Pedal point
Encyclopedia
In tonal music
, a pedal point (also pedal tone, pedal note, organ point, or pedal) is a sustain
ed tone
, typically in the bass
, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant
harmony is sounded in the other parts
. A pedal point sometimes functions as a "non-chord tone", placing it in the categories alongside suspensions, retardations, and passing tones. However, the pedal point is unique among non-chord tones, "in that begins on a consonance, sustains (or repeats
) through another chord as a dissonance until the harmony
," not the non-chord tone, "resolves back to a consonance."
Pedal points "have a strong tonal effect, 'pulling' the harmony back to its root
." When a pedal point occurs in a voice other than the bass, it is usually referred to as an inverted pedal point (see inversion
). Pedal points are usually on either the tonic
or the dominant
(fifth note of the scale) tones. The pedal tone is considered a chord tone in the original harmony, then a nonchord tone
during the intervening dissonant harmonies, and then a chord tone again when the harmony resolves. A dissonant pedal point may go against all harmonies present during its duration, being almost more like an added tone than a nonchord tone, or pedal points may serve as atonal pitch centers.
The term comes from the organ
for its ability to sustain a note indefinitely and the tendency for such notes to be played on an organ's pedal keyboard. The pedal keyboard on an organ is played by the feet; as such, the organist can hold down a pedal point for lengthy periods while both hands perform higher-register music on the manual keyboards.
An inverted pedal is a pedal that is not in the bass (and often is the highest part.) Mozart
included numerous inverted pedals in his works, particularly in the solo parts of his concerto
s. An internal pedal is a pedal that is similar to the inverted pedal, except that it is played in the middle register between the bass and the upper voices.
A drone
differs from a pedal point in degree or quality. A pedal point may be a nonchord tone
and thus required to resolve
, unlike a drone, or a pedal point may simply be a shorter drone, a drone being a longer pedal point.
Pedal points are often found near the end of fugue
s "...to reestablish the tonality of the composition after it has become clouded by the numerous modulations and digressions along the way within the middle entries of the subject and answer and in the connecting episodes." Fugues often conclude with figures written over a bass pedal point. Pedal points are also used in other polyphonic compositions to strengthen a final cadence
, signal important structural points in the composition, and for their dramatic effect.
Pedal points are somewhat problematic on the harpsichord
or piano
, which have only a limited sustain capability. Often the pedal note is simply repeated at intervals. A pedal tone can also be realized with a trill
; this is particularly common with inverted pedals. Another method of producing a pedal point on the harpsichord is to repeat the pedal point note (or its octave) on every beat. The rarely-seen pedal harpsichord, a harpsichord with a pedal keyboard, makes it easier to perform repeated bass notes on the harpsichord, since both hands are still free to play on the upper manual keyboards.
The term is also used to describe a bass note that is held for a long period in orchestral music, as in the symphonies of Jean Sibelius
. Pedal points for orchestral music are often performed by the double basses with the bow, which creates a sustained, organ-like bass tone underneath the changing harmonies in the upper voices.
Another example, one in which a timpani
roll is used as the pedal point, is the final section of Johannes Brahms
's Ein deutsches Requiem
: "Herr, lehre doch mich." In this example, a D natural is sustained in pedal point for nearly 2½ minutes until resolving in the final chord of the movement.
tunes which include pedal points include Duke Ellington
's "Satin Doll
" (intro), Stevie Wonder
's "Too High
" (intro), Bill Evans
's "Skidoo", Herbie Hancock
's "Dolphin Dance", Pat Metheny
's "Lakes
" and "Half Life of Absolution
", and John Coltrane
's "Naima
". The latter, from the album Giant Steps
, has the notation "E pedal" to instruct the bass
player to play a sustained pedal. Jazz musicians also use pedal points to add tension to the bridge
or solo
sections of a tune. In an ii-V-I progression, some jazz musicians play a V pedal note under all three chords, or under the first two chords. Other examples include Miles Davis
's "Agitation".
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.
