A pedalboard (also called a pedal keyboard, pedal clavier, or, with electronic instruments, a bass pedalboard) is a
keyboard
Keyboard may refer to:
Text input
* Keyboard, part of a typewriter
* Computer keyboard
** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping
** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware
Music
* Musi ...
played with the
feet
The foot ( : feet) is an anatomical structure found in many vertebrates. It is the terminal portion of a limb which bears weight and allows locomotion. In many animals with feet, the foot is a separate organ at the terminal part of the leg made ...
that is usually used to produce the low-pitched
bass line
Bassline (also known as a bass line or bass part) is the term used in many styles of music, such as blues, jazz, funk, dub and electronic, traditional, or classical music for the low-pitched instrumental part or line played (in jazz and some ...
of a piece of music. A pedalboard has long, narrow lever-style keys laid out in the same semitone scalar pattern as a
manual keyboard, with longer keys for C, D, E, F, G, A and B, and shorter, raised keys for C, D, F, G and A. Training in pedal technique is part of standard organ pedagogy in church music and art music.
Pedalboards are found at the base of the
console
Console may refer to:
Computing and video games
* System console, a physical device to operate a computer
** Virtual console, a user interface for multiple computer consoles on one device
** Command-line interface, a method of interacting with ...
of most
pipe organs,
pedal piano
The pedal piano (or piano-pédalier or pédalier,) is a kind of piano that includes a pedalboard, enabling bass register notes to be played with the feet, as is standard on the organ.
There are two broad types of pedal pianos: either the pedal ...
s,
theatre organ
A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s.
Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements ...
s, and
electronic organ
An electric organ, also known as electronic organ, is an electronic keyboard instrument which was derived from the harmonium, pipe organ and theatre organ. Originally designed to imitate their sound, or orchestral sounds, it has since developed ...
s. Standalone pedalboards such as the 1970s-era
Moog Taurus
The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...
bass pedals
Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packag ...
are occasionally used in
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...
and
fusion
Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole.
Fusion may also refer to:
Science and technology Physics
*Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
music. In the 21st century,
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...
pedalboard controllers are used with synthesizers,
electronic Hammond-style organs, and with digital pipe organs. Pedalboards are also used with
pedal piano
The pedal piano (or piano-pédalier or pédalier,) is a kind of piano that includes a pedalboard, enabling bass register notes to be played with the feet, as is standard on the organ.
There are two broad types of pedal pianos: either the pedal ...
s and with some
harpsichords,
clavichord
The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras.
Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to compositi ...
s, and
carillons (church bells).
History
13th century to 16th century
The first use of pedals on a
pipe organ grew out of the need to hold bass drone notes, to support the polyphonic musical styles that predominated in the Renaissance. Indeed, the term
pedal point
In music, a pedal point (also pedal note, organ point, pedal tone, or pedal) is a sustained tone, typically in the bass, during which at least one foreign (i.e. dissonant) harmony is sounded in the other parts. A pedal point sometimes function ...
, which refers to a prolonged bass tone under changing upper harmonies, derives from the use of the organ pedalboard to hold sustained bass notes. These earliest pedals were wooden stubs nicknamed ''mushrooms'',
[The Organ: An Encyclopedia. Douglas Earl Rush and Richard Kassel] which were placed at the height of the feet. These pedals, which used simple pull-downs connected directly to the manual keys, are found in organs dating to the 13th century. The pedals on French organs were composed of short stubs of wood projecting out of the floor, which were mounted in pedalboards that could be either flat or tilted. Organists were unable to play anything but simple bass lines or slow-moving
plainsong
Plainsong or plainchant (calque from the French ''plain-chant''; la, cantus planus) is a body of chants used in the liturgies of the Western Church. When referring to the term plainsong, it is those sacred pieces that are composed in Latin text ...
melodies on these short stub-type pedals. Organist
E. Power Biggs, in the liner notes for his album ''Organs of Spain'' noted that "One can learn to play them, but fluent pedal work is impossible".
![ShortOctaveOnC](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/25/ShortOctaveOnC.svg)
There were two approaches used for the
accidental notes (colloquially referred to as the "black" notes). The first approach can be seen in the 1361 Halberstadt organ, which uses shorter black keys placed above the white keys. Other organs positioned the black keys on the same level and depth as the white keys. The first pedal keyboards only had three or four notes.
Eventually, organ designers augmented this range by using eight notes, an approach now called a "short octave" keyboard, because it does not include accidental notes such as C, D, F, G, and A.
The 17th-century north German organ builder
Arp Schnitger
Arp Schnitger (2 July 164828 July 1719 (buried)) was an influential Northern German organ builder. Considered the most paramount manufacturer of his time, Schnitger built or rebuilt over 150 organs. He was primarily active in Northern Europe, esp ...
used an F and G in the lowest octave of the manuals and pedal keyboards, but not a C and D. From the 16th to 18th centuries, short octave keyboards were also used in the lowest octave of upper manual keyboards.
