Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange
Musical Practice and Performance Stack Exchange

Questions tagged [sustain]

Sustain means to hold a note for a prolonged period of time. Sustain may also refer to the sustain pedal on the piano.

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How long do you hold a fermata?

I am new to piano and just downloaded this book, it seems simple enough for a beginner like me but there is a symbol that I don't really understand, a fermata. Googling I see I am supposed to hold that note sometimes as long as double the original…
Ryan
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Is it important to have three pedals on a digital piano?

My son (7 y/o) is learning piano. Currently, he is using my crappy keyboard I bought over 20 years ago. I am looking at buying him a digital piano with proper key weightings and key velocity (something my keyboard lacks). My question is: do I need…
dave
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Is there piano notation for finger sustained notes (as opposed to pedal sustain)?

In piano music how does one indicate that sequential notes in the bass clef are to be sustained with the fingers, not using the sustain pedal? For example, suppose I have the three sequential quarter notes C, E, G defining a C chord in 3/4 time in…
Robert
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How can you sustain a long note on electric guitar smoothly?

Sometimes a song calls for a very long sustained note, or a long sustaining chord, such that the length of the note is beyond what you can expect a guitar to naturally sustain, let alone sustain without its quality changing from loss of kinetic…
Primordial_Hamster
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When to let go of the sustain pedal?

So I recently upgraded from an (old) electric keyboard to an actual piano, and to no surprise, the music sounds a lot better with the sustain pedal pressed down. But the problem comes due to the fact that this thing obviously did not exist on my old…
user12367
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Pedaling in Satie's Gymnopedie #1

I'm an adult piano novice learning Satie's Gymnopedie No. 1. The edition I'm working with has no pedal markings. You can see the score here: http://javanese.imslp.info/files/imglnks/usimg/3/38/IMSLP01599-Satie_Gymnopedies.pdf For most of the piece,…
chapka
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Piano sustains when the pedal is not pressed

I noticed this on a piano I played recently - a small amount of sustain with no pedal and much more with it pressed. It wasn't unpleasant, actually, but is it likely to be: A feature of the piano A serious flaw in the piano Something minor that a…
Mr. Boy
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Electronic device that introduces harmonic overtones

I play electric guitar but love the sound of violin. I have read articles where violins have been placed under spectral analysis and show rich overtones of harmonics. Is there any device I can use to duplicate this? I have tried adding octavers and…
smiley
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Why doesn't a piano have dampers in the upper register?

An acoustic piano has dampers that mute the strings when a pressed key is released. Pressing (and holding) the sustain pedal lifts the dampers, allowing the strings to continue ringing after keys are released. What I'm calling the upper register of…
Elements in Space
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Flattening pedal information in Midi

I've got a midi file that was recorded on a Yamaha keyboard, and I'm trying to import it into LMMS. However, as far as I can tell, LMMS ignores pedal information when importing MIDI and it sounds terrible. I'm wondering, are there any other tools…
jmite
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MIDI Recording: Release of Sustain Pedal kills the key sound

TLDR: When recording my piano over MIDI, any time I release the sustain pedal, the played keys get killed off immediately, which doesn't happen on my Clavinova. What's the cause? I recently built a setup to finally record all my songs which I did…
DinoMFX
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How does a Guitar Sustainer Clamp work?

I've encountered a few stores peddling sustainer clamps, and am absolutely blown away by the idea that they could do anything at all. Can a solid metal clamp on the headstock of a guitar or bass guitar really add sustain to the notes? [How] Do they…
Dedwards
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Sustained note out of tune with short note

I have a Schecter C1 Classic with D'dario XL EJ22 strings, down tuned to dropped A# (A#, F, A#, D#, G, C). The strings are relatively new, but broken in (a couple of weeks old, and I don't play every day). I use a BOSS TU-3 to tune it. When I tune…
skrrgwasme
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How to remove piano pedal bracket edges on both sides?

In a printed score book, the first 4 bars of a score establish a pedalling pattern and the pedal line then ends with "simile" to not overcrowd the score with all the same pedal pattern. Later in the piece a pedal line just starts at the end of a bar…
Andreas N
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Uneven sustain in upright piano

I have a upright piano and its sustain pedal did not work for a long time (you have to press very hard to get a bit of sustain), and the cause is found to be three loose screws that fix the pedal in place, which allows it to move without moving the…
Joy Jin
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