| 1. | a tone sustained by one part, usually the bass, while other parts progress without reference to it. |
| 2. | a passage containing it. |
| pedal point n. Music A note, usually in the bass and on the tonic or the dominant, sustained through harmonic changes in the other parts. Also called organ point. [point, musical note.] |
pedal point
in music, a tone sustained through several changes of harmony that may be consonant or dissonant with it; in instrumental music it is typically in the bass. The name originates from the technique of prolonging a tone on the pedal keyboard of the organ; hence the occasional use, chiefly in England, of the synonym organ point. The pedal point is to a certain extent a harmonic focus, but only pedal points on the tonic and dominant notes (i.e., on the first and fifth notes of the scale) actually have harmonic value
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