Drone Tones eBook

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Raymond Johnson | Drone Tones: Guided Practice

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Drone Tones: Guided PracticeA Companion Document of Explanations and Exercises

Raymond C. M. JohnsonCopyright © 2011 by Raymond C. M. Johnson. Version 1.1

All rights reserved.

No part of this document may be reproduced in any manner w hatso ever without writtenpermission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

Acknowledgements

To all family, friends, acquaintances, and strangers who have enriched my life with kindness,

generosity, and love - you are a source of inspiration, and be sure that any fruits of my labor willnourish you in return.

To fellow musicians and students of the arts - thank you for all of your contributions. Withoutyou, this work would not be possible.

I ! d also like to extend my deepest gratitude to the readers of this book and all those whosededication and passionate work in the arts help to move humanity forward.

Marina, thanks for the time you spent editing and proofreading this book. Your concision knowsno bounds!

About the Author

Raymond Johnson is a musician who ! s passion lies in providing inspiration through philosophy,education, and art. As a saxophonist, Raymond has performed with various bands includingSoul Track Mind and Chesterfield. Raymond also holds a Bachelors of Science degree inElectrical Engineering from the University of Texas at Austin.

To download the companion Drone Tones album, please visit http:// music.raymondcmjohnson.com .

For more information please visit http://www.raymondcmjohnson.com


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Table of Contents

Introduction

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A Primer on Pitch

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Absolute Pitch 5

Relative Pitch 5

Temperaments and Just Tuning

5

The Just Scale 5

Temperaments

6

Just and Equal Tempered Scales: Subtle Differences

8

Tunings in Practice 9

Drone Tone Exercises

10

Suggestions 11

Preparation 11

Exercise 1: Unison Drone Tones 11

Exercise 2: Interval Long Tones 12

Exercise 3: Long Tone Scales 14

Exercise 4: Interval Exercises 15

Exercise 5: Arpeggios 16

Exercise 6: Harmonic Series 16

Exercise 7: Pitch Variations 17

Exercise 8: Tonal blending 18

Create and Improvise 18

Perfect Pitch: Journey and Destination

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References

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IntroductionI came across the concept of practicing to drones through exploring various types ofcultural music and a strong desire to improve my intonation and inner ear. Dronesbecame such an effective addition to my practice routine that I soon found myselfresearching the topic with a growing desire to share my discoveries with others.

Drone Tones: Guided Practice is intended for musicians who are well versed in thefundamental concepts of music theory and the playing techniques of their instrument.Reading music, familiarity with scales and intervals, and basic arithmetic are all requiredfor understanding the explanations and instructions presented in this book.

A Primer on Pitch

In music, pitch is an arbitrary way of organizing audible frequencies. Of course, pitchalso exists objectively in reality through sounds such as bird calls and whale songs, butthe pitches used in music are merely subjective groupings of frequency. Alternatively,the note names given to the audible frequency spectrum are analogous to the names ofcolor given to sections of the visible light spectrum.

Pitch may be further separated into the categories of discrete pitch and dynamicpitch. Discrete pitches are those that may be described by objective mathematicalratios or specific scalar intervals.

Examples of discrete pitch include:

A 440 HZ tone.

the major fifth of the C Major scale

4:3 (the fourth of a major scale expressed as a proportion with the tonic)

Any deviations from a discrete pitch are called dynamic pitches. Musicians mayaccidentally perform dynamic pitch when they are out of tune with a digital tuner "sreference tone or when adjusting to a tuning note created by a symphony"s principaloboe. However, many professional instrumentalists often use small variations in pitch toeither match each other"s intonation, or play slightly out of tune for musical effect.

Dynamic pitch includes:

the pitch of a singer who is flat in relation to her piano accompaniment

pitch embellishments such as blue notes (see p. 18 )

certain notes of wind instruments that may be inherently sharp or flat


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Absolute Pitch

Absolute pitch (or perfect pitch) is the skill of identifying or producing a musical notewithout any external reference. Since many people may own their own sing or hum apopular song in its correct key, it seems that formal musical training is not required to

posses absolute pitch. With an education in music, however, those with absolute pitchmay sing a song a cappella true to its written key or correctly transcribe a melody byear.

Other examples of absolute pitch include:

identifying the notated key of a musical piece with the ears alone

naming the pitches of non-musical tones such as chalkboard screeches or sirens

Relative PitchRelative pitch is the skill one uses to hear, identify, and produce a given note in thepresence of a reference tone such as a drone. While absolute pitch is a sought skill formany musicians, relative pitch is not only easier to develop, but is in many ways morepractical than studying absolute pitch. Vocalists, fretless stringed instrumentalists, andbrasswind players must posses varying degrees of relative pitch in order to play theirrespective instruments in tune. Moreover, relative pitch discernment greatly augmentsthe skills of any musician.

Solfege training is an effective approach to improving relative pitch and is the primary

method of formal ear training for vocalists. Another effective method to improve relativepitch is through diligent practice and performance with a drone.