By the 14th century, organ designers were building separate windchests for the pedal division, to supply the pipes with the large amount of wind that bass notes need to speak. These windchests were often built into tall structures called "organ towers". Until the 15th century, most pedal keyboards only triggered the existing Hauptwerk pipes already used by the upper manual keyboards. Beginning in the 15th century, some organ designers began giving pedal keyboards their own set of pipes and stops. In the 15th and 16th centuries, the pedal division usually consisted of a few 8′ ranks and a single 16′ rank. By the early 17th century, pedal divisions became more complex, with a richer variety of pipes and tones. Nevertheless, the pedal division was usually inconsistent from one country to another.
17th century to 18th century
![Zeil Kirche Chororgel Spieltisch](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a8/Zeil_Kirche_Chororgel_Spieltisch.jpg)
By the beginning of the 17th century, organ designers began to give pedalboards on large organs a larger range, encompassing twenty-eight to thirty notes. As well, German organ designers began to use longer, narrower pedals, with a wider space between the pedals. By this point, most pedals were given a smoother lever-action by including a fulcrum at the back of each pedal. These design changes allowed performers to play more complex, fast-moving pedal lines. This gave rise to the dramatic pedal solos found in German organ works from composers from the North German organ school, such as
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal a ...
,
Johann Adam Reincken
Johann Adam Reincken (also ''Jan Adams, Jean Adam'', ''Reinken, Reinkinck, Reincke, Reinicke, Reinike''; baptized 10 December 1643 – 24 November 1722) was a Dutch/German organist and composer. He was one of the most important composers of the ...
and
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
. In Bach's organ music the
cantus firmus
In music, a ''cantus firmus'' ("fixed melody") is a pre-existing melody forming the basis of a polyphonic composition.
The plural of this Latin term is , although the corrupt form ''canti firmi'' (resulting from the grammatically incorrect tre ...
melody, which is usually a
hymn tune, is often performed in the pedal, using a reed stop to make it stand out.
Several sources, including an encyclopedia on the organ, claim that the pedalboard design improvements of the 17th century allowed the organist to actuate the pedals either with the toe of the foot or with the heel.
However, organist
Ton Koopman
Antonius Gerhardus Michael Koopman (; born 2 October 1944), known professionally as Ton Koopman, is a Dutch conductor, organist, harpsichordist, and musicologist, primarily known for being the founder and director of the Amsterdam Baroque Orches ...
argues that
"Bach's complete oeuvre
an be playedwith the pedal technique of his time, in other words without the use of the heel." Koopman claims that in "Bach's day toe and heel pedalling was not yet known, as is evident from his organ works, in which all the pedal parts can be played with the toe." What evolved as "German" pedal technique in the late 18th and early 19th century promoted heel-and-toe pedaling, while the "French" style was predicated on "toe only" pedal technique.
![OrganumFollis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/OrganumFollis.jpg)
In the 17th and 18th century, pedalboards were rare in England. A critic for the ''New York Times'' in 1895 argued that this may explain why Handel's published organ works are generally lighter-sounding than those of J.S. Bach. In the 17th and 18th centuries, the pedal part of organ music was rarely given its own staff. Instead, the organ part would be put into two staves, which were mostly used for the upper and lower manual parts. When the composer wanted a part played with the pedal keyboard, they marked ''Pedal'', ''Ped.'', or simply ''P''. Often, composers omitted these signs, and player had to decide if the range of all the parts or the lowest part was appropriate for the pedal keyboard.
This lack of specification is in keeping with many other aspects of Baroque musical
performance practice
Historically informed performance (also referred to as period performance, authentic performance, or HIP) is an approach to the performance of classical music, which aims to be faithful to the approach, manner and style of the musical era in which ...
, such as the use of improvised chords by organists and harpsichord players in the
figured bass
Figured bass is musical notation in which numerals and symbols appear above or below (or next to) a bass note. The numerals and symbols (often accidentals) indicate intervals, chords, and non-chord tones that a musician playing piano, harpsi ...
tradition and the use of improvised ornaments by solo singers and instrumentalists.
19th century to 20th century
In the late 1820s, the pedalboard was still fairly unfamiliar in the UK. In the organ at the Church of St James at Bermondsey in 1829, "a finger
anual
Annual may refer to:
*Annual publication, periodical publications appearing regularly once per year
**Yearbook
**Literary annual
*Annual plant
*Annual report
*Annual giving
*Annual, Morocco, a settlement in northeastern Morocco
*Annuals (band), a ...
keyboard was added for those unable to play with their feet." If an organist was performing a piece with a pedal part, "an assistant was needed to play the bottom line of the finger keyboard, offset on the bass side of the console." In 1855 in England, Henry Willis patented a concave design for the pedalboard that also radiated the ends keyboard outward and used longer keys, bringing the end keys closer to the performer. This design became common in the UK and in the US in the late 19th century, and by 1903, the
American Guild of Organists
The American Guild of Organists (AGO) is an international organization of academic, church, and concert organists in the US, headquartered in New York City with its administrative offices in the Interchurch Center. Founded as a professional educat ...
(AGO) adopted it as their standard.
In the 19th century and early 20th century, the pedal division also underwent changes. The pedal divisions of the Baroque era often included a small number of higher-pitched stops, which allowed performers to perform higher melodies on the pedalboard. In the 19th century and early 20th century, organ designers omitted most of these higher-pitched stops, and used pedal divisions which were dominated by 8′ and 16′ stops. This design change, which coincided with the musical trend for music with a deep, rich bass part, meant that players used the pedalboard mainly for bass parts.
