sustain pedal

Example Sentences

Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.

Novacek’s playing was like a more subtle translation of Josefowicz’s, leaning on the piano’s percussive core, using the sustain pedal for attention-calling washes of resonance and, in the Kurtág, landing some seriously concussive accents.

From Washington Post • Nov. 24, 2019

Then they put screws and playing cards between strings, put duct tape over the dampers, put bricks on the sustain pedal, and other sorts of odd customizations.

From The Verge • Nov. 8, 2019

Without using the sustain pedal, he would hold chords, minor seconds and thirds, with his right hand, then pop single notes really hard with his left hand in the lower registers of the piano.

From New York Times • Jun. 22, 2017

It’s a tom-tom drum tuned very low and held under a piano, with someone holding the sustain pedal down so that it would ring when something hit it.

From New York Times • Mar. 18, 2016

At the beginning, Beethoven directs the performer to hold down the sustain pedal through the whole first movement, so the strings are never damped.

From Slate • Mar. 2, 2010