Check out the My sustain pedal isn't working on my Casio keyboard, when I DON'T press it, it sustains the note, it's working backwards. Page at Sweetwater — the world's leading music technology and instrument retailer! CASIO Keyboard CTK-495 (NEGOTIABLE) PHP 4,500 PHP 5,950. CASIO KEYBOARD CTK-495 Used but never abused Keyboard is in very good working condition. The keys of course have scratches due to frequent use. The dust cover is just quite dusty and have some paint stains but the keyboard unit itself looks fine. The white keys may not be perfectly white.

Casio Keyboard Volume Not Working
Walmart Casio Keyboard
Casio Keyboard Not Working

I find the finger movements of accomplished piano players to be poetic and mesmerizing. I don’t have delusions of ever reaching that mastery, but I do want to be able to play a few notes on a piano when accosted by one! So, a few years ago, I bought a cheap (but 61 key) electronic keyboard from Craigslist – a Casio CTK-400. And it sat in the closet till I was suddenly bestowed with oodles of time 2 months ago.

Learning to Play

So, I brought forth the keyboard from the darkness of my closet and embarked on a journey to learn to play Für Elise. I tried an ‘easy’ version for a week, but got disenchanted quickly because it sounded not nearly as pleasant as the true Für Elise. So, I downloaded the original score as a PDF document – and was flummoxed by the complexity of the notation! Mind you, I had no prior training in reading musical scores. That sent me on a detour to learn the basics of musical notation. It turned out to be much easier than I thought – I was able to read the score within an hour of starting out. Of course, I still read one staff at a time, and only by deduction, but at least I know what most of the symbols mean.

The initial few weeks of learning the piano was literally painful. Since the tendons and ligaments on your hands are not accustomed to the kind of reach you need for moving between keys, I couldn’t get more than 10 mins of playing in each session. But that has improved significantly in the 2-3 months I’ve been practicing, and now I can practice easily for one hour each session. I’m can now presentably play the first page of the Für Elise score after 2 months of regular practice.

Unfortunate Mishap

A few weeks ago, while practicing an especially intricate part of the score, I hit the B4 key, and it snapped! Most people would venture out to buy a new keyboard at this point, but pas moi! What’s the fun in buying a brand spanking new gadget when you can fix a broken one!!! My initial plan was to simply replace the broken key with one of the keys in a higher octave. So, I unscrewed the dozen odd screws of the bottom of my Casio CTK 400, took off the plastic enclosure on the top, and was immediately foiled.

You see, they keys on an electronic keyboard aren’t individual keys. They exist in banks of 4-5 connected keys built as a single plastic mould. And each set is shaped differently, so there are very few interchangeable sets. And the sets are layered, typically each octave consisting of 3 layers (2 layers for the white keys and 1 for the black).

That left me with only one option – somehow connect the broken key to the rest of the keys in the set. I could use superglue, but there would be sufficient strain at the join to break the key again at the very next stroke. So, I improvised.

The Repair

The solution I came up with was to brace the joint with a piece of metal. The metal strip would take up most of the strain when the key flexes, leaving the joint strain-free. I got my tin-snips out, located a can of tomato pureé in the recycle bag, and cut a piece of the can. I had to snip the top edge of the can using cutting pliers since the lip is too thick for the tin snips. Cutting the rest of the piece out was easy.

I then cut a thin strip out from the square piece – wide enough to sit inside the key cavity. I shaped the strip to follow the contour of the part where I was gluing. I first glued the 2 plastic parts where it had snapped using super glue. Then I put one drop of superglue on each end of the metal strip, and held it against the plastic surface for 10 seconds to get a firm bond. I had never noticed this before, but for a few seconds, the surface you are glueing heats up!

One thing you need to make sure is that both the metal and plastic surface are completely clean. I scrubbed the metal surface against the cutting edge of the snips and the plastic surface using some rubbing alcohol. The inner surface of cans have a plastic liner, so if you don’t scrape that liner off, you will only get a superficial bond and the metal will come right off since there is no glue on the metal surface itself.

I was then able to put the keys back together, and the piano was working again, save for a slightly harder stroke on the B4 key.

Update: The same key broke again after 2 weeks right beyond the end of the metal strip. I guess the plastic strip meant to provide the flexion is at the end of its life. Not to be defeated easily, I braced it again with a strip of metal on the other side.Let’s see how long this lasts. But the writing on the wall is clear – I need another keyboard if I intend to continue learning!

Acknowledgements: Thanks to FreeFoto.com for the Creative Commons licensed stock image of a keyboard.

Digital pianos offer you impressive sound along with a feel and dynamics of an acoustic piano. Larger tones and ranges are offered with varied models and brands of pianos and these are result of different key actions and strings that are built with them. Sound is reproduced with contact of a key with strip and this contact gives an electrical charge to processor which in turn gives sound. Keys are definitely important aspect of sound reproduction and if keys are damaged, loose, dirty or sticky; it would surely affect playability and would give you sound interference. Thus user needs to keep an eye on keys and examine/fix them when required.

Experience with keys that stuck

Nothing could be more annoying than keys that get stuck while playing a digital piano. The entire experience of playing and flow of sound will be affected and ruined if keys stuck. All the efforts would become useless if this is the problem with your keyboard. The main issue could be dirt or grime between keys of the keyboard and in this situation; you only need to clean up keys.

Some instructions for fixing piano keys:

1. Keys stuck, cleaning dirty keys:

Casio Keyboard Volume Not Working

Determine material of your keys: First determine what is the material of your digital piano keys? If you have those ebony black and ivory white keys, you need to clean them with extensive care. Many of the digital pianos now days have plastic keys. If you witness some yellowing in your white keys, have grain and you will be able to see a join between bottom and top layers of keys. If not then you have plastic ones.
Use a damp cloth for cleaning of your keys and make them dry.
Use a small amount of liquid soap with a damp cloth.
Clean dirty keys with this cloth. Your grip must be firm but rubbing must be light.
Gently rub keys until they are completely clean.
These steps can be followed for plastic keys but for ivory keys, you would need to get ivory scrapper.

2. If keys still stuck:

If keys still stuck, check cleaning instructions specific for your piano brand. You can find these instructions in user manual and can search for help online. You will easily find cleaning instructions for many of the leading brands of digital pianos.
Keys may become unstick as you wiggle your fingers through them up and down gently.
You can try pressing down the keys that stuck and others adjacent to them. You can release the keys by using a flathead screwdriver. Insert it gently between keys that stuck, drive them apart and twist it slight

Casio Keyboard Not Working