una corda

[ oo-nuh kawr-duh; Italian oo-nah kawr-dah ]

adverb

1. with the soft pedal depressed (a musical direction in piano playing).

una corda

/ ˈuːnə ˈkɔːdə /

adjective

1. music (of the piano) to be played with the soft pedal depressed

Word History and Origins

Origin of una corda¹

1840–50; < Italian: literally, one string, since depressing the soft pedal shifts the hammers so as to strike only two (originally one) of the strings provided for each note

Word History and Origins

Origin of una corda¹

Italian, literally: one string; the pedal moves the mechanism so that only one string of the three tuned to each note is struck by the hammer

Example Sentences

The instrument has two knee-activated levers under the keyboard, the equivalent of the foot-operated damper and “una corda” pedals on pianos today.

From New York Times

Raising the dampers allows the strings to resonate, while the “una corda” lever physically shifts the keyboard so that, of the double strings provided for each note, only single strings are struck.

From New York Times

Once again, Bannister’s technique was solid, but voicing and dynamics lacked subtlety, most evident in the recitative and lament sections of the third movement, where the soft effects using the una corda pedal were pedestrian.

From Washington Post

Pater, Walter, remark on Romanticism, 161. pavane, 75; example from Ravel, 79. pedals of the pianoforte, the damper and the una corda, 192-195.

From Project Gutenberg

This statement is proved by directions in pianoforte literature as far back as Beethoven, in whose Sonatas we find the dynamic marks of f and ff coupled with the proscribed use of the una corda pedal.

From Project Gutenberg