By the mid-19th century, the pedal part of organ music was increasingly given its own staff, which meant that composers and transcribers began writing organ music in three-stave systems (right hand, left hand, and pedal keyboard).
Whereas early organ composers left the way that pedal keyboard lines were played to the player's discretion, in the later 19th century, composers began to indicate specific foot actions.
In addition to telling the organist whether to use the left or right foot, symbols indicate whether they should use the toe or heel. A "^" symbol indicates the toe, and a "u" or "o" indicates the heel. Symbols below notes indicate the left foot, and above notes indicates the right foot.
Swedish organist L. Nilson published a method for the pedal keyboard, the English translation of which was titled ''A System of Technical Studies in Pedal Playing for the Organ'' (Schirmer, 1904). Nilson lamented that it "...is a melancholy fact that only very few eminent organists since Bach's time have made it their business to lift pedal-playing out of its primitive confusion..." (page 1 of Preface). He argued that the great organ pedagogues such as Kittel and Abbe Vogler did not make any efforts to improve the "...system of playing on the pedals". Nilson makes one exception from this critique: the organ method of J. Lemmens, who he praises as having reformed pedal playing by introducing "...sound principles of execution" (page 2 of Preface). Nilson's pedal method includes scale and arpeggio studies, polyphonic studies with both feet playing in contrary motion, studies written in parallel octaves, and studies written in thirds.
1990s–2000s
In the 1990s, standalone electronic
MIDI controller
A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They mos ...
pedalboards became widely available on the market. MIDI pedalboards do not produce any tones by themselves, and so they must be connected to a MIDI-compatible electronic keyboard or MIDI sound module and an amplified loudspeaker to produce musical tones. In the 1990s and 21st century, some churches began using electronic-trigger equipped pedalboards for the 16′ and 32′ stops. The MIDI information from the electronic pedalboard sensors triggers pipe organ sounds from digital sound modules (e.g., Wicks CM-100, Ahlborn Archive Modules, or Walker Technical sound generation), which are then amplified through loudspeakers.
These MIDI systems can be much less expensive than metal or wooden bass pipes, which are very costly to purchase and install, due to their heavy weight (up to one ton per pipe), large size, and need for large amounts of wind. Another rationale for using MIDI systems is that it may be easier to get a focused sound with a MIDI system, because all of the bass tone emanates from a single speaker or set of speakers. With traditional pipes, it can be difficult to give the pedal division a focused sound, because the large pipes tend to be spread out over the entire organ pipe chest.
This cost-saving measure has been the subject of controversy in the organ scene. Advocates of MIDI pedal divisions argue that a good quality MIDI system produces a better tone than an inexpensive set of bass pipes with money-saving "shortcuts" such as using stopped pipes and
resultant
In mathematics, the resultant of two polynomials is a polynomial expression of their coefficients, which is equal to zero if and only if the polynomials have a common root (possibly in a field extension), or, equivalently, a common factor (ove ...
tones to reduce the number of required pipes. However, critics dislike the way that the use of MIDI pedal divisions blends electronically amplified lower voices with the natural, wind-driven upper ranks. Willi Apel and Peter Williams argue that by definition, an organ must make its sound by air flowing through pipes. Some critics argue that the bass tone from a MIDI pedal division, which comes from an amplified 12-inch
subwoofer
A subwoofer (or sub) is a loudspeaker designed to reproduce low-pitched audio frequencies known as bass and sub-bass, lower in frequency than those which can be (optimally) generated by a woofer. The typical frequency range for a subwoofer i ...
, is not as "natural" and "open-sounding" as the vibrations from a massive, wind-driven 32-foot pipe.
Design
Keyboards
Pedalboards range in size from 13 notes on small spinet organs designed for in-home use (an octave, conventionally
C2–C
3) to 42 notes (three and a half octaves, G
1–C
5) on church or concert organs. Modern pipe organs typically have 30- or 32-note pedalboards, while some electronic organs and many older pipe organs have 25-note pedalboards.
Besides the number of pedals, the two main identifying aspects of a pedalboard are:
#whether all the pedals are at the same height relative to the floor ("flat"), or whether the pedals in the middle are lower than those on the outer edges, forming a curved-in shape ("concave"), and
#whether all the pedals are completely parallel to each other ("parallel"), or whether the pedals are closer together at the far end than at the end closest to the organ console ("radiating"). Specifications vary by country, organ builder, era, and individual tastes.
Exact design specifications for pedalboards are published in
Great Britain
Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It i ...
by the
RCO RCO may refer to:
*Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office
*Recovery Consistency Objective, in computing
* Regional Currency Office
*Remote Communications Outlet
*Rifle combat optic
*Royal College of Organists
*Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra
The Roy ...
, in the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...
by the
AGO (which requires a design similar to the RCO's), and in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
by the
BDO (which allows both 30- and 32-note pedalboards, of both concave/radiating and concave/parallel varieties).
Image:Pedalierago.jpg, AGO-spec.: concave/radiating
Image:Pedalierbdo1.jpg, BDO-spec.: concave/parallel
Image:Pedalierbdo2.jpg, BDO-spec.: concave/radiating
Image:Bdopedalrear.JPG, 30-note BDO Standard (concave/parallel) pedalboard.
