i see this in various sheet music and i guess what its for that pedal that sustains notes only that are depressed when the pedal is pushed in? im really not sure what to do for this parts in the music...help from someone please...

There are three pedals - the one all the way on the left is "una corda". Actually, on a modern grand "duo corda" would be more appropriate (no pedal at all is "tre corda")

The middle pedal "sustains notes only that are depressed when the pedal is pushed in". That's not the one you want for una corda.

The one on the far left is the Una Corda. It is used usually when the dynamics are "pp" or lower.

It makes the notes quieter than it normally would be.

Of course, the myth is that the sole purpose of the Una Corda pedal is to make the sound softer - it's quite possible to produce loud sounds with this pedal down, although it does to some extent make the sound softer, as Jeff pointed out.

The biggest effect of this pedal is to change the timbre (texture). The sound seems more distant and sweet. It's similar to putting a mute on a stringed instrument - one can still play forte on a muted violin, but the timbre is more distant.

Just an additional info: some pianos have a "sordina" pedal besides/instead of the "una corda" pedal, and sordina changes the timbre in a more noticeable way since it actually lays a piece of cloth between the strings and the hammers. If I remember correctly, Debussy's Claire De Lune asks for this pedal. Some Yamaha uprights still have it today.

Sorry, DuCamp. That's wrong. Sourdine is the French manner of indicating una corda.

Nope, the sordina pedal exists and there are several old pianos in my school that have it instead of the sostenuto pedal. Check it on the net to comfirm.
I'll check the Debussy music I have to comfirm about Claire de Lune.

Just checked the sheet music for Claire de Lune. It says "Con Sordina" which is italian, not "Avec Sourdine" which would be the french equivalent.
Let me tell you that you should inquiry more about this pedal cause it's actually used as an effect. Whoever told you that it's for practice purposes is wrong. Just so you can confirm it quickly, here is a link to the italian term:
http://www.8notes.com/glossary/Con_sordino,_con_sordini.asp


EDIT: The sordina pedal was more like a fad and didn't last long, thus it's not used in most famous pieces. But there were other pedals too that didn't make it... you can find 100+ year old pianos with as many as 5 pedals for all the gimmicks they made.

Then you have a crappy edition of Claire de lune.

You'd better stop talking before you make more of a fool of yourself. Debussy's pianos (and most European pianos today, if I'm not mistaken) only had TWO pedals, the sustain pedal, and the una corda, or sourdine pedal.

to schuyler - also keep in mind that U.C. does not apply in the same sense to upright pianos as it does grands. In fact, the name originates from the act of moving the hammers of a grand piano to only strike one of the three or four strings comprising the given tone. On an upright piano, although the left pedal may also soften the sound, by bringing the hammers closer to the strings, it does not change the colour of the sound the way true U.C. does.

And so what i end up, and recommend doing to best reproduce the characteristic colour of U.C. when I practise on uprights is to use an extra sensitive touch, bearing in mind how the passage might sound on a grand piano with the left pedal down. Reproducing the various shades that correspond to the different degrees of pressing the left pedal can be a challenge too, especially since on an upright you can really only have it on or off.

I have a Dover edition. The Piano Works (1888/1905) compendium to be precise. Check other editions and you will find the indication too.
I don't think I'm making a fool out of myself, because it's the only piece where strangely, Debussy asks for this pedal. It's even weird in him to actually tell you where and how to use the sustain pedal, and I have not come across in any of his sheet music where he asks you specifically for the una corda pedal (not saying he never asked for it either). But look at it yourself if you don't believe me. And read more about what he wanted to achieve regarding piano sound and you will find reasons to believe why the sordina might not be such a "foolish" idea to consider.
And I also recommend you to read about piano history and you will find facts and not just fool things some stranger told you on a forum.

I don't know if he asked for it in the Claire De Lune literally, although it is required in some sections to hold a very low note while playing higher chords with your left AND right hand. Impossible without that middle pedal.

Con Sordino means with dampers, or in other words, without the damper pedal. Senza Sordino means with the damper pedal. It was used a long time before Debussy. Beethoven uses the term at the beginning of the Moonlight Sonata.

On Debussy: you will find but a couple pieces where Debussy tells you to use the sustain pedal, and he uses the notation of "Ped." and the asterisk.
And you are correct BDB, con sordini is without pedal. But, it's very strange that he would've chose to use that term, on a very sustain-heavy piece. Again, from what I've read, the sordina (with an "A" in the end, and not sordini) effect was already available by this time and it was used to improve muted echoing effects with the piece of cloth that it used. That's what makes that assesment interesting, to me at least, cause I tried applying this effect on this piece's harmony voices when I had a Yamaha upright with a sordina pedal. And in my opinion it sounds gorgeous! If you can get access to a piano with a sordina pedal, play with it on some phrases of this piece on the harmony voices, but not on the melody. Just give it a try (and then call me crazy )

ohhhhh i had no idea that composers marked where to use the "quite" pedal as i call it...man i thougt there was some huge expanation for it too...thanks alot guys...

just something i was wondering how common this is...on our old baby grand from about the 1920's it had a una corda pedal but instead of moving the hammers and all to the side some it moved the hammers up closer to the strings...it still worked i was just wondering if anyone had seen this before?

