ADVERTISEMENT

The Half-Pedal Technique on Acoustic and Digital Pianos

  • On an acoustic piano or grand piano, there are many nuances between the “sustain pedal pressed/not pressed” states.
  • The half-pedal function simulates the gradual rise of the dampers on an acoustic piano, affecting the duration of a note as it fades out.
  • The sustain function on many modern digital pianos is designed as a continuous controller and requires a special sustain pedal that can generate continuous data values between the minimum and maximum positions.
Sustain Pedal Half Pedal
(Image Source: Yamaha)
ADVERTISEMENT

On many digital pianos, the sustain pedal is a simple on/off switch. Although this function is essentially similar to the damper pedal on a real piano, there are many nuances between the “pedal pressed/not pressed” states on acoustic or grand pianos. Accordingly, higher-end digital pianos frequently support the half-pedal function, which allows you to control the amount of damping.

ADVERTISEMENT
ADVERTISEMENT

Half-Pedaling on Pianos

Perfecting the half-pedal technique takes some practice, as the pedal of your instrument will affect how well you can dose the effect. Maybe you were unaware of this function but used the half-pedal intuitively. To get a feel for it, play successive notes or chords in staccato while slowly depressing the sustain pedal.

Starting at a certain pedal position, the notes are slightly extended until they resonate completely when the pedal is fully depressed. Half-pedaling simulates the slow release of the dampers, with the dampers still resting lightly on the strings, limiting the string vibration. Accordingly, this only lightly extends the decay.

On some digital pianos, you can adjust the “half-pedal point”. This determines at what point in the pedal travel the half-pedal function begins to take effect.

Learn more: What Are Piano Pedals For?

What Is a Continuous Controller?

A half-pedal sustain pedal is not a simple switch but a control device that can output movement in the form of digital values – very similar to a volume pedal. The only difference is that the sustain pedal is designed as a lever that moves a potentiometer at the other end.

The term “continuous controller” comes from a MIDI specification. Continuous controllers are part of MIDI data used for real-time control, typically with a standard resolution of 128 values. There are controllers with higher resolutions, but 128 values are more than enough for fine-tuning the half-pedal function.

Buying a Digital Piano Pedal - Triple Pedal or Single Sustain Pedal

Half-Pedal Function on Less Expensive Digital Pianos?

Actually, not all pianos support the half-pedal function. This is especially true for small portable and home pianos, as well as entry-level stage pianos. It is worth taking a closer look, however, because some instruments support the half-pedal function in principle, but come with a simple digital piano pedal that cannot transmit the function.

Learn more about digital piano pedals in this PIANOO.com guide: Buying a Digital Piano Pedal

Controlling Damper Noise

To dynamically control the amount of damper noise, the “touch sensitivity” of the damper pedal is also measured. Similar to the mechanical release sound of the hammers, this is a typical background noise of a grand piano. While not the main focus, this adds authenticity when paired with the pedal.

ADVERTISEMENT

Related Articles

09.07.2025 · Learn Digital Piano Features: Understanding Digital Piano Technology

"All I want is to play the piano..." - a common phrase used by many beginners who are interested in a digital piano. Which are the most important digital piano features? Which ones are essential ...

22.02.2025 · Learn Piano Chords: Adele - Someone Like You

You don't have to be a professional pianist to play the piano chords for the song Someone Like You. And yet it is one of Adele's most successful songs. In that sense, Someone Like You ...

29.01.2025 · Learn Vintage Electric Piano: Iconic Sounds of the '60s, '70s and '80s

Originally invented as a portable piano replacement, electric pianos have become classics in their own right. Our love for vintage pianos encompasses the sounds of the '60s and '70s, especially originals like the Fender Rhodes ...

28.01.2025 · Learn Digital Piano vs. Acoustic Piano – What's the Difference?

Digital piano vs. acoustic piano—you can obviously hear the difference, right? After all, these are two different instruments, even though both are designed for playing the piano. But is it really that simple? Is it ...

10.01.2025 · Learn Music Technology Explained: What Is a DAW?

A digital audio workstation, or DAW, is the heart of making music with a computer. DAWs are available for all major operating systems and offer everything you need for modern music production: Audio and MIDI ...

06.12.2024 · Learn Cristofori and the Pianoforte

While his name may not be well known, anyone who plays the piano should have at least heard of him. After all, when we play the piano, we all want to feel Bartolomeo Cristofori's groundbreaking ...

30.11.2024 · Learn Velocity Curves: Customizing the Keyboard's Touch Sensitivity

You can customize the playing response of your digital piano by adjusting its touch dynamics. What requires a piano technician's expertise on an acoustic piano can be done in just a few steps on a ...

29.06.2024 · Learn Piano VST: Play the Piano with Your Computer

Playing the piano using a piano VST - a clever and seemingly inexpensive solution. However, considering that you'll need a lot more than just the software, it's not that much cheaper than a digital piano, ...

22.04.2024 · Learn Let-Off Simulation on Digital Pianos

A special feature of many mid-range and high-end digital pianos is the let-off simulation, which gives advanced pianists very precise control over their play.Piano beginners will probably not even notice whether a digital piano keyboard ...

16.04.2024 · Learn What's an Ivory Feel Keyboard?

For a more authentic feel, electric piano keyboards - usually made of plastic - have certain acoustic piano characteristics. An Ivory Feel keyboard ensures that your fingers have a good grip on the key surfaces. ...

03.09.2021 · Learn Hammer Action Keyboard for Digital and Acoustic Pianos

Hammer action made dynamic piano playing possible for the first time. Invented in the 18th century by the Italian instrument maker Bartolomeo Cristofori, the hammer action keyboard was continuously enhanced. It created the piano touch ...

18.08.2021 · Learn Graded Hammer Action: Keyboard with Scaled Weighting

What makes piano touch authentic? As an electronic alternative to the acoustic piano, a digital piano should at least have very similar playing characteristics. An important element is a graded or scaled hammer action with ...