Editing Pedal point (section)

{{Short description|Musical tone}}
{{redirect|Double pedal|the double drum pedal|Double bass drum}}
{{for-multi|"pedal point" in the mathematical sense|Pedal curve|the "pedal" concept in brass instruments|Pedal tone}}
[[File:Pedal tone example.png|thumb|Pedal tone example. The repeated d in the first bar is the pedal point.<ref>Zinn, David (1981). ''The Structure & Analysis of the Modern Improvised Line'', p. 118. {{ISBN|978-0-935016-03-1}}.</ref> {{audio|Pedal tone example.mid|Play}}]]
In music, a '''pedal point''' (also '''pedal note''', '''organ point''', pedal tone, or pedal) is a [[sustain]]ed [[Musical note|tone]], typically in the [[bass note|bass]], during which at least one foreign (i.e. [[consonance and dissonance|dissonant]]) harmony is sounded in the other [[part (music)|parts]]. A pedal point sometimes functions as a "[[non-chord tone]]", placing it in the categories alongside [[Suspension (music)|suspension]]s, [[Suspension (music)|retardation]]s, and [[passing tone]]s. However, the pedal point is unique among non-chord tones, "in that it begins on a consonance, sustains (or [[repetition (music)|repeats]]) through another chord as a dissonance until the [[harmony]]", not the non-chord tone, "resolves back to a consonance".<ref name="smu">Frank, Robert J. (2000). [http://www.smu.edu/totw/nct.htm "Non-Chord Tones"]. {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070703095155/http://www.smu.edu/TOTW/nct.htm |date=2007-07-03 }}, ''Theory on the Web'', Southern Methodist University.</ref>

[[File:pedalpoint.gif|thumb|center|400px|Pedal point example. {{audio|Pedalpoint.mid|Play}}]]

Pedal points "have a strong tonal effect, 'pulling' the harmony back to its [[root (chord)|root]]".<ref name="smu" /> Pedal points can also build drama or intensity and expectation. When a pedal point occurs in a [[voice (music)|voice]] other than the bass, it is usually referred to as an '''inverted pedal point'''<ref name="B&S">Benward & Saker (2003). ''Music: In Theory and Practice'', Vol. I, p. 99. Seventh Edition. {{ISBN|978-0-07-294262-0}}.</ref> (see [[inversion (music)|inversion]]). Pedal points are usually on either the [[tonic (music)|tonic]] or the [[dominant (music)|dominant]] (fifth note of the [[scale (music)|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 center]]s.

The term comes from the [[organ (music)|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.