Sustain Pedal - Specifying Pedaling in Musical Compositions

Specifying Pedaling in Musical Compositions

Appropriate use of the pedal is often left to the musician's discretion, but composers and music editors also use pedal marks to notate it. The most common symbol for this is a horizontal line below the grand staff, which lifts up and down with the pedal. An alternative (and older) notation is the use of indicating where the sustain pedal should be depressed, and an asterisk showing where it should be lifted (see Moonlight Sonata for a famous example). Occasionally there is a general direction at the start of a movement instructing that the sustain pedal be applied continuously throughout. This may be marked with senza sordini ("without dampers"), or similar wording.

In General MIDI, the sustain pedal information is controlled by Control Change number 64 (CC 64).