Given that the middle pedal, when there is a middle one, has a very different use on each side of the Atlantic - sustain on the left, practice on the right- and it features in some answers on this site, it would be good to find out what sort of proportions exist. I guess most grand pianos might have a sostenuto,(?) but the split for uprights (studio pianos)? And where in the world is there a proliferation of what?
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1Wait what? Can you be more clear about this middle pedal difference? Almost every acoustic and digital piano I’ve played that has a middle pedal has a middle pedal that does the exact same thing: sostenuto - holds up the dampers that are up when the pedal is pressed. I’ve only ever seen one kind of (upright) piano that does anything different.– Todd WilcoxNov 15, 2022 at 13:29
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2@AndyBonner - I've only ever come across pianos where the right pedal is damper - for sustain, and left is the 'quiet' pedal - so -called una corda, a misnomer on uprights, but there we go. It's the middle that's in contention, in my experience only the choice between practice and sostenuto. So, yes, 4 uses, only 3 pedals... Unless someone knows better!– TimNov 15, 2022 at 14:09
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1Right is always sustain, left is always ‘soft’, though this is achieved differently on grand and upright pianos. I have known several upright studio pianos (meaning located in a recording studio) where the middle pedal introduced not a felt damper but a set of ‘jangle’ strips, for the ‘honky-tone’ sound.– LaurenceNov 15, 2022 at 15:52
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1Not sure if Yamaha uprights with the practice felt are a European thing, they might just be a Yamaha educational thing. Practice rooms at one Virginia university had those last time I was there. Are you asking only about uprights? If so this question makes more sense to me. Uprights seem to have strange alternatives to sostenuto. I guess the upright action doesn’t work as well for sostenuto? Or maybe upright players aren’t good enough to use it?– Todd WilcoxNov 15, 2022 at 20:20
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1@ToddWilcox - seems like you've found the answer. Don't leave it just as a comment!– TimNov 16, 2022 at 9:33
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