A drone is a sustained tone or chord that holds a tonal ground while changing only slightly

A drone is a sound — tone, chord, or cluster — held continuously, its harmony or rhythm changing only slightly over time. It functions as a tonal ground: it establishes a centre without supplying melody, chord progression, or rhythmic pulse. Its defining property is stasis — where conventional music moves, a drone persists — and this forces a different listening mode: instead of following development, the listener attends to overtones, beating, and micro-changes. Drones define their genres as much by what they withhold (melody, progression, rhythm) as by what they provide (tonal resonance). The article stresses their near-universality, from Indian classical to medieval chant to electronic music.

Examples

Indian tambura (built solely to drone); hurdy-gurdy in European folk; didgeridoo in north Australia; sustained cathedral organ chords; La Monte Young’s ‘Trio for Strings’ (1958).

Assessment

Distinguish a drone from an ordinary sustained bass note in a tonal piece, and state one listening behaviour a drone demands that a melody does not.