A pedal on a piano that lifts the dampers from the strings and so allows them to continue vibrating.
1Have you ever tried singing a note into this instrument when the sustaining pedal is depressed?
2Unlike the standard sustaining pedal it doesn't sustain any and every note being played while it is depressed.
3Charles Owen is helped by the piano's sustaining pedal, but there is still a lack of focus in his playing.
4The tempo is abnormally slow, and the tone is not in a position where the sustaining pedal can sensibly help it.