Sostenuto Pedal

A pedal usually found on a grand piano and mimicked on some synthesizers, that raises the dampers only on notes that are already being held down on the keyboard at the moment the pedal is pressed. This allows pianists, for example, to hold chords in the left hand while playing staccato or marcato notes with the right hand. A sostenuto pedal is not the same thing as a sustain pedal, which raises all dampers at once, even though the word “sostenuto” is Italian for “sustain.”