of the most significant pedal to Romanticmusic composers. Its rise to prominence during the Romantic period was

important because of the notable difference between Classical and Romanticmusic. This was the sustain pedal, invented by Gottfried Silbermann, and this

too was not a foot pedal. This was a contributing factor in its early stage of

development, as it was not very popular and not often used.

The middle pedal* was first featured in Boisselot & Sonspianos, during the mid-

1800s, and while not usually used, many Romantic composers saw the potentialin using this pedal to complement their music. These composers include Claude

Debussy, composer of the famous piece Clair

de Lune (See Figure C).

THREE PEDALS AND THEIR USES

On grand pianos, there are usually threepedals. They all have different functions, and

are used extensively in Romantic music.

Una Corda Literally in Italian this means one string, which probably is due to

the fact that it shifts the hammer which strikes the strings so instead of hittingthree strings as it would usually on a grand piano, it makes the hammer only hit

one, making a softer sound. On an upright piano, the

hammer only hits one string so pressing the Una Cordapedal doesnt shift the hammer to the left, but positions

it closer to the strings so the strings cannot be hit with

the full force.

To signify the use of this pedal, the words una cordaare placed above the stave, and to signify the release of the pedal, the words tre

corde (meaning three strings) are used.(See Figure A).

* The middle pedal that is being referred to is the Sostenuto pedal, which most Romantic

composers would have. Today, that pedal would most likely be a practice pedal, because that pedal is seldom used, and is only seen regularly on old American grand pianos.





THE PEDALS EFFECT ON COMPOSITION

Composers in the Romantic period also brought about distinct changes in thebass part of a piano composition. While a Classical piece would use mostly block

chords, Romantic composers sought to spread out these chords the result was

increasing usage of broken chords. These provided rhythmic interest andenriched the harmonics of a piece. Why the pedal was important in this is

because the sustain pedal could sustain what couldnt be sustained by a single

hand. This is particularly evident in ClaudeDebussys Clair de Lune, Claude being a

famous late-Romantic to early twentieth-century music composer (See Figure C).

The pedal also created a resonant effect that

was not evident in the Classical period. Many

composers wished to create flowing sounds

imitative of something they are trying tocapture within their song. For example, Ludwig Van Beethovens Moonlight

Sonata. Beethoven includes very low bass notes and a melody that is a recurring

broken chord pattern sustained by the pedal. Beethoven wishes to create flowing

sounds, which he described as voices from a vault.

The sustain pedal is not the only pedal that was used during the Romantic

period. The una corda pedal, which wasnt used extensively in the Classical

period, saw a few uses by composers, one of the most notable of these being in

the Piano Sonata No.28, Op.101 by Ludwig Van Beethoven (See Figure A). This

pedal made nuanced dynamics softer sounds could be made easily.

The blurring effect was also used by composers tocreate unique tone colours, which wasnt seen in

the Classical or the Baroque period. (See Figure C).

THE PEDALS EFFECT ON MUSIC TODAY

These pedal effects are all due to the advancements of engineering and

technology, which is ironic, because it gives composers greater range to expressthemselves. The pianosinner mechanics developed and give way to a period

where the evocation of emotion was the aim of all Romantic composers, who

sought to create musical tension to achieve a corresponding intensification of

response through passionate music rich in dynamic and modulation. This was

helped by the effects of the pedals, which became instrumental tools in their

composition. The pedal was pivotal in the progression of Romantic music to

today.



Fig

r ¡ A Pi Sonat a No. 28, Opus 101 by Lu wi Van Beethoven

Use of Una Corda pedal in this ex erpt .

Mezza v oce Subdued volu e

co¢ grand

expressione

with lots of

expression

Adagio

S ost enuto slow

and sust ained.

Appassionato e

con mo£

to

sent imento

passionat e with lots of feeling Highlight ed is

the use of the

Una Corda pedalt o sof t en thedynami s.

Pedal sign,

followed by anast eris t oindi at e release

of pedal.

Tutt e le corde The Una Corda pedal is

released (lit erally all the st rings

Low bass

not es played

by lef t hand

joining with

modulatingright hand.



Fig¤

r¥

B Sonat a No. 14 Opus 27 oonlight Sonat a By: Ludwig Van

Beethoven. This ex erpt shows the use of broken chords and pedal throughout

the whole piece.

Senza S ordino Without the mut e.This meant play with sust ain

pedal throughout the whole piece.

Sempre The samethroughout .

pp played very

quiet ly.

Very low bass not es complementing

right hand melody.

Melody is consist ed of brokenchords, this being a C minor 2nd

inversion chord repeat ed.

Modulation in

melody adding

t o harmonies,

accentuat ed by

the blur effect

of the sust ainpedal.





BIBLIOGRAPHY

Int ernet Sit es

Richard Fuller (2010) Romant ic Music 1850-1900 (online), Place of Publication

Unknown. Available from: htt p://www.rpf uller.com/gcse/music/romantic.ht ml

(Accessed 24thMarch, 2010)

Barbara A. Ehrlich (2010) Keyboard Technique Sust aining Pedal in Romant ic

Period Music (online), E ineArticles. Available from:

htt p://ezinearticles.com/?Keyboard-Technique---Sust aining-Pedal-in-Romantic-

Period-Music&id=3157919 (Accessed on 23rd March, 2010)

Brandy Kraemer (2009) Piano F oot Pedals: An Illust rat ed Walk -T hr ough (online),

Place of Publication Unknown, About .com: Piano. Available from:

htt p://piano.about .com/od/partsof thepiano/ss/3_pedals.ht m (Accessed 22nd

March, 2010)

David Robinson (2010) T he Bizarre History of the Piano Pedals (online), Place of

Publication Unknown, About .com: Piano. Available

from:htt p://piano.about .com/od/partsof thepiano/a/piano_pedal_hist ory.ht m

(Accessed 22nd March, 2010)

Wik ipedia (2010) Sust ain Pedal (online), Place of Publication Unknown,

Wik ipedia. Available from: htt p://en.wik ipedia.org/wik i/Sust ain_pedal

(Accessed 24thMarch, 2010)

Book s

Wade-Matthews, Max (2010), T he Enc y cl o paedia of Music, Southwat er

Publishing, Sydney.

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Pedal Assignment Final