A drone happens when a person holds a sustained note or chord. Drones are magical in many ways, but mostly because they create a blanket of sound. The sound of a drone acts as almost like a body of water, like the sea, and players can make other sounds that sometimes appear to sound as if they are drifting or floating above sound of the drone. Also, since drones are composed of only one note or chord, there are no chord changes to keep track of. Although the tonic of the chord being played on the drone signifies a key, solos performed by players do not have to follow any specific key. In fact, they have the freedom to drift in and out of the various modes of the key, and the more “wrong” notes they play, the more their ears begin to learn how to identify sounds that go within any particular key. In addition, players learn how to “massage” wrong notes, meaning that they can slide a “wrong” note up or down only a half-step, and it automatically becomes part of the key. Consequently, sliding back and forth between the “wrong” note and the “right” one creates a melody in and of itself. The players begin to hear that all notes are “right” because the “rightness” of any note depends on the relationship it has with the other notes around it, and any note can be made to have a beautiful relationship with the other notes around it when they are used as part of rhythmically charged, repeating melodic lines. In the same manner, advanced players can use drones to explore harmonizing.
Here’s how it works:
As the leader, create a drone. The drones I like to use are often composed of only one note. If I use a chord, I tend to drift towards major chords. These tend to work well with young musicians who are just learning the ways in which musical notes work together. I prefer to use D Major or C Major. I prefer to make drones with an accordion because it also allows me to also create solos over my own drone that can act as models for the students, but they can also be created just by holding down a few notes on a keyboard. Another simple way to make a drone is to pluck one guitar string over and over again. Invite two or three others participate in the improvisation, and each takes a turn soloing. A solo happens when a player plays one note. They simply play one note, and then slide it up or down until it sounds pleasing to them when heard over the drone. Then, once they find a note that works for them, they simply add a second and a third and a fourth note. They can keep stringing tones together until they have a melody. This process is very similar to the one described in “The Charm Bracelet” from Unit One. Once the musicians have discovered a melody, they can repeat it, and thus create a groove, or they can shift to a new melody. Since the drone has no groove to it, the players do not have to worry about synchronizing with a beat. They can play freely; drifting in and out of whatever time they are feeling in the moment. When each player has completed their solo, they are to repeat themselves. They can repeat the last melody they created, or they can simply repeat one note over and over again. Their repetition signals to the next player that it is their turn to solo.
It is important to note that once a player creates a repeating melody, they have also created a groove, and the other players usually have to adhere to that groove by synchronizing their melodies to it. Therefore, it is usually helpful to have one player volunteer play a pulse on a drum in order to help students synchronize more easily. Of course, each player can simply play their solo and then end, offering their silence and listening ears to the other players in the improvisation as well. This way, they allow the improvisation to remain free of the structures imposed by periodic rhythm.
Another variation of this form can happen this way. The first player in the ensemble begins by playing a solo completely unaccompanied, not even by a drone. As their solo comes to an end, they settle on one note and hold that note as a drone. Once that player has created a drone, it is the signal to the next player to solo over the drone that now exists. As each player ends their solo, they add to the drone. In this way, the ending note of each solo creates a chord that acts as a drone. At some times, this can be a dissonant chord, and at others the players will prefer to adjust so that the chord is more pleasing. Once they are all droning, the form can either end or continue. If it continues, it does so in the same way as the original form.