It is also known as the soft pedal, as it is used to enhance the sound of notes that are played softly. The una corda is the left pedal of the piano. This keeps your notes from blending into one another unintentionally. When you release the key, the damper falls and mutes the string, which stops it from vibrating past the initial short note.

When you press the key, both the hammer and damper are raised. In addition to the hammer, a cloth or felt damper also sits over the strings of the piano. The harder you press a key, the more sharply the hammer will strike the string, and the louder the note will be. When you press a key, the hammer rises and then falls to strike a string that is tuned to a certain musical note. These keys can be made of a variety of materials, though the white keys were once made almost exclusively of ivory.Įach of the keys on a piano keyboard is attached to a small wooden hammer covered in felt. Each acoustic piano contains a set of up to 88 black and white keys that you press in order to produce the music of the piano. The keyboard is perhaps the most recognizable part of any piano. Knowing these can help you understand the instrument more fully, making you a better player. Every acoustic piano, from older upright to brand new concert grand have certain parts in common. Whether you’re a piano enthusiast, beginner player, or hoping to have a career performing maintenance on these fantastic instruments, it’s important to understand the basic parts of a piano.

Parts of a piano