>Step by step

Working with pedal points

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Here’s a harmonised C major scale – seven notes, from C to B, played on the white notes of the piano keyboard. I’ve harmonised it by stacking up alternate notes from the scale in threes to make three-note chords, or triads, labelled with Roman numerals – upper case for major chords and lower case for minor and diminished chords. 2

The most obvious choice for a pedal point is the root note, or tonic, of the key we’re in. Let’s demonstrate by superimposing a high C note over each of the chords in our harmonised C major scale. Even though C doesn’t appear in all the chords, it still sounds relatively harmonious, because it’s the tonic note of the key. 3

Let’s make a simple progression using some of these chords – this will make it a diatonic progression to the key of C major. Using the tonic I, IV and V chords, we can create the progression I-IV-V, or C > F > G in this key. Let’s also include a lefthand part, playing the root note of each chord and following the progression as the chords change. 4

Now look what happens when we change the bass part, so that instead of following the chord changes, we just stick to one note – the tonic of C. Now the chords are effectively C > F/C > G/C – they’ve become what are known as slash chords, and the progression suddenly sounds a lot more exciting, as if something impressive is heading our way. 5

Another choice might be the dominant – the root note of a key’s V chord. This creates a restless, unresolved feel as you’re yearning to hear it drop to the tonic. To illustrate, let’s take the same progression, but shift the sustained bass note to G – the dominant of C major. We’re left with a feeling of wanting to move on to somewhere else… 6

…so let’s now take this further and add a few non-diatonic, ‘borrowed’ chords. Eb Eb, Bb), Ab How about tagging major ( G,

Ab, Eb) major ( C, – both of which are borrowed from the parallel key of C minor Bbsus2 Bb,

– and ( F, C) onto the end, but continuing with our sustained G in the bass? And while we’re at it, let’s change the pedal point to eighth notes.

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When working in minor keys, the ‘pedal point emotion injection barometer’ swings from excitement over to tension, especially when using a growly, sustained synth bass tone. Here’s Curve 2 CM’s Bass Syn Open A LE preset playing a repeated 16th-note C note under a moody C minor synth chord progression of Cm,

Bb, Ab,

Cm.

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If the pedal point is a note that isn’t the tonic or dominant, the discord this creates can enhance the effect even further. In fact, you could go crazy and use any note from the parent scale of the key we’re in. Here’s a D major progression F# I > ii > iii > IV, translating in F# this C#), key to D ( D,

F#

A), Em ( E, G, B), m( A G( G, B, D).

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Let’s add a repeated 2nd – the note E – as a pedal point, playing quarter-notes on a high-string sound. E is only found in one of our four chords, and it’s neither the tonic nor dominant – it’s the 2nd note in the parent scale of D major. Adding F# a high

E to the first chord of D major ( D A) effectively adds a ninth, making it audible as a D9 chord.

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Adding the E to the second chord, Em, simply reinforces the chord’s root

F# note of E, but with the third m F# chord, C#

F# we’ve created an m7 sound ( A E).

Lastly, E is the sixth in a G major chord, so this chord effectively becomes a G6 ( G, B,

D, E). Our apparent finished progression is F# now D9 > Em > m7 > G6.

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An alternative pedal point technique bends the rules a bit by using an arpeggiator to generate a single-note sequence. To illustrate, we have an eightbar section of a typical classic house track. The chord progression consists of all minor chords, exploiting the ‘chord memory’ effect popular in the genre –

Ebm Bbm. we’ve got Fm > Cm > >

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For the pedal point, I’m using an edited version of Dune CM’s Amnesia

89 RL – an arpeggiated preset that I’ve tweaked so that all the arpeggio steps are playing different octaves of the root note of F. An automated filter sweep across the whole eight bars keeps things moving, with those insistent Fs conveying a sense of urgency throughout.