Other examples include The Supremes
' "You Keep Me Hangin' On
" (chorus: octave E's against A, G, and F major chords) and John Denver
's "The Eagle And The Hawk
" (intro: top two guitar strings, B & E, against B, A, G, F, and E major chords). Also, Tom Petty
's "Free Falling
" and Goo Goo Dolls
' "Name
".
Tonality
Tonality is a system of music in which specific hierarchical pitch relationships are based on a key "center", or tonic. The term tonalité originated with Alexandre-Étienne Choron and was borrowed by François-Joseph Fétis in 1840...
, a pedal point (also pedal tone, pedal note, organ point, or pedal) is a sustain
Sustain
In music, sustain is a parameter of musical sound over time. As its name implies, it denotes the period of time during which the sound remains before it becomes inaudible, or silent.Additionally, sustain is the third of the four segments in an ADSR envelope...
ed tone
Note
In music, the term note has two primary meanings:#A sign used in musical notation to represent the relative duration and pitch of a sound;#A pitched sound itself....
, typically in the bass
Bass note
In music theory, the bass note of a chord or sonority is the lowest note played or notated. If there are multiple voices it is the note played or notated in the lowest voice. While the bass note is often the root or fundamental of the chord, it does not have to be, and sometimes one of the other...
, during which at least one foreign, i.e., dissonant
Consonance and dissonance
In music, a consonance is a harmony, chord, or interval considered stable, as opposed to a dissonance , which is considered to be unstable...
harmony is sounded in the other parts
Register (music)
In music, a register is the relative "height" or range of a note, set of pitches or pitch classes, melody, part, instrument or group of instruments...
. A pedal point sometimes functions as a "non-chord tone", placing it in the categories alongside suspensions, retardations, and passing tones. However, the pedal point is unique among non-chord tones, "in that begins on a consonance, sustains (or repeats
Repetition (music)
Repetition is important in music, where sounds or sequences are often repeated. One often stated idea is that repetition should be in balance with the initial statements and variations in a piece. It may be called restatement, such as the restatement of a theme...
) through another chord as a dissonance until the harmony
Harmony
In music, harmony is the use of simultaneous pitches , or chords. The study of harmony involves chords and their construction and chord progressions and the principles of connection that govern them. Harmony is often said to refer to the "vertical" aspect of music, as distinguished from melodic...
," not the non-chord tone, "resolves back to a consonance."
Root (chord)
In music theory, the root of a chord is the note or pitch upon which a triadic chord is built. For example, the root of the major triad C-E-G is C....
." When a pedal point occurs in a voice other than the bass, it is usually referred to as an inverted pedal point (see inversion
Inversion (music)
In music theory, the word inversion has several meanings. There are inverted chords, inverted melodies, inverted intervals, and inverted voices...
). Pedal points are usually on either the tonic
Tonic (music)
In music, the tonic is the first scale degree of the diatonic scale and the tonal center or final resolution tone. The triad formed on the tonic note, the tonic chord, is thus the most significant chord...
or the dominant
Dominant (music)
In music, the dominant is the fifth scale degree of the diatonic scale, called "dominant" because it is next in importance to the tonic,and a dominant chord is any chord built upon that pitch, using the notes of the same diatonic scale...
(fifth note of the scale) tones. The pedal tone is considered a chord tone in the original harmony, then a nonchord tone
Nonchord tone
A nonchord tone, nonharmonic tone, or non-harmony note is a note in a piece of music which is not a part of the implied harmony that is described by the other notes sounding at the time...
during the intervening dissonant harmonies, and then a chord tone again when the harmony resolves. A dissonant pedal point may go against all harmonies present during its duration, being almost more like an added tone than a nonchord tone, or pedal points may serve as atonal pitch centers.
The term comes from the organ
Organ (music)
The organ , is a keyboard instrument of one or more divisions, each played with its own keyboard operated either with the hands or with the feet. The organ is a relatively old musical instrument in the Western musical tradition, dating from the time of Ctesibius of Alexandria who is credited with...
for its ability to sustain a note indefinitely and the tendency for such notes to be played on an organ's pedal keyboard. The pedal keyboard on an organ is played by the feet; as such, the organist can hold down a pedal point for lengthy periods while both hands perform higher-register music on the manual keyboards.
