I can't really tell from the info you're provided. "In music, an ostinato is a motif or phrase that persistently repeats in the same musical voice, FREQUENTLY in the same pitch." If the pitch changes as it moves through a piece then it's more commonly referred to as a riff. To use an ostinato that doesn't change pitch you need to have your brain switched on and be aware of what you're doing as well as why you're doing it. Why on earth not? In pop..."Donna Summer and Giorgio Moroder's "I Feel Love" (1977), Henry Mancini's theme from Peter Gunn (1959), The Who's "Baba O'Riley" (1971), and The Verve's "Bitter Sweet Symphony" (1997)." are some decent examples. Look, listen, listen while looking and learn. It's a fun thing.
This kind of fixed bass, isn't it called ostinato?
Is there a pattern or where it's used. Or do you just rely on your ears?
If you use a normal bass, that's fine. But I see some songs that like to become a constant bass, why on earth?
I run into this from time to time and my instincts used to say "mix it up" so that I don't play and hear a drone. As I learn more about music I try to incorporate (in this case) a C arpeggio or bounce across a C octave. Depends a lot on the context.
I like the term Pedal Point "Pedal points "have a strong tonal effect, 'pulling' the harmony back to its root."
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
As Mark has mentioned, it's called Pedal Point (because it was a common feature of pipe organ music). It is used to create musical tension so that when the listener gets back to a pleasant harmonic sound, it feels satisfying.
If you use a normal bass, that's fine. But I see some songs that like to become a constant bass, why on earth?
Because.
Pedal point is also quite "normal," whatever that is.
Byron Dickens
BIAB. CbB. Mixbus 32C 8 HP Envy. Intel core i7. 16GB RAM W10. Focusrite Scarlett 18i 20. Various instruments played with varying degrees of proficiency.
I agree an ostinato is a repeating phrase, or a repeating rhythm, rather than what has been identified above as a pedal point. I also call this a pedal bass, since BIAB has that feature. We've already talked about exactly this in anther thread.
A pedal bass creates tension, as Noel mentioned, although this particular progression doesn't create all that much tension for me. For example, if you had D/C, Db/C, then that tension is more perceptible.
BIAB 2025 Win Audiophile. Software: Studio One 7 Pro, Swam horns, Acoustica-7, Notion 6, Song Master Pro, Win 11 Home. Hardware: Intel i9, 32 Gb; Presonus 192 & Faderport 8, Royer 121, Slate VSX, Adam Sub8 & Neumann 120 monitors.
Here's a good example of pedal point in a piece of Bach (at around 41-42 seconds). Notice how the little finger on the left hand stays playing the note G while the harmony above it changes from sounding sounding good with the bass to sounding quite uncomfortable because of the dissonances created by the pedal point bass.
Here's a good example of pedal point in a piece of Bach (at around 41-42 seconds).
Nice case. Can you find an example of this in rock, pop, country or smooth jazz?
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
This video is worth listening to. The guy gives a range of examples.
Thanks for sharing this Noel, this is definately worth listening to. This guitarist really knows his stuff. I learned that there is much more than just one flavor of pedal point.
Here is one of the songs he mentions, Kashmir. Am I correct that the bass player is "pedalling" on D?
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
I've just come across this amazing use of pedal point. In this case, it's just one note performed over and over and over... Rowan Atkinson as Mr Bean performs live with the London Symphony Orchestra (London Olympics, 2023).
VERY funny, thanks for sharing. It's hard for me to believe that just 2 short years ago I didn't even know what a pedal point was!
https://soundcloud.com/user-646279677 BiaB 2026 Windows For me there’s no better place in the band than to have one leg in the harmony world and the other in the percussive. Thank you Paul Tutmarc and Leo Fender.
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