Different melodic Indian instruments (e.g. Highland bagpipes, with drone pipes over the pipers' left shouldersĭrone is also the term for the part of a musical instrument intended to produce the drone effect's sustained pitch, generally without the ongoing attention of the player. It is also present in some isolated regions of Asia (like among Pearl-divers in the Persian Gulf, some national minorities of South-West China, Taiwan, Vietnam, and Afghanistan). In vocal music drone is particularly widespread in traditional musical cultures, particularly in Europe, Polynesia and Melanesia. Since the 1960s, the drone has become a prominent feature in drone music and other forms of avant-garde music. In America, most forms of the African-influenced banjo contain a drone string. Most of the types of bagpipes that exist worldwide have up to three drones, making this one of the first instruments that comes to mind when speaking of drone music. It is used in Indian music and is played with the tanpura (or tambura) and other Indian drone instruments like the ottu, the ektar, the dotara (or dotar dutar in Persian Central Asia), the surpeti, the surmandal (or swarmandal) and the shankh (conch shell). The systematic use of drones originated in instrumental music of ancient Southwest Asia, and spread north and west to Europe and south to Africa.

A pedal point may be a form of nonchord tone and thus required to resolve unlike a drone, or a pedal point may simply be considered a shorter drone, a drone being a longer pedal point. A drone on the same pitch as a melodic note tends to both hide that note and to bring attention to it by increasing its importance.Ī drone differs from a pedal tone or point in degree or quality. The drone is most often placed upon the tonic or dominant (play 'Row, Row, Row Your Boat' with a drone on the tonic ( help Drone (both instrumental and vocal) can be placed in different ranges of the polyphonic texture: in the lowest part, in the highest part, or in the middle. A drone can be instrumental, vocal or both. It most often establishes a tonality upon which the rest of the piece is built. But not so much for the robots that are land-based, and safe, and look cute.'Of all harmonic devices, it is not only the simplest, but probably also the most fertile.' Ī drone effect can be achieved through a sustained sound or through repetition of a note. So there's huge social acceptance problems with the robots, with the robots that are flying. People don't like other machines flying over their backyard where their children are playing. If it's doing a delivery for you maybe it's okay, but of it's doing a delivery for somebody else, you know, people don't like that. People actually do not like low flying drones, especially when they are flying over their backyard and it's a buzzing, flying machine. by hijacking oil tankers, shooting down a drone, and then attacking the Saudi Arabia Aramco facilities, trump only reacted militarily after the American Embassy was attacked in Iran. The drone attacks on Saudi oil pumping stations carried out by groups supported by Iran not only threaten the security of the kingdom and the Gulf, but also threaten maritime safety and global oil supplies.ĭestroying the American drone was a very good message for other countries in the region for them to know to find native power by relying on their own national abilities. You can shoot a drone down, but it requires a certain level of marksmanship, it’s easier said than done. What have I lost by my forefathers fault?įrom a long restive race of droning kings? It is my misfortune to be married to a drone, who lives upon what I get, without bringing any thing into the common stock. More than the wild cat: drones hive not with me, They live, like drones, upon the publick cost. Luxurious kings are to their people lost The sad-ey’d justice, with his surly hum, The bee which makes no honey, and is therefore driven out by the rest. Samuel Johnson's Dictionary (0.00 / 0 votes) Rate this definition:Įtymology: droen, Saxon.

Drone meaning