Teaching Diary - The purpose of using sustain pedal

The timing of using sustain pedal is very abstract to students as the pedal marking is not always clearly shown on the score. It depends on the reasons of using sustain pedal and the condition of piano.

Beforehand, you have to think about the reasons - why we have to use pedal. For example, is it for helping our hands to link up the notes? is it for polishing the sound so that it will not be too dry? is it for supporting the dynamic changes?

All the purposes can only be judged by our ears. It is not about the pedal marking. It is also hard to describe precisely how much and how long we should use. 

If you are struggling with it, please ask your teacher for their opinions and ask yourself "do I need to use pedal?" and "why should I use pedal?"