Pedaling

[cody_wickham]

I believe in piano Pedaling is very important.  I have a simple question.  Is it possible to play a piano song legato and very smoothly without the use of any pedal.  Take for example Chopin' Fantaisie impromptu.  Rachmaninoff Star spangled banner.  Thalberg's Fantasy on moses

[mrvladimirhorowitz]

Yes it is possible, by using legato fingering. But this should only be done as a practice test, to check whether all the phrases link up with the fingers rather than with the pedal. In concert the pedal in essential as it adds resonance. It of course depends on what venue you are playing in and on what piano. Inbox me if you need any more ideas VH

[pianisten1989]

Though, I really doubt you can sing fantasie impromptu. Since you said it's a song, I assume you intended to sing it? But how to use a pedal when you sing? iih, I'm confused! >.<

[fleetfingers]

Yes, it's possible. The use of pedal will affect the tone of the music, so whether or not to use it depends on the piece you're playing and what sound you're trying to achieve.

It would be wise to practice regularly without pedal, so as not to become dependent upon it.

[lostinidlewonder]

You can play a piece without pedal but it will never sound AND feel like it should if you have it mastered with the pedal. You may be able to play certain passages of the pieces you ask without the pedal but connecting groups where the hands must control new positions will not work well without pedal, if you physically contort to produce it you really are just making things difficult on yourself for no reason.

I for one rely on the pedal a great deal to free up my hands and be able to produce a desired sound with least effort. I had a digital piano which had a sustain pedal that would randomly disconnect on me, sometimes I had no energy to open it up and fix it and just practiced without pedal. What I play sounds funny and nothing like it should, I end up having to keep fingers onto notes for longer thus making overall playing a lot less effortless. Playing a piece which requires pedal without the pedal serves little purpose if you are no longer in the process of memorization.

[richard black]

Pretty obviously, you can only sustain a finger legato as long as no consecutive notes within a phrase are more than a handspan apart. Most piano repertoire was written with the pedal in mind - why on earth (other than as a purely technical exercise) would one want to try to do without it?