Pedal point

Pedal points often appear in early baroque music "alla battaglia", notably prolonged in Heinrich Schütz's Es steh Gott auf (SWV 356) and Claudio Monteverdi's Altri canti di Marte.

The term "pedal point" 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.

The closing section of the third movement of Johannes Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem, "Herr, lehre doch mich" (bars 173–208), features a sustained timpani roll on D natural for over two minutes until resolving in the final chord: Ernest Newman (1947, p. iii) wrote of the "mixed reception" given to the Requiem, particularly this movement, which "was greeted with many expressions of disapproval; the continual pedal point—intensified by the too vigorous work of the drummer".

The prelude to Das Rheingold features an E♭ pedal tone in the bass for 162 bars:Robert Donington (1963, p. 35)[9] says: "The Ring opens quietly, but with an effect which in the context of harmonized music is apparently unique.

A chord of E♭ major builds up: first the tonic sounds in the abysmal depths; next a fifth is added; then an arpeggio movement on the complete triad, calm but swelling, an embryonic motive ...

By contrast, the stormy prelude to Die Walküre features an inverted pedal: the sustained tremolos in the upper strings offset the melodic and rhythmic activity in the 'cellos and basses:Alban Berg’s expressionist opera Wozzeck makes subtle use of a pedal tone in Act 3, scene 2, when the jealous, put-upon soldier Wozzeck murders his unfaithful wife, Marie.

Douglas Jarman (1989, p38) describes the powerful dramatic effect of this episode:[10] "Marie and Wozzeck are walking through the wood.

A long crescendo begins as the note B natural, which has been present as a subdued pedal point throughout the scene, is now taken up by the kettledrums.

Examples of jazz tunes which include pedal points include Duke Ellington's "Satin Doll"" (intro), Stevie Wonder's "Too High" (intro), Miles Davis's "On Green Dolphin Street", Bill Evans's "34 Skidoo", Herbie Hancock's "Dolphin Dance" from his Maiden Voyage album, Pat Metheny's "Lakes" and "Half Life of Absolution", and John Coltrane's "Naima".

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.

[14] Other notable examples from similar genres are the music for the opening title of the TV series "Sherlock" by David Arnold and Michael Price, and one of the main themes of Interstellar by Hans Zimmer: "[...] to sustain a dominant pedal at length as this theme does gives an impression of a prolonged avoidance of resolution.

[15] 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.

Thrash metal in particular makes abundant use a muted low E string (or lower, if other tunings are used) as a pedal point.

Pedal tone example. The repeated d in the first bar is the pedal point. [ 1 ] Play ⓘ
Pedal point example. Play ⓘ
Purcell Fantazia upon One Note
Purcell Fantazia upon One Note, opening bars.
J. S. Bach, concluding bars of the Fugue in C major from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, BWV 846
J. S. Bach, concluding bars of the Fugue in C major from The Well-Tempered Clavier , Book I, BWV 846
Pedal tone in Bach's Prelude no. 6 in D Minor, BWV 851, from The Well-Tempered Clavier, Book I, bars 1–2
Pedal tone in Bach's Prelude no. 6 in D Minor, BWV 851, from The Well-Tempered Clavier , Book I, bars 1–2. [ 3 ] All pedal tone notes are consonant except for the last three of the first bar. [ 3 ]
Schubert, Erlkönig, piano introduction
Schubert, Erlkönig, piano introduction
Chopin, Prelude in D ♭ Major, Op. 28, No. 15, bars 24–31
Chopin, Prelude in D ♭ Major, Op. 28, No. 15, bars 24–31
Brahms, Requiem, 3rd movement, beginning of the closing section
Wagner, opening of the Prelude to Das Rheingold
Wagner, opening of the Prelude to Das Rheingold.
Wagner, opening of the Prelude to Die Walkure
Wagner, opening of the Prelude to Die Walkure.