Image:Bdopedalabove.JPG, 30-note BDO Standard (concave/parallel) pedalboard.
Image:Bdopedalsideangle.JPG, 30-note BDO Standard (concave/parallel) pedalboard.
Image:mypedalboard.jpg, 25-note flat/radiating pedalboard on an electro-mechanical Wurlitzer organ.
File:VarnaOrganPedal.JPG, A different style of pedalboard, as used in a Jens Steinhoff organ in Varna, Bulgaria
File:St James the Great St Kilda East Joscelyne Organ Pedal Board.jpg, An unusual octave arrangement of G2-G3 dating from the 1860s by Samuel Joscelyne
Pedal division
In an organ with more than one keyboard, the stops and the ranks that the stops control are separated into different divisions, in which the ranks of pipes are grouped together so that they make a "focused" or coherent sound. The pedal division, which is played from the pedal keyboard, usually includes more stops of 16′ pitch. The sound of the pedal division is generally voiced so that the pedal division complements the sound of the great division. Common 16′ stops found in the pedal division include the 16′ Bourdon, the 16′ Principal, and the 16′ Trombone. Eight foot stops include the 8′ Open Diapason. Pedal divisions may also include higher-register stops, such as the 4′ Choral Bass or various mixtures. When pedal parts are performed, a 16′ stop is usually paired with an 8′ one to provide more definition. For pedal parts that need accentuation, such as the Cantus Firmus melody in a 17th-century organ piece, many organs have a nasal-sounding reed stop in the pedal division, or a 4′ Principal designated on the stop knob as "Choralbass".
A few pedalboards have a pedal divide system that lets the organist split the pedalboard at its midpoint. With this system, an organist can play a melody with the right foot and a bass part with the left. The divided pedal is a type of coupler. It allows the sounds played on the pedals to be split, so the lower octave (principally that of the left foot) plays stops from the pedal division while the upper half (played by the right foot), plays stops from one of the manual divisions. The choice of manual is at the discretion of the performer, as is the 'split point' of the system.
The system can be found on the organs of
Gloucester Cathedral, having been added by
Nicholson & Co (Worcester) Ltd
Nicholson & Co. Ltd manufactures pipe organs. It was founded in 1841 by John Nicholson. Its work encompasses the creation of new instruments as well as historical restorations, rebuilds and renovations. In 2013, the firm completed the first whol ...
/
David Briggs and
Truro Cathedral, having been added by
Mander Organs
Mander Organs Limited formerly N.P Mander Limited was an English pipe organ maker and refurbisher based in London. Although well known for many years in the organ building industry, they achieved wider notability in 2004 with the refurbishment ...
/
David Briggs, as well as on the new nave console of
Ripon Cathedral
The Cathedral Church of St Peter and St Wilfrid, commonly known as Ripon Cathedral, and until 1836 known as Ripon Minster, is a cathedral in Ripon, North Yorkshire, England. Founded as a monastery by monks of the Irish tradition in the 660s, i ...
.
Controls
In some organs, a wooden panel called a "kickboard" or "kneeboard" is installed above the pedalboard, between the pedals and the lowest manual keyboard. Expression pedals, coupler controls and toe studs (to activate stops or stop combinations) may be located on or set into the kickboard. Expression pedals are used to open and close shades or shutters that enclose the pipes of a given division. Combination pistons are used to make rapid stop changes from the console on organs with electric stop action. Toe studs are pistons that can be operated by the feet, which change either the pedal stops or the entire organ.
In some organs, a "pedalboard check" mechanism serves as a safety catch, to shut off the pedalboard keys. The mechanism prevents accidental foot contact with the pedalboard from sounding notes in a section written only for the upper manuals.
Repertoire
The works of
Dutch
Dutch commonly refers to:
* Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands
* Dutch people ()
* Dutch language ()
Dutch may also refer to:
Places
* Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States
* Pennsylvania Dutch Country
People E ...
composer,
organist
An organist is a musician who plays any type of organ. An organist may play solo organ works, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers or instrumental soloists. In addition, an organist may accompany congregational h ...
, and
pedagogue
Pedagogy (), most commonly understood as the approach to teaching, is the theory and practice of learning, and how this process influences, and is influenced by, the social, political and psychological development of learners. Pedagogy, taken a ...
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck
Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck ( ; April or May, 1562 – 16 October 1621) was a Dutch composer, organist, and pedagogue whose work straddled the end of the Renaissance and beginning of the Baroque eras. He was among the first major keyboard compo ...
(1562–1621) contain the earliest example of an independent part for the pedal, rather than a sustained bass drone. His work straddled the end of the
Renaissance
The Renaissance ( , ) , from , with the same meanings. is a period in European history
The history of Europe is traditionally divided into four time periods: prehistoric Europe (prior to about 800 BC), classical antiquity (800 BC to AD ...
and beginning of the
Baroque eras, and he helped establish the
north German organ tradition.
Dieterich Buxtehude
Dieterich Buxtehude (; ; born Diderik Hansen Buxtehude; c. 1637 – 9 May 1707) was a Danish organist and composer of the Baroque period, whose works are typical of the North German organ school. As a composer who worked in various vocal a ...
