Pedal Gears – Music
Pedal is a timba gear and a form of presión: the bass plays long, powerful, sustained tones and the percussion almost stops, except for the clave and the kick drum. Bands use pedal for a climax in the middle of the song, often with a new coro.
Key points
- Piano: tumbao, often a new one
- Bass: long, sustained tones; a new note every basic step or two at most
- Conga, timbal and drums: the patterns stop; only embellishments and a bloque
- Clave and kick drum: keep playing
- Coro: often the moment for a new coro
- Dancing: despelote, room for your own moves
🎹 Where does the name come from?
The name comes from the pedal tone of classical music. The lowest notes of a pipe organ are played with the feet, and in the music of Bach and others the organist often holds a low note for many measures while the music builds to its climax. In Paulo FG's timba the same happens, only in the middle of the arrangement instead of at the end.
⚡ Playing less, more tension
The striking thing about pedal: the music becomes more intense because the three percussionists play less. Their regular patterns stop, as in the piano tumbao gear. Only the clave and the kick drum continue. The percussionists play embellishments and the bloque written specially for each pedal section.
🔀 Pedal and presión
Presión is the big breakdown in which the bass tumbao, the conga marcha and usually the bells drop out. Pedal is a form of it: the bass doesn't drop out but holds long tones, and bloques are added.
✋ How does the band call pedal?
In Paulo FG's band every gear has a hand signal. For pedal he thrusts his fist to the side and lets his fingers fly outward like a star. The musicians rely on these signals and rarely use the names. Kevin Moore learned the name pedal from conguero Tomás Cruz.
🎧 Example: Y San Toma Qué – Paulo FG
Kevin Moore analysed the studio version of Y San Toma Qué (album Con la conciencia tranquila). Pedal appears three times:
- Coro 2 (4 basic steps, approx. 1:10): "San dame, san dame, San Toma ¿dónde está?", with Sergio Noroña's second piano tumbao. Here pedal goes straight into bomba.
- Coro 3 (8 basic steps, approx. 1:50): "¿Dónde está lo mío?"
- Coro 5 (8 basic steps, approx. 3:13)
The times come from a breakdown on salsaforums.com and are approximate.
💃 For dancers
According to Kevin Moore, ballroom dancers get confused when the band shifts to pedal and bomba, but these are exactly the moments timba dancers relish. Instead of leading the next spin, partners push away from each other and dance despelote. The transition from pedal to bomba is the moment for the most provocative tembleque moves. According to Tomás Cruz, many gears came about by watching which new ideas inspired the dancers to new moves.