middle of three pedals; but in some upright pianos the middle pedal instead lowers a veil of felt between the hammers and the strings to function as a mute. Half pedaling For mechanical pianos, and simulated on some digital piano pedals, it is possible to press down the sustain pedal only partially such that the dampers just touch the strings very slightly. This technique for the advanced pianist is called half pedaling and allows a fine variation of the sound. It can be observed that with half pedaling the damping is more effective for the higher tones. An example for a musical piece that is played with half pedaling by some pianists is Beethoven's Moonlight Sonata. Most recent digital pianos also support this effect. Other instruments Electronic keyboards often include a sustain pedal, a simple foot-operated switch, which controls the electronic or digital synthesis so as to produce a sustain effect. Several recent models use more sophisticated pedals that have a variable resistance, allowing half pedaling. Metallophones such as vibraphones, tubular bells, and high-end glockenspiels have sustain pedals that allow the metal bars to ring. The Cimbalom has a sustain (or damper) pedal, which allows its strings to ring or abruptly mutes them. See also Soft pedal Expression pedal Sostenuto Mute (music) References Piano