Analysis of the part-pedaling effect in the piano

Abstract

This letter reports basic acoustic phenomena related to part-pedaling in the piano. With part-pedaling, the piano tone can be divided into three distinct time intervals: initial free vibration, damper-string interaction, and final free vibration. Varying the distance of the damper from the string, the acoustic signal and the damper acceleration were measured for several piano tones. During the damper-string interaction, the piano tone decay is rapid and the timbre of the tone is affected by the nonlinear amplitude limitation of the string motion. During the final free decay, the string continues to vibrate freely with a lower decay rate.