## Pedal Marking

A pedal marking tells you when to press and release the sustain pedal: Ped. where it goes down, an asterisk or the end of a bracket where it comes up.

The pedal holds notes after your fingers leave the keys. Held through a chord change it blurs two harmonies together, which is why the release marks matter as much as the presses.


## How To Spot Pedal Marking

The word Ped. or a long bracket below the bass staff, with a notch or a star where the pedal lifts.


## Find It In Thirty Seconds

Play a chord, hold the pedal, and change to another chord without lifting. Then do it again, lifting the pedal exactly as the new chord sounds. The second one is what the marking is asking for.

Open any piece of sheet music on this site and do it now. Reading is a recognition skill, and recognition is built by finding things, not by reading about them.