How to use Pedal Tones for the guitar
Pedal tones describe a technique for the guitar where a single note remains present throughout an entire musical passage or a phrase. We’ll be looking at a couple of examples of pedal tones to help you easy incorporate them into your technique.
When it comes to pedal tones, there are two musical definitions that are completely unrelated. If you were to search for just pedal tones on the net, you would probably find this Wikipedia definition. “Pedal tones are special notes in the harmonic series of cylindrical-bore brass instruments.”
Accurate but not really relevant to the guitar. Adding “guitar” to our search criteria brings up a whole new meaning to the phrase ‘pedal tones’.
Pedal tones describe a technique for the guitar where a single note remains present throughout an entire musical passage or a phrase. This note could be present as a ‘droning’ note underlying the phrase or a constant rhythmic value between notes. An example of this would be if we played a straight C Major scale as ¼ notes then replayed the middle C between each of the notes of the scale as 8th notes. The middle C would become our pedal tone.
As guitar players, we are always looking for ways to create original sounding licks, riffs and chord progressions. And lets be honest, there are a plethora of way that we could both accomplish this.
The more technique tricks that you are aware of as a player, the more the fret-board becomes open to you. This will ensure that when you are trying to build your own arsenal of licks, riffs and chord structures, you are building ideas that will not only sound original, but will begin to define your particular style of playing. The way in which you use these techniques is as original as the individual notes you play. Your influences in genres, other players and even the instrument itself will all play a major role in how your style develops.
Lets look at a couple of examples using pedal tones. These ideas will give you the stepping-stones to use pedal tones in the development of your technique.
Using Pedal tones with Riffs:
A great example of using pedal tones in a riff is the guitar introduction to ‘Sweet Child ‘o’ Mine’ by Guns ‘n’ roses.
In the 1st part of the phrase, the pedal tone is the D played on the 12th fret. This note is repeated at the beginning of each bar affectively being used to dictate the chord that the riff is being played around. During the phrase, a second pedal tone is also introduced with the repeat of the A on the 14th fret. This note adds strength in defining the D chord as the tonic by alternating the pedal tones between the Tonic (the D) and the 5th (The A).
Using Pedal Tones with Chord Progressions:
This is the chord progression from one of my instrumental pieces called “the Heights”. My concept when building the chord progression was to have an open sounding chord structure that could be easily pushed in a new direction with the addition of the lead line. I employed pedal tones to do just that. Using the droning A I was able to not only unify the individual chord voicing’s but also give me more options over the top for the lead.
This article touches on concepts from the LICK FACTORY’s Set 1 and Set 2 courses. Bring your chord playing up to a completely new level.
Need a quicker fix? the ULTIMATE CHORD GUIDE: Volume 1 might be the answer.
Who’s your Teacher?
Kris Petersen is a name that has become synonymous with the Australian Music Industry. From clubs to stadiums, Kris has performed on every continent in the world and shared the stage with some of the world’s greatest artists.
In the last few years alone, Kris has performed with, or alongside Alice Cooper, Aerosmith, Orianthi, Van Halen, Billy Joel, Matt Sorumn (Guns n Roses), Eric Martin (Mr. Big), The Drifters, Tony MacAlpine, Buckcherry, Daryl Braithwaite, The Living End, Icehouse, Marcia Hines, The Screaming Jets, The Choirboys, Mental As Anything, Bruce Kulick (KISS), Leo Sayer, Pretty Boy Floyd and many more… read more
