For Beginner Students
Students trying pedalling for the first time in a piece should find pieces that have a simple pedalling scheme, such as a "The Church Bells are Ringing" style song that instructs the student to hold the pedal down throughout the whole song. This allows for use of the "damper" pedal (the far right pedal of the piano) in a simple setting. Primer and Level 1 method books (Faber, Alfred, Bastien) will start to use pedalling in songs gradually and for short periods of time to not overwhelm the student.
For Intermediate Students
Students using the damper (far right) piano pedal in Level 2-5 songs (in the Faber, Bastien, Alfred or other method series) should learn the basic pedalling markings written in music. A "Ped." marking means push the pedal down, and a "*" large asterisk marking means release the pedal. If a "line" system is used to denote pedalling, a sustained line means hold the pedal down when the line is present, and a "notch"(^) in the pedal line means to "clear" the pedal (lift the pedal then immediately push it down again) so new chords won't blur with old chords.
Students at the beginner and intermediate levels many times face the challenge of when precisely to clear the pedal when playing. As a rule, lift the pedal at the precise instant a new chord or downbeat is played. Once the lift has occurred and the new chord is being held, very quickly push the pedal down again to begin sustaining the new chord. Pedalling too early will cause a "gap" in your sound. Pedalling too late will cause the chords to blur.
For Advanced Students
Students playing advanced pieces should remember four rules in deciding on pedalling schemes:
1. Pedalling is an aid to playing "legato", or smooth and connected. Use the pedal to keep a connected sound to your playing when it's a challenge for the fingers to achieve this by themselves.
2. Pedalling can give your song a "dreamy" effect. This pedal "wash" feel is useful for romantic and dreamy style pieces.
3. Keep in mind in situations 1 and 2 that the pedal should usually clear when a new chord is presented so it won't blur with the former or current chord. In the case of creating a "dreamy" effect, this standard rule can be relaxed and some blurring of chords can be pleasing to the ear if not overdone.
4. When pedalling is added to a song, the ear (focused listening) needs to be a guide to adjust the coordination between hand and foot. As the damper pedal adds more "body" to the piano sound, the fingers should usually adjust by playing in a lighter manner to BALANCE out the effect of using both hand and foot. If both fingers and pedalling are used "full force", the result is usually an overly thick sound that is not pleasing to the ear.