Ohne Pedal

As Printed on a Score

Printed below the piano staves at the start of a passage or piece that should be played dry. It lasts until a Ped. or mit Pedal marking appears.

How Composers Use It

Pianists pedal by habit, so ohne Pedal is an active instruction: clean, dry articulation in which every rest and staccato is heard. Use it for contrapuntal clarity, for percussive effects, or to contrast with a pedalled passage. Schoenberg and other modern composers mark it explicitly because their textures depend on the silences between notes.

Example

Schoenberg, Das Buch der hängenden Gärten, Op. 15, “Jedem Werke bin ich fürder tot”, piano: “ohne Pedal” stands at the opening, with f falling to pp within two bars.

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