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drone

A note held or repeated under everything else, giving the ear a fixed home to measure against.

A note held or repeated under everything else, giving the ear a fixed home to measure the rest against. Drones are ancient (bagpipes, the tanpura, an open string) and instant (a held bass note under a solo), and they make a scale's home unmistakable. Improvisers practice over a drone to hear each note's color.

Learn it: Pentatonic and blues

The one-sentence definition at the top is the same one the Theory Aide extension shows as a tooltip inside Ableton Live. Hover any dotted term for its own.