Temperaments and Just Tuning

The Just Scale

Just intonation is a musical tuning system consisting of a series of discrete pitches thatare created from a single note using simple ratios. For example, in a justly tuned C

Major scale, the frequency of G is related to C by the ratio 3:2 - the frequency of G is1.5 times the frequency of C. More broadly speaking, in justly tuned systems the fifth isrelated to the tonic by 3/2.

Each remaining interval of the C Major scale is defined similarly as shown in the tablebelow.


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Using just intonation, one may create a diatonic scale in any key using a tonic pitch andthe same ratios shown in the figure above. It is also possible to construct a twelve tonechromatic scale in a similar way. However, the frequency of each note in the just scalechanges depending on the tonic it is constructed from. For example, a justly tuned scalebased on F contains different tuning relationships than the C scale above.

Analogously, instruments in just intonation are considered optimized for playing in aspecific key. Once the instrument is played in a different key, the optimization fails andthe only way to recover the perfect intervals of just intonation is to retune the instrument

to the chosen key. Details about the cause of these discrepancies, the syntonic comma,is beyond the scope of this text, but more information may be found in the listedreadings of the References section at the end of this document.

The following instruments make primary use of the just scale:

human voice

fretless stringed instruments such as the violin and cello

wind instruments using dynamic pitch

Temperaments

To counteract the tuning discrepancies among keys created by the just scale, musicianshave created alternate tuning systems called temperaments. Temperaments allowmusicians to freely change keys by sacrificing the pure interval relationships of justintonation.

Relationships of the C Major Just Scale

C D E F G A B C

1:1 9:8 5:4 4:3 3:2 5:3 15:8 2:1

12 tone justly tuned C scale

C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B

1:1 16:15 9:8 6:5 5:4 4:3 45:32 3:2 8:5 5:3 9:5 15:8


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Incorporating temperament grants musicians a method of balancing the pitch sensitivityof the human ear with convenient musical instrument performance and design. The most popular form of temperament in modern music is equal temperament whereeach note is derived by dividing an octave into twelve equal sections - one for each note

of the chromatic scale. Thus the piano along with many other instruments that use equaltemperament are freely able to change keys which makes them easier to play and muchmore versatile.

While some consider the equal tempered scale"s lack of stability as a disadvantage, itssubtle dissonances can add an air of excitement and unpredictable energy to music.

The following instruments make use of equal temperament tuning:

Piano

Keyboard

Fretted instruments such as the guitar

Marimbas and xylophones

There are other forms of temperament that balance key modulation with perfectintervals. Once such method called Hermode tuning performs dynamic manipulation ofelectrical instrument pitch. The Hermode software analyzes each note or chord on thefly and makes alterations to meet any desired pitch changes - just as a live musicianwould do during a performance. Thus, Hermode tuning can combine the pure sound of

just intonation and still offer the versatility of temperament. Soon technology in the samespirit as Hermode may ensure the replacement of the ubiquitous equal tempered scalewith an improved system that eliminates compromising.

Equal Tempered Tuning in Cents

Note C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B C

Cents 0 100 200 300 400 500 600 700 800 900 1000 1100 1200


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Just and Equal Tempered Scales: Subtle Differences

Naturally, human ears hear in just intonation while equal temperament is mainly aproduct of mechanical design. The ear easily recognizes the unstable warbling createdby out of tune instruments that are attempting to play the same note. Vocalists and

instrumentalists who hear such instability subconsciously gravitate toward warble-free just intonation. Only through careful listening and focus can musicians recreate thesubtle instability of equal temperament.

Equal temperament attempts to match the musical relationships of just intonation asclosely as possible. The subtle differences between the two systems may significantlyaffect the mood and sound of music.The instability of equal tempered tuning may addenergy to music while the harmony of just intonation may tend toward a meditativeatmosphere. A detailed comparison of the 12-tone justly tuned C scale and equaltempered chromatic scale is shown below.

Tuning differences of the 12-tone just tuned C scale and the equal temperedchromatic scale

Note Just Tuned Ratio Just Tuning - cents Eq. Temp. - cents Difference

C 1:1 0 0 0

C# 16:15 111.73 100 -11.73

D 9:8 203.91 200 -3.91

D# 6:5 315.64 300 -15.64

E 5:4 386.31 400 13.69

F 4:3 498.04 500 1.96

F# 45:32 582.51 600 17.49

G 3:2 701.96 700 -1.96

G# 8:5 813.69 800 -13.69

A 5:3 884.36 900 15.64

A# 9:5 968.83 1000 31.17

B 15:8 1088.27 1100 11.73


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The smallest difference between the two scales are in Western music"s most crucialintervals - the fourth and fifth. The largest pitch deviations are averaged between eachremaining note with A#, the minor seventh of the C scale, having the most notabledifference.

Additionally, one may also observe that equal tempered minor seconds, minor thirds,and minor sixths are slightly flat; and major thirds, augmented fourths, major sixths,major sevenths, and minor sevenths are sharp. Although these tuning differences arebased on a just tuned scale in C, the discrepancies would remain the same for a justlytuned scale in any other key.

