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Author Topic: Pedal Notes  (Read 4798 times)

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Aunty Social

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Pedal Notes
« on: October 19, 2009, 01:35:28 PM »

Been doing a bit of home study with the JK DVD and am stuck on the pedal notes section. It seems such a fluid way to play but I'm completely stuck as to WHAT to play! Can anybody explain this technique please?
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LJC

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #1 on: October 19, 2009, 02:02:21 PM »

I cant comment on the DVD as I've not seen it, but the basic idea of a pedal note is that you play one note as a repeating idea in between playing other melody notes.

I've been told that it comes from Organ playing where its very easy to play a repeating note in your melody by using your feet - hence pedal note.

A good way to practice this is play up a G scale (on a DG box) and after each note play a low G (see example).

You can do an easier version on a one row or a DG with low notes by pedaling the D on the 1st button pull and 2nd button push, meaning that you don't need to keep changing bellows direction to get the low D.

A good tune example I can think of off the top of my head is 'Harvest Home' where it pedals a low A against a rising melody line in both the A and B parts.
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Ebor_fiddler

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #2 on: October 19, 2009, 04:21:15 PM »

That can't possibly be right - I can understand it!  :-\

Thanks (at last!)

Chris.
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LJC

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #3 on: October 19, 2009, 10:44:32 PM »

Glad to be of service  ;D
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Aunty Social

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #4 on: October 20, 2009, 11:23:43 AM »

Thanks for the advice, I think I was on the right lines but I'm guessing there are phrases where this fits more comfortably, both to the fingers and the ear. I'll practise Harvest Home (not played that before) and putting it into scales and see what clicks. Poor wife!
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Stiamh

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #5 on: October 20, 2009, 03:53:42 PM »

Strictly speaking a pedal is (as I understand it) any note you hold while playing others that are not held. For the alternating pedal type of figures that I think you are talking about - very common in esp. Irish and Scottish music (Harvest Home is a good example) - I use a convenient name coined by Australian musicologist and melodeon squeezer Graeme Smith, who called them "rocking pedals".

He used it in his thesis, parts of which I read nearly 3 decades ago while it was in preparation, for the purposes of discussing Irish fiddling styles, where the bow rocks back and forth between strings, but I suppose it could be used to describe similar passages greatly beloved of French and other diato players in waltzes etc. "Pedal" on its own is a bit misleading, or at least not very specific.

Chris Ryall

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #6 on: October 20, 2009, 05:04:29 PM »

The B part of Sydney Smith's march?
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Lester

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #7 on: October 20, 2009, 05:09:04 PM »

LJC

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #8 on: October 20, 2009, 05:59:28 PM »

Oh yes, that is a good example of pedaling the middle D. Really easy to play on the fiddle!
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LJC

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #9 on: October 20, 2009, 08:11:52 PM »

Sorry for the double post, modify wouldn't let me post an attachment with it!

Trip to Highgate is another good tune with a bit of a pedal - in this case the low D in the B section.
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Nick Hudis

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #10 on: October 21, 2009, 12:00:51 AM »

Strictly speaking a pedal note is classical terminology for what we would call a drone.  It could be a held note or a note that is repeated in some rhythmic pattern.
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LJC

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #11 on: October 21, 2009, 06:19:31 AM »

I would disagree - A drone has to be a note which the music can resolve its self to, where as a pedal note can be a dissonant note which has to resolve its self to the music.
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rees

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #12 on: October 21, 2009, 09:07:36 AM »

I think the French call a pedal note "rappelle"
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #13 on: October 21, 2009, 10:05:50 AM »

I think the French call a pedal note "rappelle"

On croit qu' on se rappelle de cela Whatever brought this on ???  However such a word would would make good sense - going back - reminder - memory. 

BTW I'd be another that perceives drone (bourdon) ;) as a quite different musical concept.
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Stiamh

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #14 on: October 21, 2009, 02:16:00 PM »

I think the French call a pedal note "rappelle"

Well it would be "un rappel" but I can't find any indication that this means a pedal in music in the dictionaries I have at home, nor online. Will check with educated musician friends a bit later in the day.

The most common meaning of "rappel" in the performing arts is a curtain call - calling the artists back on stage by applause, and by extension, what we in English call an encore.  (:)

Québécois

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #15 on: October 21, 2009, 09:04:43 PM »

Most likely "note de rappel" in this context. The note gets recalled () throughout the melody. The "pedal" could be called note soutenue as in "sustained".
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ganderbox

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #16 on: October 22, 2009, 11:07:37 PM »

I noticed an example of this while listening to an old Blowzabella tape in the car today (yes, my car is old enought to have a casette player).
It was Dave Roberts playing Bricks and Mortar. The first bar of the B is just a descending run of 4 notes
G F# E D, but he used the G below as a "pedal" note between each. It makes a nice little exercise to do, especially as two of the pedal notes are on the push and two on the pull.
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Owen Woods

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #17 on: October 23, 2009, 01:36:22 AM »

I noticed an example of this while listening to an old Blowzabella tape in the car today (yes, my car is old enought to have a casette player).
It was Dave Roberts playing Bricks and Mortar. The first bar of the B is just a descending run of 4 notes
G F# E D, but he used the G below as a "pedal" note between each. It makes a nice little exercise to do, especially as two of the pedal notes are on the push and two on the pull.

I'd probably be lazy and play F# on the push and the G after the E on the pull :D
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Chris Ryall

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #18 on: October 23, 2009, 07:30:34 AM »

I'd probably be lazy and play F# on the push and the G after the E on the pull :D

While Dave's tunes are great stuff, don't put too much effort into working out his fingering.

He bought one of the very first Castagnaris into England and their expedition to AFAIR Sidmouth had been a rush job. The local reed maker didn't have a proper D/G set to hand, so the gnomes of Recanati simply re-reeded some G/C's with D on the inner row

As a result Dave played on G/D rather than D/G. I think someone here still has the accordion.
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rees

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Re: Pedal Notes
« Reply #19 on: October 23, 2009, 09:13:26 AM »

I'd probably be lazy and play F# on the push and the G after the E on the pull :D

While Dave's tunes are great stuff, don't put too much effort into working out his fingering.

He bought one of the very first Castagnaris into England and their expedition to AFAIR Sidmouth had been a rush job. The local reed maker didn't have a proper D/G set to hand, so the gnomes of Recanati simply re-reeded some G/C's with D on the inner row

As a result Dave played on G/D rather than D/G. I think someone here still has the accordion.

Utter garbage, Chris. This story is a complete fabrication.

Dave had always played a G/D Hohner rather than a D/G. I supplied him with his first Castagnari (a Hascy) in 1984, which was specially built for him as a G/D.
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