Types
A double pedal is two pedal tones played simultaneously.An inverted pedal is a pedal that is not in the bass (and often is the highest part.) Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart , baptismal name Johannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart , was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical era. He composed over 600 works, many acknowledged as pinnacles of symphonic, concertante, chamber, piano, operatic, and choral music...
included numerous inverted pedals in his works, particularly in the solo parts of his concerto
Concerto
A concerto is a musical work usually composed in three parts or movements, in which one solo instrument is accompanied by an orchestra.The etymology is uncertain, but the word seems to have originated from the conjunction of the two Latin words...
s. An internal pedal is a pedal that is similar to the inverted pedal, except that it is played in the middle register between the bass and the upper voices.
A drone
Drone (music)
In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. The word drone is also used to refer to any part of a musical instrument that is just used to produce such an effect.-A musical effect:A drone...
differs from a pedal point in degree or quality. A pedal point may be a nonchord tone
Nonchord tone
A nonchord tone, nonharmonic tone, or non-harmony note is a note in a piece of music which is not a part of the implied harmony that is described by the other notes sounding at the time...
and thus required to resolve
Resolution (music)
Resolution in western tonal music theory is the move of a note or chord from dissonance to a consonance .Dissonance, resolution, and suspense can be used to create musical interest...
, unlike a drone, or a pedal point may simply be a shorter drone, a drone being a longer pedal point.
Pedal points are often found near the end of fugue
Fugue
In music, a fugue is a compositional technique in two or more voices, built on a subject that is introduced at the beginning in imitation and recurs frequently in the course of the composition....
s "...to reestablish the tonality of the composition after it has become clouded by the numerous modulations and digressions along the way within the middle entries of the subject and answer and in the connecting episodes." Fugues often conclude with figures written over a bass pedal point. Pedal points are also used in other polyphonic compositions to strengthen a final cadence
Cadence (music)
In Western musical theory, a cadence is, "a melodic or harmonic configuration that creates a sense of repose or resolution [finality or pause]." A harmonic cadence is a progression of two chords that concludes a phrase, section, or piece of music...
, signal important structural points in the composition, and for their dramatic effect.
Pedal points are somewhat problematic on the harpsichord
Harpsichord
A harpsichord is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It produces sound by plucking a string when a key is pressed.In the narrow sense, "harpsichord" designates only the large wing-shaped instruments in which the strings are perpendicular to the keyboard...
or piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
, which have only a limited sustain capability. Often the pedal note is simply repeated at intervals. A pedal tone can also be realized with a trill
Trill (music)
The trill is a musical ornament consisting of a rapid alternation between two adjacent notes, usually a semitone or tone apart, which can be identified with the context of the trill....
; this is particularly common with inverted pedals. Another method of producing a pedal point on the harpsichord is to repeat the pedal point note (or its octave) on every beat. The rarely-seen pedal harpsichord, a harpsichord with a pedal keyboard, makes it easier to perform repeated bass notes on the harpsichord, since both hands are still free to play on the upper manual keyboards.
The term is also used to describe a bass note that is held for a long period in orchestral music, as in the symphonies of Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius
Jean Sibelius was a Finnish composer of the later Romantic period whose music played an important role in the formation of the Finnish national identity. His mastery of the orchestra has been described as "prodigious."...
. Pedal points for orchestral music are often performed by the double basses with the bow, which creates a sustained, organ-like bass tone underneath the changing harmonies in the upper voices.
Another example, one in which a timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
roll is used as the pedal point, is the final section of Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms
Johannes Brahms was a German composer and pianist, and one of the leading musicians of the Romantic period. Born in Hamburg, Brahms spent much of his professional life in Vienna, Austria, where he was a leader of the musical scene...