(1637–1707), who was the most renowned composer of his time, was famous for his "...virtuosity and innovation at the pedal board." The young Johann Sebastian Bach was influenced by Buxtehude, who used the pedal board "as a full-fledged keyboard and devot
dvirtuoso passages to it."
J.S. Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the ''Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wor ...
used the pedal to perform the melody in works such as his setting of the Christmas hymn,
In Dulci Jubilo
"In dulci jubilo" (Latin for "In sweet rejoicing") is a traditional Christmas carol. In its original setting, the carol is a macaronic text of German and Latin dating from the Middle Ages. Subsequent translations into English, such as J. M. N ...
, in which the main theme in the tenor voice is played in the pedal on a higher-pitched stop. Bach also wrote compositions that use the pedal for dramatic virtuoso displays of scales and figurated passage-work in preludes, toccatas, fantasias and fugues.
There are a small number of organ compositions that are written solely for the pedal keyboard. English organist and composer
George Thalben-Ball (1896–1987) wrote a piece entitled “Variations on a Theme by Paganini” for pedal keyboard. Based on
Paganini's “
Caprice No. 24”, a virtuoso work for solo violin, it includes pedal
glissandi
In music, a glissando (; plural: ''glissandi'', abbreviated ''gliss.'') is a glide from one pitch to another (). It is an Italianized musical term derived from the French ''glisser'', "to glide". In some contexts, it is distinguished from the co ...
, leaps from one end of the pedalboard to the other, and four-note chords.
Firmin Swinnen
Firmin Swinnen (1885–1972) was a Belgian theater organist and concert artist who was noted for his organ improvisations during silent films in New York City.
Career
Born in Belgium, Swinnen became an organist at the Antwerp cathedral, until Wo ...
(1885–1972) was a Belgian organist who became famous in the US in the 1920s for his
theater organ
A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s.
Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements o ...
improvisations during
silent film
A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...
s. Swinnen wrote a pedal cadenza for an arrangement of
Widor's ''
Fifth Symphony''. The cadenza was published separately by ''The American Organist''. The publisher promoted the cadenza it as the "most daring, the most musical Pedal Cadenza obtainable"; this praise is corroborated by reviewers who were at the performance, who remarked at the complex footwork required by the work. The symphony was performed 29 times during the week of its premiere, to "...literally screaming audiences...who had never seen such a sight as an organist up on a lift
latformin the spotlight playing with his feet alone".
After injuring his left arm in 2008, the principal organist for the
Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square
The Tabernacle Choir at Temple Square, formerly known as the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, is an American choir, acting as part of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). It has performed in the Salt Lake Tabernacle for ov ...
(
Richard Elliott) prepared an arrangement of “Go Tell It On the Mountain” which begins with an entire verse played solely on the pedalboard to accommodate his then-injured arm. As his arm healed he added additional verses with the most demanding notes played with his right hand. Th
video of his unusual performancehas garnered millions of views on YouTube.
Although the pedalboard is most frequently used for the bass part, composers from the 17th century to the present have often used it for higher parts as well. In his serene ''Le Banquet Céleste''
Olivier Messiaen places the tune, registered for 4′ flute (and higher mutation ranks), in the pedals.
From the early 20th century, composers have increasingly demanded an advanced pedal technique at the organ. Performers display their virtuosity in such works as
Wilhelm Middelschulte
Wilhelm Middelschulte (April 3, 1863, Werve, Kreis Hamm, now part of Kamen – May 4, 1943, Dortmund) was a German organist and composer who resided in America for most of his career.
Life
Middelschulte initially studied organ with August Knab ...
's ''Perpetuum mobile'',
Leo Sowerby
Leo Salkeld Sowerby (1 May 1895 – 7 July 1968) was an American composer and church musician. He won the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1946 and was often called the “Dean of American church music” in the early to mid 20th century.
Biography
...
's ''Pageant'' (1931), and
Jeanne Demessieux
Jeanne Marie-Madeleine Demessieux (13 February 1921 – 11 November 1968) was a French organist, pianist, composer, and teacher. She was the chief organist at Saint-Esprit for 29 years and at La Madeleine in Paris starting in 1962. She perfo ...
's ''Six études'', Op. 5 (1944), which recall the dramatic organ pedal solos of the Baroque era.
Use on instruments other than organs
Pedal harpsichord and clavichord
![Peter Watchorn pedal harpsichord](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0f/Peter_Watchorn_pedal_harpsichord.jpg)
Pedal keyboards were developed for the
clavichord
The clavichord is a stringed rectangular keyboard instrument that was used largely in the Late Middle Ages, through the Renaissance, Baroque and Classical eras.
Historically, it was mostly used as a practice instrument and as an aid to compositi ...
and
harpsichords during the Baroque era so that organists could practise the pedal parts of their organ repertoire when they had no-one available to work the
bellows
A bellows or pair of bellows is a device constructed to furnish a strong blast of air. The simplest type consists of a flexible bag comprising a pair of rigid boards with handles joined by flexible leather sides enclosing an approximately airtig ...
for a church organ or, in the wintertime, to avoid having to practice on a church organ in an unheated
church
Church may refer to:
Religion
* Church (building), a building for Christian religious activities
* Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination
* Church service, a formalized period of Christian communal worship
* C ...
.
