Using the Sustain Pedal
One foot, one pedal, an enormous amount of control over how connected and rich your playing sounds.
What the pedal does
The right pedal is the sustain (or damper) pedal. Normally, felt dampers rest against the strings and mute them the instant you release a key. Press the sustain pedal and those dampers lift away from every string, so notes keep ringing even after your fingers let go — letting you connect notes and blend harmony far more smoothly than fingers alone allow.
The golden rule: change after, not with
The single most important pedal technique: lift and re-press the pedal right after playing a new chord, not at the same moment as it. That quick "flick" clears out the previous chord's ringing strings the instant the new one sounds, keeping harmonies clean instead of blurring adjacent chords together into a muddy wash.
Common questions
What does the sustain pedal do?
It lifts the dampers off every string so notes keep ringing after the keys are released, letting harmony blend smoothly.
When should you change the pedal?
Right after a new chord sounds, not with it — this clears the old harmony without cutting off the new chord.
What happens if you change the pedal with the chord instead of after it?
The old and new harmonies blur together into a muddy wash since the previous chord's strings never fully stop ringing.
Do all pianos have a sustain pedal?
Nearly all acoustic and digital pianos do, usually alongside a soft pedal and sometimes a sostenuto pedal too.
Hear clean pedaling in action
Melody Monkey's piano lessons demonstrate proper pedal timing with real audio examples.
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