Pedal Tones on the Guitar

Using pedal tones (or notes) can transform the the sound of an otherwise everyday chord progression.
What is a pedal tone you may ask?

Here is a definition from the internet:

ped·al note

ˈpedl/

noun

MUSIC

noun: pedal tone

1. 1.

   a note sustained in one part (usually the bass) through successive harmonies, some of which are independent of it.

This is the way we will play around with pedal tones.

These are the chord shapes Randy Rhodes use at the beginning of "Crazy Train"

As you can see, the A note on the 5th string is ringing over each chord. That is the pedal tone.

We can do this with other open strings to get the pedal effect.

If we want to use the open D (4th) string for the same purpose, we might try these shapes:

We can do this with the Pedal E (6th) string as well:

  

Play around with these chords and see if you can come up with your own "Pedal Chords."