History
A device similar to the damper pedal in effect was invented by the piano pioneer Gottfried Silbermann; it was operated by the player's hands rather than a pedal. A later eminent early builder, Johann Andreas Stein, may have been the first to allow the player to lift the dampers while still playing; his device was controlled by a knee lever.
Until the onset of the Romantic era in music, the damper pedal was considered a special effect, used only in particular circumstances (see Piano history and musical performance). Only with the Romantics did a fairly constant use of the pedal come to be regarded as an essential element of piano sound.
Read more about this topic: Sustain Pedal
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