's Ein deutsches Requiem
Ein deutsches Requiem
A German Requiem, To Words of the Holy Scriptures, Op. 45 by Johannes Brahms, is a large-scale work for chorus, orchestra, and a soprano and a baritone soloist, composed between 1865 and 1868. It comprises seven movements, which together last 65 to 80 minutes, making this work Brahms's longest...
: "Herr, lehre doch mich." In this example, a D natural is sustained in pedal point for nearly 2½ minutes until resolving in the final chord of the movement.
Use in jazz and popular music
Examples of jazzJazz
Jazz is a musical style that originated at the beginning of the 20th century in African American communities in the Southern United States. It was born out of a mix of African and European music traditions. From its early development until the present, jazz has incorporated music from 19th and 20th...
tunes which include pedal points include Duke Ellington
Duke Ellington
Edward Kennedy "Duke" Ellington was an American composer, pianist, and big band leader. Ellington wrote over 1,000 compositions...
's "Satin Doll
Satin Doll
"Satin Doll" is a jazz standard written by Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn with lyrics by Johnny Mercer. Written in 1953, the song has been recorded countless times, by such artists as Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, 101 Strings, and Nancy Wilson...
" (intro), Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
's "Too High
Innervisions
Innervisions is the sixteenth album by American musician Stevie Wonder, released August 3, 1973 on Motown Records; a landmark recording of his "classic period"...
" (intro), Bill Evans
Bill Evans
William John Evans, known as Bill Evans was an American jazz pianist. His use of impressionist harmony, inventive interpretation of traditional jazz repertoire, and trademark rhythmically independent, "singing" melodic lines influenced a generation of pianists including: Chick Corea, Herbie...
's "Skidoo", Herbie Hancock
Herbie Hancock
Herbert Jeffrey "Herbie" Hancock is an American pianist, bandleader and composer. As part of Miles Davis's "second great quintet," Hancock helped to redefine the role of a jazz rhythm section and was one of the primary architects of the "post-bop" sound...
's "Dolphin Dance", Pat Metheny
Pat Metheny
Patrick Bruce "Pat" Metheny is an American jazz guitarist and composer.One of the most successful and critically acclaimed jazz musicians to come to prominence in the 1970s and '80s, he is the leader of the Pat Metheny Group and is also involved in duets, solo works and other side projects...
's "Lakes
Watercolors (album)
Watercolors is Pat Metheny's second album, released in 1977.The Allmusic review by Richard S. Ginell awards the album 4 stars and states: "Metheny's softly focused, asymmetrical guitar style, with echoes of apparent influences as disparate as Jim Hall, George Benson, Jerry Garcia, and various...
" and "Half Life of Absolution
The Road to You
The Road to You is the Pat Metheny Group's second live album, released in 1993, ten years after their first live release, Travels. All of the pieces were recorded live on a European tour in 1991. The songs where taken from the Bari, Pescara; Jesi and Naples, Italy; Marseilles, Paris; and Besançon,...
", and John Coltrane
John Coltrane
John William Coltrane was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Working in the bebop and hard bop idioms early in his career, Coltrane helped pioneer the use of modes in jazz and later was at the forefront of free jazz...
's "Naima
Naima
"Naima" is a ballad composed by John Coltrane in 1959, and named after his then-wife, Juanita Naima Grubbs. It first appeared on the album Giant Steps, and is notable for its use of a variety of rich chords over a bass pedal...
". The latter, from the album Giant Steps
Giant Steps
-Personnel:* John Coltrane — tenor saxophone* Tommy Flanagan — piano* Wynton Kelly — piano on "Naima"* Paul Chambers — bass* Art Taylor — drums* Jimmy Cobb — drums on "Naima"* Cedar Walton — piano on "Giant Steps' and Naima" alternate versions...
