When chords change and the bass note stays the same under the moving chords, that’s a pedal point (the static bass note is the ‘pedal’).
Truth is in the right context you can move almost any chord over any bass note. If you play an ‘E’ chord and then move it up to an ‘F’ chord, while maintaining the ‘E’ note in the bass… instant (very crude) suggestion of flamenco music!
I’m going to focus on more common uses. The bedrock idea is that you can use any note that’s in your chord (and some that aren’t) as a bass note – often called a ‘bass substitution’ – and it will sound OK. Or better.
For example if you have an ‘A’ chord (consisting of notes ‘A’. ‘C#’, ‘E’), try playing it over an ‘A’ bass (obviously). Then try your ‘A’ chord with an ‘E’ in the bass; then with a ‘C#’ (you’re using all 3 notes of the ‘A’ triad as bass notes; not just the ‘A’.). You can try this anytime with any chord.
It becomes a ‘pedal’ when you keep the bass note the same. Say I was starting on that ‘E’ chord I mentioned above, then going to a ‘B’ (V) chord. Check out what it sounds like if you keep the bass note, the ‘E’, the same, under the ‘B’ chord.
It’s an interesting sound, especially if you’re not used to it. Now keep the ‘E’ bass the same while you go to an ‘A’ chord (‘A’ and ‘B’ being the IV and V chord of the key of ‘E’ – low-hanging fruit):
|| E | B/E | A/E | E ||
(The note to the right of the ‘/‘ is the bass note, when it’s not the same as the chord name.)
Or something like this:
|| E/A A | E/A A | A Bminor/A | A Bminor/A ||
Very Carole King. And note that when you play an ‘E’ chord with an ‘A’ in the bass, the ‘A’ is not in the ‘E’ chord, but it sounds fine when you resolve it to an ‘A’ chord, as it is here.
This sound – pedaling the bass while moving chords – is a sound that became ubiquitous in gospel music and then spread everywhere – Miles Davis, Charles Mingus, Roy Orbison, Laura Nyro, Holland/Dozier/Holland (with James Jamerson – below), Jagger/Richards, Pete Townshend, Eminem, Kendrick Lamar… you name it.
It’s a great way to add drama and tension by suspending resolution. If you haven’t tried it yet, fool around with it. Let me know what you think.
Check out me and my band playing a song of mine that has many chords moving over one lonely bass note for the whole song: Here.
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