Una corda
Depress the left pedal on a piano to soften the tone
Category
performance
Pronunciation
OO-nah KOHR-dah
Origin
Italian
Length
220 words · 2 min read
About Una corda
Una corda ("one string") is a piano direction indicating that the performer should depress the soft (left) pedal. On a modern grand piano, this pedal shifts the entire hammer mechanism slightly to the right so that each hammer strikes fewer strings — on a modern instrument, typically two instead of three for treble notes.
More performance terms
Scordatura
View all performanceterms →Deliberately mistuning one or more strings to alter timbre or range
UnisonoIn unison — all performers playing or singing the same notes together as one voice
Colla parteFollow the soloist or lead voice, adjusting tempo to match them
A dueFor two — two instruments or sections playing the same part together in unison
TacetSilent — an instruction that a performer or section does not play during a movement or passage
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v1 · 10/04/2026Browse all terms →