, has the notation "E pedal" to instruct the bass
Bass (instrument)
Bass describes musical instruments that produce tones in the low-pitched range. They belong to different families of instruments and can cover a wide range of musical roles...
player to play a sustained pedal. Jazz musicians also use pedal points to add tension to the bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
or solo
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
sections of a tune. In an ii-V-I progression, some jazz musicians play a V pedal note under all three chords, or under the first two chords. Other examples include Miles Davis
Miles Davis
Miles Dewey Davis III was an American jazz musician, trumpeter, bandleader, and composer. Widely considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Miles Davis was, with his musical groups, at the forefront of several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz,...
's "Agitation".
Pop songs using pedal points include "Fly like an Eagle
Fly Like an Eagle (song)
"Fly Like an Eagle" is a song written by Steve Miller and by Steve Miller Band guitarist Steve McCarty on the album Fly Like an Eagle. The song went to number 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the week of January 8, 1977. The single edit can be found on Greatest Hits . The song has an...
" by the Steve Miller Band
Steve Miller Band
The Steve Miller Band is an American rock band formed in 1967 in San Francisco, California. The band is managed by Steve Miller on guitar and lead vocals, and is known for a string of mid-1970s hit singles that are staples of the classic rock radio format.-History:In 1965, Steve Miller and...
, "Superstition
Superstition (song)
"Superstition" is a popular song written, produced, arranged, and performed by Stevie Wonder for Motown Records in 1972, when Wonder was 22 years old. It was the lead single for Wonder's Talking Book album, and released in many countries. It reached number one in the USA, and number one on the soul...
" by Stevie Wonder, and "Crazy
Crazy (Seal song)
"Crazy" is a song written by English soul artist Seal and producer Guy Sigsworth . The song was produced by Trevor Horn for Seal's debut album Seal . Seal's debut single, "Crazy" is one of his biggest hits, reaching the top five in the United Kingdom and the top ten in the United States...
" by Seal
Seal (musician)
Seal Henry Olusegun Olumide Adeola Samuel , known simply as Seal, is a British soul and R&B singer-songwriter, of Nigerian and Brazilian background. Seal has won numerous music awards throughout his career, including three Brit Awards—winning Best British Male in 1992, four Grammy Awards, and an...
. The progressive rock
Progressive rock
Progressive rock is a subgenre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s as part of a "mostly British attempt to elevate rock music to new levels of artistic credibility." John Covach, in Contemporary Music Review, says that many thought it would not just "succeed the pop of...
band Genesis
Genesis (band)
Genesis are an English rock band that formed in 1967. The band currently comprises the longest-tenured members Tony Banks , Mike Rutherford and Phil Collins . Past members Peter Gabriel , Steve Hackett and Anthony Phillips , also played major roles in the band in its early years...
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
The Cinema Show
"The Cinema Show" is an epic rock song by British progressive rock band Genesis from their 1973 album, Selling England by the Pound.Musically, the song is divided into two main sections: The first section is a gentle 12-string guitar-based piece, featuring vocal harmonies between Peter Gabriel and...
", 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
James Brown
James Joseph Brown was an American singer, songwriter, musician, and recording artist. He is the originator of Funk and is recognized as a major figure in the 20th century popular music for both his vocals and dancing. He has been referred to as "The Godfather of Soul," "Mr...
’s "Sex Machine
Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine
"Get Up Sex Machine" is a funk song recorded by James Brown in 1970 and released as a two-part single on King Records....
"), and were already making frequent appearances in more commercial styles such as stadium rock (Van Halen
Van Halen
Van Halen is an American hard rock band formed in Pasadena, California, in 1972. The band has enjoyed success since the release of its debut album, Van Halen, . As of 2007 Van Halen has sold 80 million albums worldwide and has had the most #1 hits on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart...
’s 'Jump
Jump (Van Halen song)
"Jump" is a song by the American rock group Van Halen. It is the only single the group released in their career to reach number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100. It was released in 1984 as the second track on the album 1984...
') and synth-pop (Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
’s 'Relax
Relax (song)
"Relax" is the debut single by British dance group Frankie Goes to Hollywood, released in the UK by ZTT Records in 1983. The song was later included on the album Welcome to the Pleasuredome ....
')."
