18.3: Pedal 6/4
- Page ID
- 258590
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The pedal 6/4 gets its name as a result of the bass note staying the same for all three chords. The progression that includes a pedal 6/4 uses a root position tonic (I), a second inversion sub dominant (IV 6/4), and then another root position tonic (I).
Sound
The most distinct quality of a pedal 6/4 is the use of the same bass note for each of the three chords. This bass note that does not change is the root of our root position tonic chord, or do.
Listen to a pedal 6/4 (opens in a new window): I, IV 6/4, and I.

Example
This example is in the key of C major. Our first chord in this example is labeled as a I because it is a tonic chord (C-E-G) that has the root of the chord in the bass. The second chord is a subdominant chord, F major that is made up of: F-A-C. The C is in the bass, so this is in second inversion. The last chord returns to a tonic chord in root position with C in the bass.



