Pedal Clavier

The PedalClavier (or pedalboard) is the "keyboard you play with your feet".

Hymns are written in four voices. When playing hymns with proper legato technique, the lowest voice (bass) is played on the pedals. The next highest voice (tenor) is played with the left hand, the highest voice (soprano) is played with the right hand, and the voice between the tenor and soprano (alto) is played with whichever hand can reach the best, usually the right. Most hymns can't be played as written without pedals, because it is impossible to reach all the notes without introducing periods of silence between one note and the next.

Most of the Hammond consoles have flat 25-key pedal claviers, though some (the RT's and D-100's) have full 32-note concave AGO pedal claviers. The 25-key pedalboard extends two octaves from C to C, which is enough for hymn playing. The 32-note AGO pedalboard extends the upper range to G, which is required for some classical repertoire.

The spinet organs have either 12 or 13 stubby little pedals which hardly deserve to be called a "clavier". Most amateur church organists play all four voices on the manuals, leaving gaps or moving low notes an octave up so they can reach, and double the bass note in the pedals but play it in the lowest octave even if it is written higher. Therefore, they only use the bottom octave of the pedalboard (12 notes).

ChordOrgans have two pedals which play the tonic or fifth of the chord being played.

The lack of a proper pedalboard is one of the reasons why ClassicalOrganistsDislikeMostHammonds.