Drones: basic exercises and Arkansas Traveller

Lesson 1: Mastering Drones in American Fiddling

Hello! This first lesson is going to be about drones.

What is a Drone?

Drones are an important part of most types of American fiddling, and it's something you really do have to master.

• The drone is a note played on an open string on either side of the melody note.
• For example:
  • If we have a phrase like this, we could play drones on an open A above it.
  • If we have a different phrase, it can also be accompanied by drones, adding an American old-timey feel to the music.

You can immediately feel that it has a very American sound.

When to Use Drones

Drones aren't used all the time and aren't always appropriate, but it's certainly something you need to master.

Exercises

Let's look at a couple of simple exercises:

1. Play the same thing, but angle the bow slightly to include the open A.
2. Angle the bow slightly down to get the open A.

Keys for Drones

This idea works very well in the keys of G, D, and A. As you move up to something like E or B, it becomes harder, and as you go down to C, F, and so on, it gets even harder.

• Drones are mostly used in simple keys, which is why American fiddling tends to stick to those keys.
• By the end of this course, we'll find a workaround to do drones in any key, but that's something to worry about later.

Introducing a Tune: Arkansas Traveler

Now, I'm going to show you a tune called Arkansas Traveler, which is a very well-known tune.

Playing Without Drones

Let's play it first without any drones:

Now that sounds okay, but it doesn't sound distinctly American.

Adding Drones

If we add the drones, then it certainly does sound more American.

• You may have noticed that I was not droning on every note; I was droning on most of the notes.
• It's a matter of experience to know which notes can be easily droned and which cannot.

Learning Curve

This is something you can't expect to learn overnight. In fact, it may take weeks or even months to figure out how to easily drone on some notes and not on others.

Reading Music with Drones

As for reading music, when drones are written down, it's helpful but can slow things down. It often looks overwhelming when everything is covered in notes.

• Music is frequently written without drones, with just a suggestion to "play drones here and there."
• You need to come to terms with the fact that you can't expect drones to be noted for you; you need to add them yourself.

Assignments for This Lesson

1. Try playing "Arkansas Traveler" with drones and without drones.
2. Experiment with several other tunes, anything you know, and try adding the drones yourself, remembering that the drones can be either above or below the melody.

Listening Recommendations

Listen to a couple of old-time players:

• Clark Kessinger playing "West Virginia Special."
• G.B. Grayson on "Train 45."

You'll see that one of them drones all the time, while the other drones hardly at all.

Remember: It's a choice to use drones, and not everyone prefers to use them all the time, or even at all.