How does one sustain a note when playing an electronic keyboard?

Question

I am an intermediate pianist, and I'm now looking for an elec. keyboard. but I am mystified as to how to sustain notes! HELP

Answer 1

You plug a simple single switch pedal into the sustain or damper pedal plug, usually in back of the keyboard. The more sophisticated the keyboard is, the more options you have. Some keyboards even have a keyhold plug that acts like the middle pedal on a keyboard with a correct action. You can even purchase a more functional pedal. Korg has an excellent model that has a rubber extension that swings out so you can hold the pedal in place. Other models attach the pedals to the legs with a chain, or to the keyboard i some other way. You can also put a rug underneath the keyboard to keep the pedal from moving around so much. Hope this helps,

Answer 2

In my twenty years as a piano teacher, every one of my students who had a keyboard complained and wished they had a real piano at home. Some had spent far more than they would have on a piano, and were still dissatisfied. Having played not only piano and keyboard, but organ, clavichord, harpsichord and virginal, I can attest to the differences between each instrument and the need to learn the different styles of attack. The problems with the weighted keys is that on a piano, it's the speed of the attack, not the force, that determines the dynamic. In addition, different styles of striking the keys cause subtle changes in the sound. So if you have any hopes of being a good classical pianist, I'd give the keyboard a miss.

Answer 3

With a sustain pedal. Look at www.musciansfriend.com... the keyboard you are playing should have a hole in the back that either says "sustain" or "hold".. plug the pedal in and use your foot to sustain. Hope this helps!

Answer 4

You have to buy a sustaining pedal, but half the time they don't even work. Just buy a real piano.