Half pedal and flutter pedal – free course

The pedal is not an on/off switch. Between up and down there is a whole range of depths, and advanced pianists use them the way a painter uses shades of grey.

Depths of pedal

Full pedal: dampers completely raised, maximum resonance.
Half pedal (or quarter pedal): the dampers barely brush the strings. They let a little resonance through without the full halo. Ideal for giving roundness to a fast passage or to Classical music (Mozart, Haydn) without blurring it.

The partial change

A partial release of the pedal (lift halfway and immediately go down again) mostly silences the treble and middle strings, whose vibrations are weaker, while the very energetic bass strings keep sounding a little. This lets you keep a bass note while clearing the harmonies changing above.

M:4/4
L:1/4
Q:1/4=60
%%staves {RH LH}
V:RH clef=treble
V:LH clef=bass
[V:RH] "_Ped."e d c B | c d e2 |]
[V:LH] [C,,C,]4- | [C,,C,]4 |]

In this example the low bass is held (by the hand, then by the pedal) while the melody passes through non-chord notes: make a half change on each beat to clear the melody while keeping the bass.

Flutter pedal

A series of small, fast, partial movements of the foot, like a shiver. It gradually "thins out" a held chord, creates diminuendos the fingers alone cannot make, or softens a long fast scale while keeping a light mist. It is common in Debussy, Ravel and Liszt.

Exercise

Play a low C major chord ff with the pedal down, then release your hands.
Raise the pedal very slowly: find the exact point where the dampers touch the strings. This point differs on every piano; it is your reference.
Replay the chord and make quick vibrations around that point: the sound fades gradually, in a diminuendo.
Play a fast two-octave scale with a quarter pedal: it should stay clear but warmer.

Common mistakes:

Thinking half pedal is a fixed "setting": it depends on each instrument and must be found by ear.
Using half pedal everywhere out of fear: sometimes a full, frank pedal is exactly what is needed.

Tip: on a digital piano, check that your pedal is "continuous" (not a simple switch) and that the instrument supports half-pedalling; otherwise these techniques are impossible and you will have to discover them on an acoustic piano.