Music Theory for the 21st-Century Classroom

A pedal point is a note that is held through changing harmonies, starting as a chord tone before becoming a non-chord tone. Pedal points are often in the bass voice (the term “pedal” relates to the foot pedals on an organ¹).

Here is an example from the Romantic era.

The Clara Schumann example above also has a suspension (“3-2 sus.”); suspensions are discussed in the next section.

When a pedal point is in the bass, it is not necessary to specify the inversion of the chord because the bass pedal point obscures the inversion.

You might also encounter a pedal point in a higher voice, as well as a “double pedal point,” where two notes (often a fifth apart) act as pedal points.