Practicing Without Pedal

AUG 6, 2012:  If it's possible for you not to use the pedal when you practice, I'd say that's the best way to go.  Some people feel so uncomfortable practicing that way that they may use the pedal in places anyway.  The reason I think it's a good idea is that you can hear every note with the pedals off.  But there are sections of certain pieces of piano music which make no sense unless you do pedal shadings (or hold the right pedal down) even in the beginning stages of learning.

Here's another solution if not using the pedal while practicing bothers you:  try practicing it without pedal for a while---and then add the pedal for a while.  In other words, do your practicing in two versions:  one with pedal, one without.  Even if a certain passage doesn't make sense without pedal, you'll still hear things you wouldn't ordinarily hear this way.

What may happen if you choose to practice without pedal is that you'll develop a taste for really clean playing---and you'll refrain from using pedal in places where you would use it routinely.  At any rate, when you finally do add the pedal---to get the piece ready for performance---you'll hear it differently, and possibly more accurately, than before.