Piano pedals?

Question

In the piano there are ususally two pedals and sometimes three. I want to know what does the left one and the middle pedal do.

:)

Answer 1

on my piano i have three. the far left pedal sustains these keys: from one octave down from middle C all the way down. the middle pedal is usually the pedal that makes your piano quieter

Answer 2

i think the person above me has things mixed up.  the left pedal (usually called the soft pedal, or sometimes una corda), helps you soften the keys.  

the middle pedal depends on what kind of piano you have.  the middle pedal of most upright pianos softens the notes even more than the left pedal.  for grand pianos, though, the middle pedal is a little like the right pedal (which holds whatever notes you play).  the pedal will hold whatever notes are down when you press the pedal.  so if you play a C, for instance, and then press the middle pedal down, it will only hold the C note, no matter what other notes you play.  this pedal is pretty helpful in certain cases.  some grand pianos' middle pedal only have this ability for the bass notes, though.