key depth travel distance range of the pianist’s touch. So the dolce repositions both the hammers and the keys in order to limit the dynamic range of the soundscape.

The notion that a piano should have x number of pedals is curious. Historically makers have incorporated numerous pedals with various functions. Simply, the two left pedals in Stuart & Sons pianos modify the dynamic and textural aspects of the sound by:
1. [Dolce pedal ] reducing the travel distance of the key and hammer
2. [Una Corda pedal] reducing the number of strings struck.
These pedals can be taken independently or simultaneously. Neither of the dynamic
control pedals require full depression but should be applied and operated as the ear
and taste of the performer dictates.³⁸⁰

The sostenuto pedal is standard on all modern pianos.³⁸¹ It provides a selective sustain of all of the notes with dampers across the key compass. The sostenuto pedal lifts the dampers of the keys which are prepared by the pianist by depressing the key without sounding the note before the passage of music is played. In other words, the sostenuto effect is prepared prior to playing the sound. As the sound is played, the pitches sustained by the sostenuto resonate sympathetically³⁸² or syntonically with pitches that have similar frequency proponents across the frequency range. The unstruck strings vibrate in a sympathetic vibration, adding to the resonance of the sound.

When one resonant object is caused to vibrate, any other resonant object in its vicinity which has the same natural frequency will also vibrate….[‘in sympathy’] … two bodies need not be touching, since vibration is passed on through such media as air. [or wood re. a soundboard. ]³⁸³

The Una Corda pedal also enables sympathetic resonances to occur on the string that isn’t struck by the hammer, and remains undampered, free to resonate in sympathy. Sympathetic resonance is interesting for the Stuart sound as it is heard with the similar harmonic stability observed previously in the struck notes of the Stuart sound. Therefore a slower rate of decay is often experienced aurally in the Stuart sympathetic resonance. This is because the Stuart bridge agraffe is still controlling the string vibration.

^{380     9}Stuart &Sons Handcrafted Pianos, accessed 27th Aug, 2016.
³⁸¹The Sostenuto pedal is positioned between the damper sustain pedal on the right, and the una corda pedal on the left. The Stuart piano has an extra pedal to the left of the una corda, the dolce pedal.
^{382     2}Foulcher, 47.
^{383     3}Foulcher, 47.