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach (28 July 1750) was a German composer and musician of the late Baroque period. He is known for his orchestral music such as the '' Brandenburg Concertos''; instrumental compositions such as the Cello Suites; keyboard wo ...
owned a pedal harpsichord and his organ trio sonatas BWV 525–530,
Passacaglia and Fugue in C minor BWV 582,
Toccata and Fugue in D minor BWV 565, and other works sound well when played on the instrument.
Pedal piano
The
pedal piano
The pedal piano (or piano-pédalier or pédalier,) is a kind of piano that includes a pedalboard, enabling bass register notes to be played with the feet, as is standard on the organ.
There are two broad types of pedal pianos: either the pedal ...
(or pedalier piano) is a kind of
piano
The piano is a stringed keyboard instrument in which the strings are struck by wooden hammers that are coated with a softer material (modern hammers are covered with dense wool felt; some early pianos used leather). It is played using a keybo ...
that includes a pedalboard
There are two types of pedal piano:
* A pedal board integrated with a manual piano instrument, using the same strings and mechanism as the manual keyboard
* An independent, pedal played piano with its own mechanics and strings, placed below a regular piano
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart (27 January 17565 December 1791), baptised as Joannes Chrysostomus Wolfgangus Theophilus Mozart, was a prolific and influential composer of the Classical period. Despite his short life, his rapid pace of composition r ...
owned a
fortepiano
A fortepiano , sometimes referred to as a pianoforte, is an early piano. In principle, the word "fortepiano" can designate any piano dating from the invention of the instrument by Bartolomeo Cristofori in 1698 up to the early 19th century. Mo ...
with independent pedals, built for him in
1785
Events
January–March
* January 1 – The first issue of the ''Daily Universal Register'', later known as '' The Times'', is published in London.
* January 7 – Frenchman Jean-Pierre Blanchard and American John Jeffries ...
.
Robert Schumann had an upright pedal piano with 29 notes. In the 21st century, pedal pianos, the
Doppio Borgato
Doppio Borgato is a Pedal piano made by joining a regular concert grand (Model L 282) with a second piano, activated by a pedal board with 37 pedals (A0 to A3), similar to that of the organ (P 398). Designed and manufactured by Luigi Borgato, ...
are made in the
Borgato workshop in
Italy
Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...
. The bass pedalboard has 37 notes, A0 to A3 (rather than the standard 30 or 32 on an organ).
Carillon
Some large carillon systems for playing church bells include a pedalboard for the lowest-pitched bells. Carillon pedal keys activate a pull-down coupler that visibly moves the keys of the manual clavier and heavy clappers for the largest bells. These keys resemble the "button keys" of early organs, and are played by the player's toes. Because this non-legato technique involves no sliding, shoes with leather soles are not required.
In non-classical music
Jazz organ
After jazz organist
Jimmy Smith popularized the
Hammond organ in jazz in the 1950s, many jazz pianists "... who thought that getting organ-ized would be a snap ..." realized that the Hammond "... B-3 required not only a strong left hand, but studied coordination on the pedals to create the strong and solid "jazz bass" feel."
Barbara Dennerlein
Barbara Dennerlein (born 25 September 1964 in Munich) is a German jazz organist. She has achieved particular critical acclaim for using the bass pedalboard on a Hammond organ and for integrating synthesizer sounds onto the instrument, and was de ...
combines advanced pedalboard techniques with agile playing on the
manuals. Organists who play the bassline on the lower manual may do short taps on the bass pedals – often on the
tonic of a tune's key and in the lowest register of the pedalboard – to simulate the low, resonant sound of a plucked
upright bass
The double bass (), also known simply as the bass () (or by other names), is the largest and lowest-pitched bowed (or plucked) string instrument in the modern symphony orchestra (excluding unorthodox additions such as the octobass). Similar ...
string.
In popular music, pedaling style may be more varied and idiosyncratic, in part because jazz or pop organists may be self-taught. Also, pedaling styles may differ due to the design of electromechanical organs and spinet organs, many of which have shorter pedalboards designed to play primarily with the left foot, so that the right foot can control a volume (swell) pedal.
Rock and fusion
In the 1970s, some
progressive rock
Progressive rock (shortened as prog rock or simply prog; sometimes conflated with art rock) is a broad genre of rock music that developed in the United Kingdom and United States through the mid- to late 1960s, peaking in the early 1970s. In ...
groups such as
Yes,
Pink Floyd,
Genesis
Genesis may refer to:
Bible
* Book of Genesis, the first book of the biblical scriptures of both Judaism and Christianity, describing the creation of the Earth and of mankind
* Genesis creation narrative, the first several chapters of the Book of ...
,
Atomic Rooster and
Rush used standalone
Moog Taurus
The Moog Taurus is a foot-operated analog synthesizer designed and manufactured by Moog Music, originally conceived as a part of the Constellation series of synthesizers. The initial Taurus I was manufactured from 1975 to 1981; a less popular re ...
bass pedalboard synths, which were nicknamed "bass pedals" (despite the fact that the Taurus could play in a wide range, from bass to treble range). The Taurus generated an analog synth bass tone for amplification by a
bass amp
A bass amplifier (also abbreviated to bass amp) is a musical instrument electronic device that uses electrical power to make lower-pitched instruments such as the bass guitar or double bass loud enough to be heard by the performers and audien ...