Film composers use pedal points to add tension to thrillers and horror films. In the Hitchcock
Alfred Hitchcock
Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock, KBE was a British film director and producer. He pioneered many techniques in the suspense and psychological thriller genres. After a successful career in British cinema in both silent films and early talkies, Hitchcock moved to Hollywood...
thriller film North by Northwest
North by Northwest
North by Northwest is a 1959 American thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, starring Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint and James Mason, and featuring Leo G. Carroll and Martin Landau...
, Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann
Bernard Herrmann was an American composer noted for his work in motion pictures.An Academy Award-winner , Herrmann is particularly known for his collaborations with director Alfred Hitchcock, most famously Psycho, North by Northwest, The Man Who Knew Too Much, and Vertigo...
, "uses the pedal point and ostinato
Ostinato
In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase, which is persistently repeated in the same musical voice. An ostinato is always a succession of equal sounds, wherein each note always has the same weight or stress. The repeating idea may be a rhythmic pattern, part of a tune, or a complete melody in...
as techniques to achieve tension," resulting in a dissonant, dramatic effect. In one scene, "The Phone Booth", Herrmann, "uses the timpani
Timpani
Timpani, or kettledrums, are musical instruments in the percussion family. A type of drum, they consist of a skin called a head stretched over a large bowl traditionally made of copper. They are played by striking the head with a specialized drum stick called a timpani stick or timpani mallet...
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
Steve Vai
Steven Siro "Steve" Vai is a three time Grammy Award-winning American guitarist, songwriter and producer who has sold over 15 million albums. Steve Vai is widely known as a flamboyant guitar virtuoso....
, Joe Satriani
Joe Satriani
Joseph "Joe" Satriani is an American instrumental rock guitarist and multi-instrumentalist, with multiple Grammy Award nominations...
, Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
, John Petrucci
John Petrucci
John Peter Petrucci is an American guitarist and songwriter best known as a founding member of the progressive metal band Dream Theater. Along with his former bandmate Mike Portnoy, he has produced all Dream Theater albums since their 1999 release, Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes from a Memory...
, Jason Becker
Jason Becker
Jason Eli Becker is an American virtuoso neo-classical metal guitarist and composer. At the age of 16, he became part of the Mike Varney-produced duo Cacophony with his friend Marty Friedman. They released Speed Metal Symphony in 1987 and Go Off! in 1988...
, Paul Gilbert
Paul Gilbert
Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr...
, John Sykes
John Sykes
John James Sykes , is an English rock guitarist, who has played with Streetfighter, Tygers of Pan Tang, John Sloman's Badlands, Thin Lizzy, Whitesnake, and Blue Murder, in addition to having a notable solo career....
and Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore
Vinnie Moore is a guitarist and a member of the English hard rock band UFO. Along with Yngwie Malmsteen, Tony MacAlpine, and others, Moore is known as one of the most influential guitarists to emerge out of the shredder boom in the mid 1980s.-Biography:Moore was born in New Castle, Delaware...
. Pedal points can be heard on records such as Vinnie Moore's "Time Odyssey" and "Mind's Eye
Mind's Eye (album)
Mind's Eye is the first studio album by guitarist Vinnie Moore, released in 1986 through Shrapnel Records. An article in Guitar World magazine ranked the album as third in the all-time top ten list of shred albums.-Track listing:-Personnel:...
"'; Yngwie Malmsteen's "Rising Force"; Jason Becker's "Perpetual Burn
Perpetual Burn
Perpetual Burn is the first studio album by guitarist Jason Becker, released in 1988 through Shrapnel Records.-Track listing:-Personnel:*Jason Becker – guitar, keyboard, bass, production...
"; and Richie Kotzen
Richie Kotzen
Richie Kotzen is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter.At a young age, Richie Kotzen was taken by music and first began playing piano at the age of five. At the age of seven he was inspired by the band KISS to learn the electric guitar...
's "Fever Dream". Thrash metal
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
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
Slayer
Slayer is an American thrash metal band formed in Huntington Park, California, in 1981 by guitarists Jeff Hanneman and Kerry King. Slayer rose to fame with their 1986 release, Reign in Blood, and is credited as one of the "Big Four" thrash metal acts, along with Metallica, Megadeth and...
