Drone

What it is

A drone is a sustained or repeated pitch held under a melody, providing a constant harmonic reference. Use the free chromatic tuner to check yourself on this. More of this kind of thing is in the acoustics section.

On violin it is usually produced by bowing an open string simultaneously with a melody on an adjacent string, which is a double stop with one voice held static.

Drones are ancient and appear in musical traditions worldwide, from bagpipes to Indian classical music to Appalachian fiddle.

How it is produced

Most commonly as a double stop where one note is an open string.

The bow sounds two strings at once, holding a level between the two string planes. The left hand plays the melody on one while the other rings open.

Because the drone string is open, it requires no left hand attention and no accuracy, which makes drone playing considerably easier than a fully fingered double stop.

Drones can also be fingered, though this is harder and less common.

As an intonation tool

This is where drones matter most for a student, and it is one of the most effective practice techniques available.

Playing a scale against a sustained open string drone gives immediate, continuous feedback on every note.

When a note is in tune with the drone, the two ring together and the instrument resonates. When it is out, the interval beats audibly.

The student is not comparing the note to a memory. They are hearing an interval right now, against a fixed reference, and the feedback is unambiguous.

Practising scales with a drone is among the fastest ways to improve intonation, and it works at every level. Advanced players use it too.

The standard exercise: play a G major scale on the D and A strings while sustaining the open G. Every note is checked against the tonic.

Variations use different drone notes, checking each scale degree against the fifth or the third rather than the tonic, which trains different intervals.

In fiddle traditions

Drones are central to many folk styles.

Appalachian and old-time fiddling uses open string drones extensively, giving the characteristic full sound with a single instrument.

Scottish and Irish fiddling uses them, partly imitating the bagpipes.

Scandinavian traditions use drones heavily, and some regional instruments have sympathetic strings specifically to produce them.

In these styles the drone is not an exercise but a defining feature of the sound.

In classical repertoire

Less common but present.

Composers use drones to evoke folk music, rustic settings, or bagpipes. A sustained open fifth under a melody is a standard device for pastoral character.

Baroque repertoire uses them in dance movements with folk origins.

Contemporary composers use sustained pitches for atmosphere, and orchestral writing often puts a drone in one section under melody in another.

Practical considerations

Bow angle must hold a level between two strings consistently. This is a bow arm skill and it is the main technical challenge in drone playing.

Balance between drone and melody. The drone should support without dominating, which means slightly less weight on that side of the bow.

Which drone. The open string chosen must be harmonically appropriate. A G drone under a passage in D major works; the same drone under E flat major does not.

Damping. Sometimes a drone must stop, and an open string must be damped with a finger to silence it.

What goes wrong

Uneven bow level, so the drone dominates or drops out.

Wrong drone for the harmony, producing clashes.

Fatigue. Holding a bow level for a long passage is tiring for a developing bow arm.

Ignoring the feedback. A student practising with a drone but not listening to the interval gains nothing. The whole value is in the listening.

How it is taught

Introduced early as an intonation exercise, often as soon as a student can play a scale.

The instruction that matters: listen to the interval, not to the note. The drone is a reference and the point is the relationship between the two sounds.

Later as a stylistic device for students interested in fiddle traditions, where it becomes a technique rather than an exercise.

The scale exercise in detail

The most productive use of drones, and worth doing daily.

Sustain the open G. Play a G major scale on the D and A strings, slowly, one note per bow.

On each note, listen to the interval between the note and the drone. Unison and octave should be perfectly still. The fifth should ring. The third will need to be placed carefully, and where exactly is a question worth exploring.

Then repeat with the open D as drone, then the open A. Each drone puts every scale degree in a different relationship, which trains different intervals.

The value is that feedback is immediate and unambiguous. A note out of tune against a sustained drone beats audibly, right now, while the student is playing it.

No other intonation exercise gives feedback that fast.

Holding the bow level

The technical challenge, and it is a bow arm problem rather than a left hand one.

Sounding two strings evenly requires the arm to find and hold a level between the two string planes, and to hold it while the melody moves and the bow travels.

Practise this on open strings first, without any melody, until the double stop sounds even from frog to tip. Adding the left hand before that is stable makes both problems harder at once.

Our teaching studio covers Sugar Hill, Cumming and Dunwoody with private and group violin lessons. If you would like help with tone and sound production, call 470-789-2422 or book a no-commitment evaluation lesson.