Songs which use pedal notes

Kebabkid

On this basis, I think Journey's 'Separate Ways' may also be an example, both the intro and some of the verse or am I wrong?

borntohang

hammeringthecramps said:

Queen and David Bowie's Under Pressure utilises a pedal D based riff in the intro and first half of the verses (if you're including a bass guitar providing the pedal note). The bass then follows the descending major scale on the second half of the verse down the octave, more melodically underpinning the chord changes. Very effective!

UP is a beautiful progression. Hammer To Fall is another nice obvious one where the open A pedals through both the verse riff and the chorus riff - don't think it changes up until the bridge and it's so dramatic because of that.

viz

Mr Brightside has an upper pedal in the vocals

https://youtu.be/gGdGFtwCNBE?feature=shared

Decorativeed

Haych said:

So, I've been noodling and have fallen upon a nice little ditty.  Trouble is (maybe it isn't?), it uses a pedal note throughout on the A string, while the chord tones (just the 3rd and 5th) change between D^, C^, Bm, Am and G^.

To me it sounds alright, I quite like it, but I'm worried that hanging on to the A pedal/bass/whatever it actually is, is completely boring.

I can't think of any for myself, but are there any well known songs which hang onto a pedal throughout?  Are there any which use a pedal for a significant part but change partway through?

Would be interesting to research how writers far better than me handled it.

TIA

The Beatles' All Too Much is just G all the way through, and it manages to still be sonically interesting.

Perhaps my favourite example though, is this one. Ira Kaplan's guitar line has a drone in D, but the simple descending bassline provides all the harmonic complexity:

MagicPigDetective

Hands All Over by Soundgarden- in dropped D, the open 4th string D is droned and pedalled throughout 

https://youtu.be/sQOOgQtLI4M?si=Sobl2TsAMVzKDl0z

Bezzer

She Sells Sanctuary - The Cult. If there is a point that open D string isn't being played I can't remember it.

Bellycaster

Hitch a Ride by Boston pedals the "A" note on the intro and verses. It's probably one of my favourites on that album.

Devil#20

Isn't putting in pedal points what your looper pedal is for if you want to accompany yourself?

maltingsaudio

borntohang said:

hammeringthecramps said:

Queen and David Bowie's Under Pressure utilises a pedal D based riff in the intro and first half of the verses (if you're including a bass guitar providing the pedal note). The bass then follows the descending major scale on the second half of the verse down the octave, more melodically underpinning the chord changes. Very effective!

UP is a beautiful progression. Hammer To Fall is another nice obvious one where the open A pedals through both the verse riff and the chorus riff - don't think it changes up until the bridge and it's so dramatic because of that.

Add Tie Your Mother down to this list

Bork

Mull of Kintyre - Wings...pretty much anything based off bagpipes has pedal tones.  Although technically there are two in the chorus.


Black Mountainside - Led Zep, quite a few folk songs have pedal tones.


Black Mountainside was based on another song by Bert Jansch called Black Waterside.