Foot Pedals for Modern Keyboards & Synths

Image: V-Piano Grand Foot Pedals

Have you ever wondered what some of the jacks on the back of your synthesizer or stage piano are for? On some Roland synthesizers, you’ll see inputs for “HOLD” and “CTRL1 and CTRL2,″ and on other instruments, you might see inputs for “SOSTENUTO” or “DAMPER.” These inputs are actually for foot pedals that enable the player to change the timbre or the expressiveness of the piano. The modern piano foot pedal configuration has been in its current form since the late nineteenth century, with three foot pedals: sustain (damper pedal), sostenuto, and una corda or soft pedal (sometimes referred to as the shift pedal). More