Grady has accepted an academic scholarship to study for a music major at Belmont University in Nashville, Tenn. He is also expecting to hear good news on a music scholarship at Belmont at the time of this writing.

This is very exciting news, as there are only a handful of U.S. colleges and universities that offer degree programs in contemporary music. Some of the best-known schools are Belmont, Berklee College of Music, USC Thornton School of Music and Frost School of Music at the Univ of Miami. And besides the acceptance levels being quite hard, these schools are quite expensive to apply and attend. Grady has interest in country music, so applying to Belmont in Nashville for scholarships seems a smart route.

To understand the difficulty of Grady’s quest to attend Belmont, consider this: Music performance majors first have to pass a musical audition. Fewer than 20% are accepted from the 2,000 students who audition annually for Belmont. That number includes ALL performance majors; classical music, jazz, musical theatre, voice, and contemporary music. Very few of the guitar players who audition are accepted as a performance major in contemporary music. It’s a testament to Grady’s talents, practice habits and musical knowledge that he passed the audition! He becomes one of a few students nationwide selected to be a music performance major in guitar in the contemporary music program! 

Background

To those of us in the SMA band coaching program who know Grady, this is a great step on the way to a music career! Grady started playing guitar when he was 7 years old in formal practice lessons. He comes from a very musical family, where it’s said that music is a family member, along with father, mother and siblings. Dad’s an audiophile, Mom organizes the very popular Rock the District competition her in the Valley, and both parents believe that music and arts are essential in education.

Grady is an example of an SMA student making the most of what his parents can provide for him in the way of lessons and teaching, and then using his drive, talents and determination to move forward to bigger and better musical opportunities in life!

If you’re ready to take your musical skills up a notch, contact us at Scottsdale Music Academy! You can sign up with our instructors to improve your talents on guitar, piano, bass or vocal lessons. Call us in Scottsdale, AZ on 602-751-3527 for a free lesson and intro tour. We’re Scottsdale’s leading music instruction academy in Scottsdale, between Scottsdale Road and Hayden Road.

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John deserves the credit for not only providing an excellent music education, but for knowing how to keep Grady challenged.  The importance of mentors, coaches and teachers can not be overemphasized.  Grady is so fortunate to have found the right one!

John deserves the credit for not only providing an excellent music education, but for knowing how to keep Grady challenged.  The importance of mentors, coaches and teachers can not be overemphasized.  Grady is so fortunate to have found the right one!

Both pianos and keyboards use a variety of pedals, which serve to enrich and enhance sound, enabling you to put your own spin on things. While both types of instruments come with pedals, the pedals for each are not exactly the same. Read on to discover the most popular types of pedals for pianos and keyboards.

Types of Piano Pedals

A traditional piano normally has three different pedals: the sustain pedal, sostenuto pedal, and the soft pedal.

The Sustain Pedal

The sustain pedal, also known as the damper pedal, is the one farthest to the right. Out of all three pedals, it is the one most frequently used. Its main function is to hold a note and allow the strings to continue to ring even when you stop pressing a key. The best part? It raises the damper (a device that mutes the strings) of all the strings, causing multiple keys to ring at once and result in more sound variation.

Sostenuto Pedal

The middle pedal can be different for some people depending on the kind of piano they have. However, most often, the middle pedal is a sostenuto pedal. In many ways, a sostenuto pedal is very similar to a sustain pedal with one main distinction. While both types of piano pedals are made to sustain notes, the sostenuto pedal gives musicians the ability to sustain a specific note or a collection of notes while also playing other notes normally. This key difference is what differentiates a sostenuto pedal from a sustain pedal, which instead sustains all the notes as they are played.

Soft Pedal

The left piano pedal is known as the soft pedal, or more formally, the una corda pedal. Essentially, the soft pedal is used to lower or soften sound. Because of the way the pedal is designed, it can lower the volume without impacting tone. It is primarily used as an expressive device to add more depth and nuance to the music.

 Digital Piano Pedals

Unlike a traditional piano which has built-in piano pedals, a digital piano or keyboard is not equipped with pedals. Instead, keyboard pedals are externally plugged into a keyboard and the effects are digitally created. That means that you can pick and choose your own keyboard pedals. 

While there are a bunch of different types of electronic pedals to choose from, each with their own unique function, the two most popular types used by the majority of keyboardists today are the sustain pedal and the volume pedal. The sustain pedals for a digital piano serves the same purpose as one on a traditional piano: to allow the notes to continue to resonate and create a smoother sound; the only difference is how the two types of piano pedals work. A volume pedal, on the other hand, allows you to control the volume of your keyboard and emphasize certain parts of a song when needed.

If you’re looking to enhance your sound and add some variety to your keyboard or piano playing, pedals are the way to go! These handy devices help to alter sound in a variety of ways, ultimately allowing for more musical expression. For help learning how to properly use piano or keyboard pedals or anything else related to these instruments, sign up for keyboard lessons at Scottsdale Music Academy today!