. Other groups, such as
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin were an English rock band formed in London in 1968. The group comprised vocalist Robert Plant, guitarist Jimmy Page, bassist/keyboardist John Paul Jones, and drummer John Bonham. With a heavy, guitar-driven sound, they are ci ...
and
Van Der Graaf Generator
Van der Graaf Generator are an English progressive rock band, formed in 1967 in Manchester by singer-songwriters Peter Hammill and Chris Judge Smith and the first act signed by Charisma Records. They did not experience much commercial success i ...
used the bass pedals of the
Hammond organ in place of a
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
for several of their recordings and for live performances.
Other users included metal and hard rock bands such as
Yngwie Malmsteen
Yngwie Johan Malmsteen ( ; born Lars Johan Yngve Lannerbäck, 30 June 1963) is a Swedish guitarist. He first became known in the 1980s for his neoclassical playing style in heavy metal, and has released 22 studio albums in a career spanning ov ...
,
Styx, and
Francis Buchholz
Francis Buchholz (born 19 February 1954) is a German musician best known as the bass guitarist of German rock band Scorpions from 1973 until 1992. Since leaving Scorpions he has been a member of Michael Schenker's Temple Of Rock.
Biography
Bo ...
of the
Scorpions
Scorpions are predatory arachnids of the order Scorpiones. They have eight legs, and are easily recognized by a pair of grasping pincers and a narrow, segmented tail, often carried in a characteristic forward curve over the back and always end ...
, and Justin Harris of
Menomena
Menomena is an indie rock band from Portland, Oregon, United States, made up of Justin Harris and Danny Seim. Both members of the band share singing duties and frequently swap instruments while recording. In concert, Seim plays drums, while Ha ...
. Ex-Genesis guitarist
Steve Hackett
Stephen Richard Hackett (born 12 February 1950) is an English musician, singer, songwriter and record producer who gained prominence as the lead guitarist of the progressive rock band Genesis from 1971 to 1977. Hackett contributed to six Genesis ...
had a set mounted waist high, which his brother,
John Hackett, played with his hands for the intro of ''Clocks – The Angel Of Mons'' from the album
Spectral Mornings
''Spectral Mornings'' is the third studio album by English guitarist and songwriter Steve Hackett, released in May 1979 on Charisma Records. It is his first to feature members of his touring band, which many Hackett fans consider as the "classic ...
.
Adam Jones of
Tool
A tool is an object that can extend an individual's ability to modify features of the surrounding environment or help them accomplish a particular task. Although many animals use simple tools, only human beings, whose use of stone tools dates ba ...
uses the Moog Taurus along with an
Access Virus
The Access Virus is a virtual analog synthesizer made by the German company Access Music GmbH. It was first produced in 1997 and has since been upgraded frequently, with the company releasing new models about every two years. Early models includ ...
B synth to trigger live effects. The keyboardist for the rock group
Emerson, Lake & Palmer
Emerson, Lake & Palmer (informally known as ELP) were an English progressive rock supergroup formed in London in 1970. The band consisted of Keith Emerson (keyboards), Greg Lake (vocals, bass, guitar, producer) and Carl Palmer (drums, percus ...
took this idea to its logical conclusion by performing all of the first movement, and part of the second of ''The Three Fates'' on the organ of
Royal Festival Hall in
London
London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
.
![Moog Taurus (small)](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Moog_Taurus_%28small%29.jpg)
As well, some pop groups (e.g.,
The Police
The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Polic ...
,
Muse
In ancient Greek religion and mythology, the Muses ( grc, Μοῦσαι, Moûsai, el, Μούσες, Múses) are the inspirational goddesses of literature, science, and the arts. They were considered the source of the knowledge embodied in the ...
,
U2) and
fusion
Fusion, or synthesis, is the process of combining two or more distinct entities into a new whole.
Fusion may also refer to:
Science and technology Physics
*Nuclear fusion, multiple atomic nuclei combining to form one or more different atomic nucl ...
bands have used bass pedalboards to produce sounds in the bass range. They are most commonly used by keyboard players as an adjunct to keyboards, but can be played in combination with other instruments (e.g., by the bass guitar or electric guitar player), or by themselves.
Standalone pedalboards usually have a 13-note range and short pedals, which limits the types of basslines to fairly simple passages. A group's
bass guitarist
A bassist (also known as a bass player or bass guitarist) is a musician who plays a bass instrument such as a double bass (upright bass, contrabass, wood bass), bass guitar (electric bass, acoustic bass), synthbass, keyboard bass or a low b ...
or electric guitarist playing the pedalboard from a standing position can only use one foot at a time, which further limits what they can play. The BASYN analog bass synthesizer is a two-
VCO analog synthesizer
An analog (or analogue) synthesizer is a synthesizer that uses analog circuits and analog signals to generate sound electronically.
The earliest analog synthesizers in the 1920s and 1930s, such as the Trautonium, were built with a variety of ...
with a 13-note "button board"—with momentary push-button switches in place of pedals. Another variant used in rock bands is a bass pedalboard laid out as a
tabulature
Tablature (or tabulature, or tab for short) is a form of musical notation indicating instrument fingering rather than musical pitches.
Tablature is common for fretted stringed instruments such as the guitar, lute or vihuela, as well as many ...
representation of part of the four strings of an electric
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and ...
