pedal point

American  

noun

Music.

1. a tone sustained by one part, usually the bass, while other parts progress without reference to it.

2. a passage containing it.

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pedal point British  

/ ˈpɛdəl /

noun

1. Often shortened to: pedal.  music a sustained bass note, over which the other parts move bringing about changing harmonies

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Etymology

Origin of pedal point

First recorded in 1875–80

Example Sentences

Soon, though, a series of downward-sliding melodies in the violins begins to tug the music away; the pedal point returns, but feels slightly less fixed.

From New York Times • Jun. 29, 2023

Mr. Johnson set up a droning pedal point, over which Mr. Feldman and Mr. Abercrombie fashioned loosely intertwining strands of melody.

From New York Times • Oct. 13, 2010

Elsewhere the spirit of the time is evoked in wistful, gently melodic passages, played over a pedal point, or repeating bass note.

From New York Times • Aug. 8, 2010

Who else would write to her 18-year-old son, "Adieu, my darling, I kiss you tenderly with a pedal point to be sustained until the next kiss"?

From Time Magazine Archive

It consists of a pedal point upon G-sharp, treated very pleasantly, and relieved and developed in measures 75 to 91 by interesting matter of a more impassioned character.

From The Masters and their Music A series of illustrative programs with biographical, esthetical, and critical annotations by Mathews, W. S. B. (William Smythe Babcock)