Grieg makes really cool use of the the "una corda" pedal in the first movement of his concerto - the pianist plays a single measure tre corde (without this pedal), and then repeats the same notes an octave higher, una corde. Then a new, similar measure is played tre corde, and the next measure is the previous measure an octave higher, una corde. Then it's reversed - the next measure is una corde, and the next after that is tre corde, and then there's this huge arpeggiated run up and down the keyboard. (So the measures go: tre corde, una corde, tre corde, una corde, una corde, tre corde, ff) It's amazing.

My upright does that too, it's also from around the 20's... All it does is make it possible to create a more pianissimmo sound, and also gives the opportunity to just practice the movement of using the UC for later practice/playing on grands . This is not to be confused with the pedal that makes a piece of cloth come inbetween the hammers and the strings, which makes it possible to practice without bothering people around you.

According to my G. Shirmer edition of Clair de Lune by Claude Debussy "con sordino" is plain as day, rain, gold, cold, hot what ever in the FIRST MEASURE of the piece and the sound level is marked PP.
It is a beautiful sounding phrase...con sordino.

Warning : Long post!

Pedals : The character of the notes being played on the piano is modified by its pedals. All acoustic pianos are fitted with a damper pedal, which lifts the dampers from the strings, and a soft pedal, which in the grand piano directs the hammer at just one ( una corda ) or two ( due corde ) of the three strings for each note, and in the upright piano reduces the distance between the hammer and the string (a ‘half blow’).
A sostenuto pedal is sometimes found on higher quality pianos. It lifts only those dampers of notes being held. Other pedals sometimes present include the bass sustain pedal, which lifts the dampers of only the bass notes, and the practice or muffler pedal, which softens the overall sound by introducing a strip of felt between the hammers and the strings. (David Crombie, Piano (1995), p. 94)

una corda : (It : ‘one string’) Term for the left (or ‘soft’) pedal of the piano, or direction for its use. Depressing the pedal involves shifting the action sideways so that the hammers strike only two (or in earlier pianos, one) of the three treble strings, and only one of the two upper bass strings (while still striking the single lower bass strings). Some composers, notably Beethoven, distinguished between una corda and
due corde . On an upright piano, the left pedal moves the hammers closer to the strings, softening the stroke and reducing the volume; it does not alter the timbre as the true ‘una corda’ pedal does. ( Norton Grove Concise Encyclopedia of Music (1988), p. 788)

Sordino : (It: ‘mute’) A mute effect is also possible on the harpsichord and piano. […] The piano has both dampers and mutes. The damper, which is made of felt, is used not to dampen (i.e. to lessen or muffle) the sound but to extinguish it. When the damper pedal is depressed, all the dampers are raised from the strings, allowing them to ring freely, also inducing sympathetic vibrations froms other strings. If the damper pedal is not used, the strings are automatically dampened and cease to sound the moment the finger releases the key. The ‘soft’ pedal is the modern version of a mute on the piano. It reduces the volume of sound by shifting the whole row of hammers a short distance to the right … so that in a modern grand piano they hit only two of the three strings for each note (or, in the lower register, one of two.) In Beethoven’s time, the row of hammers could be moved to strike either one string (called una corda ) or two strings ( due corde ) of the normal three. In his Hammerklavier Sonata op. 106 (third movement), Beethoven called for una corda , then ‘gradually two, then three strings’, an effect no longer possible on the modern piano.
[…] The term sordino however, has caused some confusion, as it is also the normal term for a damper. The direction senza sordini evidently requires the damper pedal to be depressed to raise the dampers. The first edition of Beethoven’s Piano Sonata op 27. no 2 gives the direction, ‘One should play this whole piece very delicately and senza sordino’. Interpreted literally, this seems to mean that the damper pedal should be kept down continuously from the beginning to the end of the movement. The result is a confusion of blurred harmony, less so perhaps in the weak-toned viennese pianos of Beethoven’s time than on moder instruments. No really satisfactory explanation of this direction has yet been offered, despite the suggestion that Beethoven’s senza sordino meant ‘without a mute stop’. ( New Grove Dictionary of Music & Musicians (1980) vol 12, pp. 876-77)

The above should indicate that in Debussy’s ‘Clair de Lune’ con sordina or con sordino (I have two differing editions) simply means – in layman’s terms – with the ‘soft’ pedal.

