Definition

Noun: A piano damper is a component of a piano's action mechanism. It consists of a small, felt-covered block or pad that is lifted from a piano string when a key is pressed, allowing the string to vibrate and produce sound. When the key is released, the damper drops back onto the string, stopping its vibration and silencing the note.

Usage

The term piano damper is used specifically to refer to this individual part within the context of piano mechanics, maintenance, and sound production. * The technician adjusted the piano damper to ensure a clean cessation of sound. * When the piano damper fails to contact the string properly, a note will continue to ring. * The soft pedal on a grand piano shifts the action so that the hammers strike fewer strings, and is sometimes called the una corda pedal, while the right pedal lifts all the piano dampers and is called the sustain pedal.

Advanced Usage

• Damper Pedal/Sustain Pedal: The foot pedal that lifts all the piano dampers simultaneously, allowing all struck strings to vibrate freely and creating a sustained, resonant sound.
  • She held down the damper pedal to blend the chords together.
• Damper Felt: The specific type of felt material used to cover the damper block to ensure clean, quiet contact with the string.
  • The old piano damper needed its felt replaced.

Variants and Related Words

• Damper (noun): In a broader engineering context, any device that deadens, restrains, or reduces vibration or oscillation. The piano damper is a specific type of damper.
  • The building's design includes shock absorbers and dampers for earthquakes.
• Damper Action/Mechanism: The assembly of levers and springs that controls the movement of the damper.
• Sostenuto Pedal: The middle pedal on many grand pianos, which selectively sustains only the notes that are depressed when the pedal is engaged, by catching and holding their specific dampers in the raised position.

Synonyms

• Mute (in a general musical context, though not a precise mechanical synonym)
• Stop (archaic or general term for a device that checks motion or sound)

Related Phrases

• Lift the dampers: To raise the dampers from the strings, typically by using the damper pedal.
  • The passage requires the performer to lift the dampers for a full measure.
• Damper noise: An unwanted sound, often a soft thud or buzz, caused by the damper felt contacting the string.
  • Regulating the piano damper can eliminate damper noise.

Noun

1. damper consisting of a small felted block that drops onto a piano string to stop its vibration