Piano Pedal Notation P, Pw, with and without *

Question

I'm transcribing a piano reduction of Suppé's Light Cavalry into MuseScore.

This particular score has pedal notation P. *, Pw. *, and then some parts where there's no *. I'm assuming (perhaps incorrectly) that when the * is absent, it means to pedal until the next mark. However, I'm not sure what Pw. means: Even if MuseScore doesn't support it, I'd like to know for my own understanding.

I looked at two other piano reductions of the score, and unfortunately, they have no pedal notation at all.

Maybe this is a hint--none of the Pw. markings are preceded by an asterisk (*). At this point, I suspect Pw. means to lift and put down the pedal very quickly (a la the -^- marking in more modern pedal notation), but I need proof this hypothesis is correct. — Dekkadeci, Jun 06 '19 at 05:13

Camille Goudeseune · Accepted Answer · 2020-01-03T18:07:23.683

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Following the hint in Dekkadeci's comment, if this excerpt is from a German publisher, Pw may mean Pedal wieder or Pedal wiederdrücken "pedal again (push)," meaning to momentarily release the pedal.

Edit: Rosie F's commented suggestion Pedalwechsel "a change of pedal" is more likely, because that word is actually used in German textbooks.

The period after Pw, just like the one after P, suggests an abbreviation of a word.
Pw is easier to typeset and easier to read than an asterisk crammed against a P.
This meaning agrees with the musical context, letting certain chords ring while also letting the sixteenth note horses gallop staccato.

The notation is certainly archaic. I'm not surprised that MuseScore omits it.

edited Jan 03 '20 at 18:07

answered Jun 06 '19 at 16:26

Camille Goudeseune

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The publisher is Braunschweig, circa 1920, and the arranger is Schultze-Biesantz... Probably German. :) – Nevin Williams Jun 06 '19 at 18:58
Most of the scores I've been transcribing have been public domain, and pedal notation I've encountered has been the archaic "Ped.....*" style. Am I right to suppose that "Ped....Ped...Ped....*" would be the same as "P.....Pw......Pw....*", and also "|__/\\___/\\__|" ? – Nevin Williams Jun 06 '19 at 19:10
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Yes. It couldn't mean "pedal harder!" – Camille Goudeseune Jun 06 '19 at 19:14
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Or Pedalwechseln, change pedal? – Rosie F Jan 02 '20 at 12:50

Nevin Williams · Answer 2 · 2019-06-07T00:03:04.110

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Re-try:

Based on the responses and comments, here's how I notated the pedal for the above the measures in modern notation:

edited Jun 07 '19 at 00:03

answered Jun 06 '19 at 20:04

Nevin Williams

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Piano Pedal Notation P, Pw, with and without *

2 Answers2