Regards,

Thank you, BruceD. It's amazing how people can play their instruments, but not know how they work.

It's amazing how true that is

It's all part of a learning curve, isn't it? We can't know everything at once, and with a piano we often "learn as we use". What does sometimes surprise, however, is the tone of authority with which misinformation can be posted.

Regards,

"Los otros tres, cuyos efectos cabe fijarlos separadamente, son de su exclusivo invento. el pedal sordina sirve para obtener sonidos de eco velados, misteriosos; el pianísimo puede llevarse hasta lo inexplicable, siempre con rara claridad, siempre con delicada y suave gradación."

Translation: The other three, whose effects can be explained separately, are of his own invention. The Sordina Pedal is used to obtain misterious, muffled echoing sounds; pianísimo can be taken to unexplainable levels, always with clarity, always delicated and smooth graduation.

This text is based on an article printed on a spanish periodcal and it talks about a Cateura Pedalier piano, that had 6 pedals and was demonstrated at many european expos for its new systems for the pedals (though Cateura claims it were his own inventions, the effects already existed, so he most likely referred to new mechanical systems.) The effects it had were the next:
- Celeste: The Una Corda pedal we all know and this was its layman term.
- Fuerte (Loud): Todays sustain pedal.
- Retención (retention): Sostenuto.
- Claro (clear): This was know as Harpsichord pedal in previous 5 pedal fortepianos and customized pianos. It made the piano sound louder, harsh and brighter, like a harpsichord.
- SORDINA: Used to obtain muffled and misterious echoing sounds.
- Armónico (harmonic): When you depress a key, it would also synchronize its action with its 8va notes and three semi tones up. I read somewhere that Georges Pludermarcher recently ordered a Steinway D with a similar pedal (not the same, though) and presented a Beethoven sonata cicle with it.

The article can be found here, but it's in spanish:
http://www.trioassai.com/bc_libros.html
This Pedalier Piano wasn't at all like other pedalier pianos, that had bass pedals (and Alkan actually composed music for this piano.)

Here is a link to a picture of a fortepiano with some of these pedals:
http://www.periodpiano.com/fortepiano/default.htm

And you will find more info on the net if you are interested. I don't know which company started marketing the sordina as the "practice" pedal, but originally was an effect.

Another thing that you are not considering: in latin languages (spanish is my native language) if a word ends with a different letter, it will mean different things and it will tell you a gender (male or female) of even a subjective thing.
Sordino: Mute (male)
Sordini: Mutes (many mutes, male)
Sordina: Mute (female and also a device to change timbre of any musical instrument)
Maybe that will explain my interpretation of it, too.

EDIT: Nobody plays Clair de Lune with a "practice" pedal, I know it. It's interesting to me he chose the term sordina and not sordini or sordino. Edition typo? Maybe, but I have checked five different editions, including this one:
Clair de lune
"Bleh" about this one anyways.

But I hope you now know the sordina pedal was originally an effect that was used before and at Debussy's time in customized fortepianos and pianos for composers and concert artists.

It isn't anything that Debussy would have been likely to have. If most pianos didn't have it, and I can assure you that is the case, it isn't likely that anyone would have put a note about it in a score.

The most likely explanation of the notation is that Debussy's Italian was not good. That would explain why most of his notations are in French.

Yes, BDB. That's also a good possibility. Maybe Debussy's italian wasn't good enough.
What made me consider the sordina was that it's the only piece where it is indicated like this (and the fact that when I owned an upright, it had a sordina pedal, of course. Up until now I'm learning that some brands are using this pedal as some quiet practice device.) Anyways, even though this pianos were not popular among regular musicians or general public, they were used many times in concerts, or loaned to composers of Debussy's stature so they could endorse them. The Cateura wasn't the only one with these effects, and Debussy definately didn't use that piano specifically since he composed the Suite Bergamasque in the early 1890-91 and this piano was presented in 1896 (and some other documents state 1898.) I was just citing an example of how many sonic effects were available for pianos even before the Cateura, but they were too expensive to implement so they weren't that popular. Imagine how much a piano with the Harmonic pedal would cost today.
Another reason why I don't discard the sordina possibility is that Debussy did try many different pianos and keyboard systems at expos. Examples are his piano rolls recordings, where the inventor invited him to try it. Debussy ended up endorsing it. Sum that to the fact that Debussy has been quoted as yearning a piano that could sound more like a bowed string instrument, referring to eliminating the attack portion of the percussive element of the piano sound and augmenting the sustain time significantly.
Want more sacrilege on my part? I would love to use one of these 5 pedal pianos to use the Sordina and specially the Clear pedal heavily on "Pagodes" to make parts of it sound like oriental instruments.

Could you name a manufacturer who might have made a grand with this sort of feature after, say, 1825? I've never heard of such a thing, and I've been working on pianos longer than you've been alive.