Pedaling Question

[tbsurf]

Where the music has pedaling indicated in places, does that mean you are not supposed to use the pedal where it is not indicated?  Working on my own, I usually experiment and go with what I think sounds good.  That is what I do when there are no pedaling marks.

[iansinclair]

If there is specific pedaling marked, and if and only if the music from which you are working is urtext -- that is a reproduction of the composer's own score -- then it's probably best to pedal where it is indicated.  That, however, does not mean you shouldn't use the pedal elsewhere; it's sometimes handy.  However, if not urtext, then it's kind of up to your own good musical sense.  It helps, though, to have a good critic or teacher give you some feedback on what works -- and what doesn't.

[outin]

No, most composers did not bother to mark the pedalling properly throughout the pieces, editors may have messed them up and instruments are also different these days. So even if it's urtext does not mean it will actually sound as the composer meant. So better to use your ears.

[louispodesta]

Vis a vis: "inasinclair and "outin," both are mostly correct, with the exception of the Urtrext reference.  As my Historical Performance librarian at the University of Texas (Austin) stated to me "in passing" last year: there isn't an applied musicologist alive who still considers Urtext scores legitimate.

Accordingly, most pedal markings have never been considered dogma.  That is why a composer named Debussy not only never wrote in pedal markings, he also never wrote in any fingerings.

And, it was for the same reason: personal preference is one thing, and ones individual hand morphology is still another.

Finally, I refer you to UNT's Concert Pianist Joseph Banowetz's widely cited work, and also a much cheaper version, both of which are available "for free" from you local library:

https://www.amazon.com/Pianists-Guide-Pedaling-Midland-Book/dp/0253207320/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1490827960&sr=8-1&keywords=joseph+banowetz

https://www.amazon.com/Art-Piano-Pedaling-Classic-Guides/dp/048642782X/ref=pd_bxgy_14_img_2?_encoding=UTF8&pd_rd_i=048642782X&pd_rd_r=C40TGGBQ2316CXD5WJMA&pd_rd_w=xCVuW&pd_rd_wg=1a2kk&psc=1&refRID=C40TGGBQ2316CXD5WJMA