Sustain Pedal - If you need more than 10 fingers...

Sustain Pedal - One more accessory! Do you need it? Yes, as you become a better player.

Why do you need it?
A good pianist or a keyboardist not only has to play the notes, he/she has to give some expression to the performance so that it does not sound monotonous. For this, the performer uses techniques like playing the notes softer/louder, sustaining certain parts of the piece, making the volume gradually louder etc.

Now, if you place all your 10 fingers on the keyboard, how do you add those expression? You use foot pedals! Foot Pedals are keyboard accessories which you use with your foot, mostly right foot. It is used to add various effects such as sustaining, changing the volume etc. while your hands are busy playing the notes.

A beginner keyboard player may not need these foot pedals at all so you can save your money for later. Piano buyers need not worry about these as the pedals come attached to the piano by default.

Piano Pedals - Most pianos have three pedals:

• Damper pedal (also known as Sustain pedal) – This pedal is to the extreme right. After you press a few keys, using this pedal sustains the sound for some time, even when you do not keep the keys pressed. The sound gradually fades away.
• Soft pedal (also known as Piano pedal) – Using this pedal basically reduces the volume of the notes played.
• Middle pedal – Lot of pianos have the two pedals mentioned above but some of them also have one more in the middle. This behaves like a sustain pedal but differs slightly. Press a few keys and press this pedal; the notes will be sustained. Now, any additional notes that you play will not sustain.

Keyboard Pedals

The most commonly used pedals with keyboards are the Sustain pedal and the Volume pedal.
• Sustain Pedal - Sustains the notes. This is similar to the one on a piano.
• Volume pedal – changes the volume of your notes.

In addition to these pedals, you do get a lot of additional pedals which are basically targeted towards professionals. It lets you control effects and accompaniments.

The price of these pedals is also affected largely by the quality of these pedals. A good pedal will have a metal bar for your foot and a base which does not slip.

You can try out all these pedals at your local dealer. Make sure that you really need one of those before you reach out for your wallet :-)

Note
Most of the Pianos have damper pedals that support different levels of pedaling response. It just means that the amount of sustaining is dependant on how much you press the pedal. Pianists who are used to half pedaling need to check for this feature while buying a Piano.

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