Here at Matchetts Music one of the most common questions we get asked when people are purchasing a digital piano is  “What does the middle pedal on the piano do?” 

The pedals to the left and right can easily be worked out; the left is the soft pedal (Una Corda) which lowers the volume and the pedal to the right is the damper pedal or sustain pedal which allows all the notes played while the pedal is down to ring out or sustain. This is the most commonly used pedal on the modern piano.

But what does the middle pedal do?

Well the answer is that the middle pedal on all our digital pianos is a Sostenuto pedal (default setting). The function of the Sostenuto is to sustain only those notes that are played immediately before the pedal is applied. The notes that are played after the pedal is applied are not impacted upon which allows a selective sustain on the initial notes without sustaining all the notes played after. The result is that the overall sound is not blurred. 

By Billy Haughan

Here are some other Blogs that might be of interest.

Are Digital Pianos as Good as Acoustic Pianos

5 Tips for the returning pianist 

Can I learn piano on a keyboard?

A Guide to buying your first piano