The pedal that stays put · Entry-level budget
Yamaha FC4A
“The switch that comes in the box slides across the floor. A piano-shaped pedal stays where the foot expects it.”
Teaching recommendation
Check the current price with the retailer.
WITH THE FIRST PIANO
What to buy besides the piano
The instrument is the expensive part. The stand, the pedal and the headphones decide whether anyone actually practises.
Start with the piano
The pedal depends on the piano
Answer four questions first. The result names one model on the instruments page, then brings you back here for the pedal, headphones and metronome.
Read the full affiliate notice
I opened the headphone and metronome listings on Amazon.de in October 2026 and matched those model names. The pedal is a search for Yamaha FC4A, because the product page under that name now opens the half-damper FC3A. Check the model code, the price and what is in the box before you buy. I am not linking a stand or a bench: the right one depends on the exact piano.
Stand and bench, without a shop link
Your forearms should sit about level, elbows a little open, the way they do at an acoustic piano. A desk is usually too high, and a dining chair leaves most people either reaching or hunched. The bench has to change height.
An X-stand is fine if it does not wobble and the piano cannot slide off. A wooden stand made for that model is steadier at home. Confirm the stand is sold for your model. A wrong listing helps nobody, so this page does not link one.
The three things I will link
A piano-shaped sustain pedal, over-ear headphones, and a metronome that is not your phone. The pedal in the box is often a small switch that slides away. Headphones are how a flat stays peaceful. A phone metronome stops being a metronome when a message arrives.
Quiet practice · Mid-range budget
Audio-Technica ATH-M20x
“Over-ear, and isolating enough that the room stays quiet. That is the whole requirement.”
♫ Teaching recommendation
Check the current price with the retailer.
A click that does not ring · Entry-level budget
Korg MA-2
“A phone metronome stops being a metronome the moment a message arrives.”
♫ Teaching recommendation
Check the current price with the retailer.
| Yamaha FC4ACeren's pick | Audio-Technica ATH-M20x | Korg MA-2 | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Budget | Entry-level budget | Mid-range budget | Entry-level budget |
| What it is | Piano-style on/off sustain pedal | Over-ear, circumaural, 40 mm drivers | Digital metronome, tempo 30 to 252 |
| Connection | 6.35 mm jack | 3.5 mm jack, cable 3.0 m, 47 ohms | 3.5 mm headphone jack, two AAA batteries |
| Check before you buy | This opens a search for Yamaha FC4A. Amazon.de has no product page whose title is that model; the old page now shows the half-damper FC3A. Choose the result whose model code is FC4A, not FC3A and not the small FC5. | The listing also gives 20 Hz to 20,000 Hz and calls the fit circumaural with sound isolation. Confirm the current bundle. | About 100 by 60 by 16 mm, from the Amazon.de listing. It is a metronome, not a tuner bundle. |
| AdView on Amazon.de → | AdView on Amazon.de → | AdView on Amazon.de → |
FAQ
Before you add anything to the basket
The pedal and the headphones matter as soon as you practise. A metronome can wait a few weeks. A stand that puts the keys at the right height matters the day the piano arrives.
It usually works, and it usually slides. I prefer a piano-shaped on/off pedal. Half-pedalling is a later skill. The search is for the FC4A. The FC3A is the half-damper, and the FC5 is the small switch that comes in many boxes.
Yes, until a notification lands in the middle of a bar. A separate metronome with a headphone jack does not.
Bring the question to a lesson
Not sure what fits the piano you already chose?
Tell me the model, or bring the question to a free trial lesson, and we will sort the stand, the pedal and the headphones for that instrument.