Alternative Pedals and Substitutions

[Pacman]

Originally posted by ole Jason


Do you mean pedal C through the V chord before the two bars of Cm7? If so, do you still play C on the 1 of the next bar (Cm7) or another chord tone?

I mean for every m7 chord, play the 4th in the bass (example: under the Cm7, play F).

[JazznFunk]

Originally posted by T-Bal
Oh, and I forgot to mention - perhaps the most common rhythmic device to employ with a pedal tone is to play on beats 2 & 4 only (half note on beat 2, quarter on beat four tied over to a quarter on beat one of the next measure, and so on. You get a really suspended feeling because the strong harmonic beats (1 & 3) are left unplayed.

Just be careful not to turn the beat around!

Taking this concept even further, I like playing pedals on 2 and 4, but starting on the "and" of 1 and 3, or even the "and" of 2 and 4. Either way, you de-emphasise the normal attack on the beat, and really open up the feel of the tune. I'll use this combined with pedals on the alterations of a dominant chord, which really helps to drive the alteration home, and makes for a great release when you start walking inside again. Not everyone likes it though, especially guys who like a very straightahead feel.

[abaguer]

In all the things you are playing C all the way through the A section.

[Adrian Cho]

My $0.02 on this topic:

Pedaling is great now just for the harmonic reasons but also rhythmically as someone already pointed out.

You don't just have to play the repeated pedal note. Octaves are great but even better is to outline harmony. So for example, the IV under minor chord especially when the minor is the tonic is great. You play as if you are resolving a II-V-I but you're note.

Try for example in something like "So What" playing G D F G repeatedly for a bunch of bars. You're playing V7 which is not even ever a part of the changes of that song with the minor over the top (but you're still playing in Dorian mode). I do that and then sometimes I will sequence it by then going to A E G A which takes it up a notch (in more ways than one). If I do that over the first say 16 bars of So What and then "resolve" by going to walking on Eb, it creates some interesting tension.