Piano pedals are foot-operated levers at the base of a piano that change the instruments sound in various ways. Modern pianos usually have three pedals, from left to right, the soft pedal (or una corda), the sostenuto pedal, and the sustaining pedal (or damper pedal) . Here is what each pedal does:

• Soft pedal (una corda): This pedal is generally placed leftmost among the pedals and on a grand piano, it shifts the whole action slightly to the right, so that the hammers which normally strike all three strings for each note strike only two of the three, producing a softer sound. On most upright pianos, the soft pedal operates a mechanism that moves the hammers resting position closer to the strings. Since the hammers have less distance to travel, this reduces the speed at which they hit the strings, and hence the volume is reduced, but this does not change tone quality in the way the una corda pedal does on a grand piano.

• Sostenuto pedal: This pedal is rarely required for pieces before the late 20th century and is used to sustain only selected notes, allowing for greater control over the sound. On some pianos, the middle pedal is not a sostenuto pedal but a bass sustain pedal that sustains only the lower notes, or a practice pedal that softens the notes even quieter than a soft pedal.

• Sustaining pedal (damper pedal): This pedal is the one on the furthest right and is the most commonly used pedal on acoustic pianos. When pressed, it raises all the dampers off the strings, allowing them to vibrate freely and produce a sustained sound.

It is important to note that the use of pedals is a relatively advanced technique and beginners do not need to worry much about them.