Should You Follow Pedal Markings in Your Scores?

Welcome to LivingPianos.com, I’m Robert Estrin. The question today is about whether you should you follow pedal markings in your scores. All too often, you don’t even have pedal markings! So where should you pedal? In a nutshell, it’s where harmonies change. You don’t want to blur harmonies from one chord to another because you get a mess of dissonance. So whenever harmonies change, that’s the appropriate place to change the pedal. But what about when you do have pedal indications in the score? Well, this comes down to two factors. Are they the composer’s markings or the editor’s markings?

Very few composers wrote pedal markings in their scores.

Most of the pedal markings you’re going to find are editors’ markings. You can try them, but I would, for the most part, ignore them unless you find them helpful. Now, what about when composers write pedal markings? There are some places where Beethoven wrote pedal markings, for example. Even then, with Beethoven as a good example, the piano was a very different instrument during Beethoven’s lifetime. As a matter of fact, the piano was a very different instrument early in Beethoven’s life compared to later in his life! The piano was evolving. The pedaling that worked for Beethoven’s piano doesn’t necessarily work well for the modern piano. Well, what about later composers? If you have composers from the late 19th or 20th century who wrote pedal markings, should you follow them? You may want to in some instances.

Sometimes you’ll have markings for the una corda pedal, the soft pedal. Should you follow them?

In regards to the una corda pedal, on some pianos, the soft pedal does almost nothing. On a new piano, for example, where the hammers aren’t grooved, the change in position of the hammers makes very little difference. On other pianos, it can make a dramatic difference in tone. If the hammers are very heavily grooved, the una corda pedal will make a significant tonal change. You’ve probably noticed how, on a grand piano, the action and the hammers move when you depress the una corda pedal. That puts the soft felt striking the strings. So did the composer make these una corda pedal markings for a piano with a dramatic change or a subtle change? You have to weigh that in deciding whether you follow the markings. Ultimately, your ears are your guide.

What about sustain pedal markings?

In regards to the sustain pedal, different pianos have different levels of sustain. Different rooms have different qualities of reverberation. Also, the composer may or may not have been a great interpreter of their own music! So I would say pedal markings are suggestions. Try them, by all means, when the composer wrote them, certainly, and even if editors wrote them. But if they don’t work for you, don’t feel compelled to follow pedal markings in your scores. They may or may not work on your piano, in your room, or in the style you’re trying to achieve in your playing. I hope this is helpful for you! Thanks again for joining me, Robert Estrin, here at LivingPianos.com, Your Online Piano Resource.

For premium videos and exclusive content, you can join my Living Pianos Patreon channel! www.Patreon.com/RobertEstrin

Contact me if you are interested in private lessons. I have many resources for you! Robert@LivingPianos.com