.
MIDI and synthesizer pedalboards
In the 1990s, standalone electronic
MIDI controller
A MIDI controller is any hardware or software that generates and transmits Musical Instrument Digital Interface (MIDI) data to MIDI-enabled devices, typically to trigger sounds and control parameters of an electronic music performance. They mos ...
pedalboards became widely available. Unlike the Moog Taurus pedalboards, MIDI pedalboards do not produce tones by themselves, but control a MIDI-compatible electronic keyboard or MIDI sequencer. In jazz
organ trio
An organ trio is a form of jazz ensemble consisting of three musicians; a Hammond organ player, a drummer, and either a jazz guitarist or a saxophone player. In some cases the saxophonist will join a trio which consists of an organist, guitarist, ...
s, a keyboardist using this type of pedalboard usually connects it to a MIDI-compatible
electronic Hammond organ-style keyboard. On modern electronic synthesizers such as the
Yamaha Yamaha may refer to:
* Yamaha Corporation, a Japanese company with a wide range of products and services, established in 1887. The company is the largest shareholder of Yamaha Motor Company (below).
** Yamaha Music Foundation, an organization estab ...
Electone
Electone is the trademark used for electronic organs produced by Yamaha. With the exception of the top end performance models, most Electones are based on the design of the spinet electronic organ. Current models are completely digital and conta ...
, the pedals are not limited to traditional bass notes but may instead produce many different sounds, including high-register tones. While MIDI pedalboards are typically used for musical sounds, since they use MIDI, technically the footpedals could be used to trigger lights or other electronic elements of a show.
MIDI pedalboards offer a range of features. Some MIDI pedalboards contain velocity-sensitive triggers, which produce MIDI velocity information for musical dynamics. MIDI pedalboards such as the 13-note Roland PK-5 include a row of MIDI toe switches above the pedal keyboard, so the performer can select preset tones or MIDI channels or change the octave. Larger 25-note Roland pedalboards also include an expression pedal for controlling the volume or other parameters.
In the 2000s, controller designer Keith McMillen developed a 13-note velocity-sensitive pedalboard, the
12 Step foot controller, a MIDI controller with a
USB
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an industry standard that establishes specifications for cables, connectors and protocols for connection, communication and power supply (interfacing) between computers, peripherals and other computers. A broad ...
output that can be connected to a
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and ...
-equipped
synthesizer or
sound module
A sound module is an electronic musical instrument without a human-playable interface such as a piano-style musical keyboard. Sound modules have to be operated using an externally connected device, which is often a MIDI controller, of which th ...
. McMillen's pedalboard differs from other pedalboards in that it senses a variety of types of velocity and pressure, which the user can program to cause different effects on the synthesizer patch. McMillen's pedalboard can be programmed so that pressing an individual pedal triggers chords (up to five simultaneous notes), which a
one person band could use to provide
accompaniment for live shows.
The Roland PK-9 and the Hammond XPK-200 are 20-note pedalboards that sound from low C to a high G. The Nord PedalKeys is a 27-note pedalboard, going from a low C to a high D. As compared with a 25-note pedalboard, the PedalKeys adds a high C# and a high D.
Some MIDI pedalboards are designed for the church pipe organ market, which means that they use AGO specifications such as a 32-note range. Most pipe organ-style MIDI pedalboards are too unwieldy for transportation, so they are typically installed under the upper manuals. However, a German company makes a MIDI pedalboard with a hinge in the middle and wheels on the underside for easy transport. Since AGO-specification MIDI pedalboards are often priced in between
US$
The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...
1000 and US$3000, some amateur home organists make
DIY
"Do it yourself" ("DIY") is the method of building, modifying, or repairing things by oneself without the direct aid of professionals or certified experts. Academic research has described DIY as behaviors where "individuals use raw and sem ...
MIDI pedalboards by retrofitting an old pedalboard with MIDI. Due to the popularity of
theater organ
A theatre organ (also known as a theater organ, or, especially in the United Kingdom, a cinema organ) is a type of pipe organ developed to accompany silent films, from the 1900s to the 1920s.
Theatre organs have horseshoe-shaped arrangements o ...
s and
Hammond organs during the 1950s and 1960s, many organ parts are on the market—including pedalboards (often with less than 32 notes, such as 20 or 25 notes) that cost under US$300. After the pedalboard is cleaned up and glass
reed switches are repaired or replaced, the pedal contacts are soldered into a
keyboard matrix circuit-equipped MIDI encoder, which then connects to any MIDI device to produce the sound of an organ or other instrument.
See also
*
Organ shoes
*
Bass pedals
Bass pedals are an electronic musical instrument with a foot-operated pedal keyboard with a range of one or more octaves. The earliest bass pedals from the 1970s consisted of a pedalboard and analog synthesizer tone generation circuitry packag ...
*
Keyboard bass
Keyboard bass (shortened to keybass and sometimes referred as a synth-bass) is the use of a smaller, low-pitched keyboard with fewer notes than a regular keyboard or pedal keyboard to substitute for the deep notes of a bass guitar or double bass ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Pedal Keyboard
Human–machine interaction
Electric and electronic keyboard instruments
Keyboard instruments
Pipe organ components
Organs (music)
Contrabass instruments
Pedals