Learn how to use pedal notes to add tension to your harmonic progressions.

What is a Pedal Note?

A pedal note, often also called pedal point, is a sustained note - usually in the bass register (left hand) - which is kept constant while the right hand harmonies change. For example, one can play C major over C bass, then F/C, then G/C and then C/C, where X/Y means the chord X over the bass Y (whatever X and Y are). In this example, the pedal note (or pedal point) is the C note, usually played with your left hand.

What are Pedal Notes Good For?

Pedal points create harmonic tension: they make the listener "anticipate" some sort of harmonic resolve. In the above example, F/C followed by G/C followed by C/C, the listener is mentally anticipating the resolution to C. Note that the C note is not even part of the G major chord, which is composed of the notes G, B and D - no C in there! Yet, in the correct context - as long as the progression ends up on the C chord - it makes perfect harmonic sense.

Where are Pedal Notes Used in Reality?

From Wikipedia: (at [ Ссылка ]):

Pop songs using pedal points include "Fly like an Eagle" by the Steve Miller Band, "Superstition" by Stevie Wonder, and "Crazy" by Seal. The progressive rock band Genesis often used a "pedal-point groove", in which the "bass remains static on the tonic as chords move above the bass at varying speeds," with the Genesis songs "Cinema Show" and "Apocalypse in 9/8" being examples of this. "By the late 1970s and early 1980s, pedal-point grooves such as this had become a well-worn cliché of progressive rock as they had of funk (James Brown's "Sex Machine"), and were already making frequent appearances in more commercial styles such as stadium rock (Van Halen's 'Jump') and synth-pop (Frankie Goes to Hollywood's 'Relax')."

Film composers use pedal points to add tension to thrillers and horror films. In the Hitchcock thriller film North by Northwest, Bernard Herrmann, "uses the pedal point and ostinato as techniques to achieve tension," resulting in a dissonant, dramatic effect. In one scene, "The Phone Booth", Herrmann, "uses the timpani playing a low pedal B-flat to create a sense of impending doom," as one character is arranging for another character's murder.

Rock guitarists have used pedal points in their solos, especially neoclassical guitarists such as Yngwie Malmsteen. Other rock guitarists that use pedal points in solos are Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, Eric Johnson, John Petrucci, Jason Becker, Paul Gilbert, John Sykes and Vinnie Moore. Pedal points can be heard on records such as Vinnie Moore's "Time Odyssey" and "Mind's Eye"'; Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force"; Jason Becker's "Perpetual Burn"; and Richie Kotzen's "Fever Dream". Thrash metal in particular makes abundant use a muted low E string (or lower, if other tunings are used) as a pedal point. Examples of thrash metal bands that make use of a muted low E string pedal point include: Slayer, Metallica, Megadeth and Anthrax. Megadeth's song "Hangar 18" in particular makes use of pedal point throughout the track until its ending solo sections. In small combo jazz or jazz fusion groups, the double bass player or Hammond organist may also introduce a pedal point (usually on the tonic or the dominant) in a tune that does not explicitly request a pedal point, to add tension and interest.

Related Videos:

You are all welcome to check out my other piano, music and harmony video lessons here on Youtube. Some select samples include:

Polychords: [ Ссылка ]
Songwriting Secrets: Rhythmic Doubling: [ Ссылка ]
Piano Tip: Achieving a modern sound with a "Fourth-on-Fifth": [ Ссылка ]
Music Technology 101: Sampling Rate and Bit Depth Explained:
How to simplify chord voicings: [ Ссылка ]

Other People's Videos:

Guitar players have been using pedal notes quite skillfully to create many interesting riffs and solos. Some interesting videos are:

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