If you press a key on a piano then a felt hammer strikes the piano string and ca

Question

If you press a key on a piano then a felt hammer strikes the piano string and causes it to vibrate and produce sound. When the key is released then a damper falls and hits the string. A damper pedal or sustain pedal (one of the three pedals at the bottom of the piano) raises all of the dampers and does not allow them to fall. Even if you do not have any prior knowledge about the piano, given the damper's name and what we have learned this semester what is the job of a damper? Why would you want to push the damper pedal?

Explanation / Answer

Seems to me that a damper should simply muffle or "dampen" (if you will) the vibrations of the string. It will cause keep the sound from ringing on and on and will, in a sense cut it off earlier so that other notes aren't competing. It's like playing a guitar and either leaving your finger off the string at the last note and letting it resound versus cutting off the note by placing your finger on the string to dampen the vibration/sound. Hope that helps.

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