Drone (music)

A sustained or repeatedly sounded pitch beneath changing musical material. It provides a stable tonal reference while melody, rhythm, or harmony shifts above it.

Pedal point: A sustained or repeated note, usually in the bass, that continues beneath changing harmonies. A pedal point is a common way to create a drone beneath shifting chords.
Bagpipe: A wind instrument that uses a bag to supply continuous air to one or more pipes. Its continuously sounding chanter and accompaniment pipes make the drone unmistakable.
Hurdy-gurdy: A bowed string instrument whose rotating wheel sustains melody and accompaniment strings. Its fixed accompaniment strings create a mechanical drone beneath the played melody.
Chord progression: A succession of chords that organizes harmonic movement in a piece of music. A changing progression contrasts with the drone’s persistent pitch foundation.
Bordun: A continuous or repeated accompaniment using one or more sustained pitches, especially in traditional European music. This specific drone texture often pairs a tonic with its fifth.
Tanpura: A long-necked Indian lute that provides a continuous harmonic drone. Its plucked strings establish the pitch field for Indian classical performance.
Crwth: A traditional Welsh bowed lyre with strings used for melody and accompaniment. Historical crwth performance used open strings as drones beneath tunes.
Functional harmony: A system in which chords create directional relationships centered on a tonic. A drone can suspend or complicate the chord-to-chord motion functional harmony expects.
Overtone series: The sequence of partial frequencies produced alongside a sound’s fundamental frequency. A drone’s sustained spectrum can make its overtones perceptible as other pitches change.
Didgeridoo: A low-pitched wind instrument traditionally made from a hollowed tree branch and played with circular breathing. Its sustained low tone demonstrates a drone produced by breath and vocal variation.

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