Drone
A low sustained note, often on the tonic.
What it means
A drone is a constant, usually low sustained note that accompanies a melody over a longer time or throughout a whole piece. It often consists of the root, frequently supplemented by the fifth above it. It thus forms an immovable ground against which the melody stands out.
Musical use
Drone instruments have a long history and are found worldwide. Bagpipes, hurdy-gurdies, drone strings on bowed and plucked instruments, and the tanpura in Indian music produce such a continuous tone. In many folk music traditions the drone is the actual harmonic foundation: the music does not change chords but moves melodically over a standing sound.
The effect rests on the relationship between stillness and motion. The same sustained note is, at changing moments, consonance and dissonance against the melody, and from this alternation arise tension and relaxation without the harmony changing. At the same time the drone serves as a constant aid to intonation: every melody note can be measured against it.
In art music the drone appears as a quotation of rural music — for example in pastorales and in movements that imitate bagpipe or shawm.
The drone is to be distinguished from the pedal point: the pedal point is a sustained bass note under changing harmonies and is usually limited in time, for instance before a cadence; the drone is a continuous fundamental sound over which the music moves melodically, often without any change of harmony.
The drone is among the oldest forms of polyphony. Bagpipe, hurdy-gurdy, and Hardanger fiddle produce it with dedicated strings or pipes that sound continuously. In Indian music the tanpura provides a drone that fixes the key and guides the intonation of the melody. In the folk music of many European regions and in medieval organa too, the sustained note forms the basis over which the melody moves freely.
Performance practice
Hold a drone evenly and calmly, without emphasizing it — it is ground, not figure. Use it for intonation: whoever sings or plays over a continuous tone hears every deviation immediately. And practise scales and melodies regularly over a drone; it is one of the most effective exercises for clean intonation.