, Metallica
Metallica
Metallica is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California. Formed in 1981 when James Hetfield responded to an advertisement that drummer Lars Ulrich had posted in a local newspaper. The current line-up features long-time lead guitarist Kirk Hammett and bassist Robert Trujillo ...
, Megadeth
Megadeth
Megadeth is an American heavy metal band from Los Angeles, California which was formed in 1983 by guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine, bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist Greg Handevidt, following Mustaine's expulsion from Metallica. The band has since released 13 studio albums, three live albums, two...
and Anthrax
Anthrax (band)
Anthrax is an American heavy metal band from New York City, formed in 1981. Founded by guitarists Scott Ian and Danny Lilker, the band has since released ten studio albums and 20 singles, and an EP featuring Public Enemy. The band was one of the most popular of the 1980s thrash metal scene...
. Megadeth's song "Hangar 18
Hangar 18 (song)
"Hangar 18" is a song by American heavy metal band Megadeth from the 1990 album Rust in Peace. UFO conspiracy theories, or possibly Hangar 18, the 1980 film based on those theories, inspired drummer Nick Menza to write the lyrics. Shortly thereafter, frontman Dave Mustaine composed the music...
" in particular makes use of pedal point throughout the track until its ending solo sections. In small combo jazz or jazz fusion
Jazz fusion
Jazz fusion is a musical fusion genre that developed from mixing funk and R&B rhythms and the amplification and electronic effects of rock, complex time signatures derived from non-Western music and extended, typically instrumental compositions with a jazz approach to lengthy group improvisations,...
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.
Other examples include The Supremes
The Supremes
The Supremes, an American female singing group, were the premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s.Originally founded as The Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, The Supremes' repertoire included doo-wop, pop, soul, Broadway show tunes, psychedelic soul, and disco...
' "You Keep Me Hangin' On
You Keep Me Hangin' On
Vanilla Fudge's 1967 psychedelic/hard rock remake of "You Keep Me Hangin' On" reached #6 on the Hot 100 chart two years after the release of the Supremes' recording. While the version released on 45 RPM single was under three minutes long, the album version was extended to six minutes and...
" (chorus: octave E's against A, G, and F major chords) and John Denver
John Denver
Henry John Deutschendorf, Jr. , known professionally as John Denver, was an American singer/songwriter, activist, and humanitarian. After growing up in numerous locations with his military family, Denver began his music career in folk music groups in the late 1960s. His greatest commercial success...
's "The Eagle And The Hawk
The Eagle and the Hawk
The Eagle and the Hawk may refer to:*The Eagle and the Hawk , a war film starring Fredric March and Cary Grant*The Eagle and the Hawk , a western starring John Payne and Rhonda Fleming...
" (intro: top two guitar strings, B & E, against B, A, G, F, and E major chords). Also, Tom Petty
Tom Petty
Thomas Earl "Tom" Petty is an American singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. He is the frontman of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers and was a founding member of the late 1980s supergroup Traveling Wilburys and Mudcrutch. He has also performed under the pseudonyms of Charlie T...
's "Free Falling
Free Fallin'
"Free Fallin" is the opening track from Tom Petty's 1989 solo album, Full Moon Fever. The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne...
" and Goo Goo Dolls
Goo Goo Dolls
The Goo Goo Dolls are a Grammy-nominated American rock band formed in 1986 in Buffalo, New York, by vocalist and guitarist John Rzeznik and vocalist and bass guitarist Robby Takac. Since the end of 1994, Mike Malinin has been the band's drummer, a position previously held by George Tutuska...
' "Name
Name (song)
"Name" is the title of a song recorded by the Goo Goo Dolls. It was released in September 1995 as the third single from the album, A Boy Named Goo. The song, the band's first hit, topped both the US Modern Rock chart and the US Album Rock chart, and reached as high as number 5 on the Billboard Hot...
".