Pedal Point - A Simple Musical Motif For Mystery

US Repeat the same bass note 01/11/21

New and novel approaches to composition are always fun to explore - here's one which has been used countless times, which might freshen up your music. Pedal point is a strong tonal effect which simply means not changing the bass note in your chord progression - offering a uniform sound with the occasional oddly satisfying dissonance.

In this video from ReasonStudios, Ryan explains the technique and shows it in practice - as well as offering a free combinator device to make your own pedal tones in Reason. The technique comes from the ability to play bass notes on an organ using your feet; in this case meaning you don't have to move your feet at all - concentrating on the hands only. Ryan gives the example of Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne as his key influence for this technique. Here's that track:

About the author [midierror]: midierror makes nifty Max For Live devices, innovative music hardware, award winning sample packs and hosts a podcast speaking to people in the music world.