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Today I saw 1/1 and 1/2 written in one of my pieces beneath the pedal markings.

Picture of ambiguous notation

Do these have a meaning or is it a misprint?

Luke_0
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Abraham Zhang
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    @EpicGuy The much more relevant statement would have been "they aren't time signatures as they're written in small print directly below a pedal marking". – Kyle Strand May 30 '14 at 18:54
  • @KyleStrand Ah yes I didn't really clarify where they were. And the piece is called "Death by Pasta" by Sonny Chua. – Abraham Zhang Jun 02 '14 at 07:06

1 Answers1

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It is a little hard to tell without seeing the music, but these are unlikely to be time-signatures and marcato markings. The "^" is probably a variable pedal mark, particularly if it is connected to the lines showing the pedal markings. This page shows how this is usually used, it

More accurately indicates the precise use of the sustain pedal. The extended lower line tells the player to keep the sustain pedal depressed for all notes below which it appears. The inverted "V" shape (∧) indicates the pedal is to be momentarily released, then depressed again.

This also explains the use of 1/1 and 1/2, indicating either full or half lifting of the pedal. As this page explains, you can have many "degrees of pedal, such as half, quarter or even eighth pedal."

Shevliaskovic
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Bob Broadley
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