Tunings in PracticeKnowing the differences between just and tempered tuning helps a musician play withmore accurate intonation. When playing with a piano or electric guitar, a vocalist willprobably match the pitches of equal tempered tuning to sound “in tune” with her band.On the contrary, a group of dynamically pitched instrumentalists such as a choir, stringensemble, or brass quintet may freely play with just intonation.

-20

-10

0

10

20

30

40

C C# D D# E F F# G G# A A# B

C Just Tuning vs Equal Temperment

c e n t

s

note


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Most wind instruments tread the middle ground between just tuning and equaltemperament. In order to achieve the same regularity between musical keys and theease of construction found in keyboards and pianos, wind instruments (particularlywoodwinds) are engineered with an equal tempered design. However, experienced windinstrumentalists may freely adjust their pitch to use just intonation or equal temperament

via techniques such as manipulating their embouchure or maneuvering a tuning slide.

In general when playing with an equal tempered instrument such as piano or electricguitar, all musicians default to equal temperament. Just tuning is used when allmusicians in an ensemble are capable of just intonation. Nevertheless, these guidelinesare not etched in stone and any combination of tunings may be brought forward tocreate one"s desired musical sound.

Drone Tone ExercisesThe primary use of the Drone Tones album is to increase skills in relative pitch andmusical expression by fostering pitch accuracy and flexibility.

Accuracy involves consistently producing one"s intended pitch. Whether playing aloneor in an ensemble, accuracy is extremely important in delivering music to an audience.Even though a soloist has no one else to play in tune with, inaccurate tuning may causesome notes to unpleasantly infringe upon a listener.

Before becoming adept in pitch flexibility, one must first gain control through developingaccuracy. By internalizing interval relationships and minute tuning variations, one may

transfer the sounds heard in the mind to the muscular movements that produce thosesame sounds through the instrument.

Flexibility allows musicians to match another tuning system or musician via smalladjustments in pitch. Flexibility is critical in group performance when one must tune tomultiple musicians. It is also important when adapting to environmental conditions thateffect instrument intonation such as temperature and humidity. With flexibility, musiciansmay also perform embellishments such as blue notes, slurs, and pitch bends.


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Suggestions

The following list of Drone Tone exercises build upon each other in difficulty. Theybegin with studies in pitch accuracy and move toward studies of flexibility.

Mastery of each exercise is not required before moving on, but you will most

likely not be able to successfully complete an exercise before gainingcompetence with its prerequisites.

Even if you"re not a vocalist, singing the exercises may help you develop andrefine your inner ear and sense of pitch.

Initially perform the exercises without vibrato. Introduce vibrato only when youbecome competent with each exercise.

Retain your sense of musical creativity in order to keep practice spontaneousand stimulating. Since these exercises are only meant as guides, take theopportunity to explore your own studies or add variations to the exercises as you

see fit.Disciplined, frequent practice will lead to steady progress and lasting results. Tryto practice as much as your schedule allows in order to gain and retain progressin relative pitch. Before each practice, remember and take pride in the gains youmade during previous sessions. Use these achievements as momentum to pushyourself forward.

Balance discipline with patience and understanding. If you are bored, it may betime to try a different exercise or work on something else entirely. If you becomefatigued or continually fail to make progress, taking a break may give your bodyand mind the time it needs to process your practice routines into mental and

muscle memory banks. Begin practice again only when you are ready and havethe desire to do so.

Preparation

Before each Drone Tone practice session, warm-up your instrument and tune it to A =440 Hz.. You may also want to use the repeat function of your song player to stay on aspecific drone for an extended time.

Exercise 1: Unison Drone Tones

Play extended notes or long tones in unison with the drone while listening for any beatsor warbling. The beatings indicate that your pitch is out of tune. The more rapid thebeatings, the further away your pitch is from the drone "s pitch. Therefore, your goal withthis exercise is to minimize any warbling while also maintaining a uniform and pleasanttone quality.


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Initially, concentrate on performing long tones in the most comfortable range of yourinstrument.

Next expand to higher and lower octaves while checking for any tuning variations.

Once you can reasonably match the pitch of each drone tone while using the full range

of your instrument, move forward to the next exercise.

Exercise 2: Interval Long Tones

Play long tone intervals against the drones. While doing this exercise, listen for thedistinct character of each of interval.

Does the interval sound happy, exciting, somber, mellow, uplifting, mysterious, orstartling?

Does the interval remind you of specific colors, memories, or other types ofmental imagery?

Do any of the intervals remind you of familiar songs?

A C long tone in the middle range

Long tones on low and high C


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Start with perfect intervals of fourths and fifths.

Once you are comfortable with fourths and fifths, move on to thirds and sixths.

Next focus on playing the seconds and the sevenths.

Lastly, explore interval variations such as the minor second, minor third, augmented

fourth (tritone), minor sixth, and minor seventh.

left to right: perfect fourth and perfect fifth in C

left to right: major third and major sixth in C

left to right: major second and major seventh in C

top to bottom, left to right: minor second, minor third,augmented fourth, augmented fifth, and minor seventh in C


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With practice, you will begin to associate moods with the intervals, which will helpincrease your understanding of melodies and chords along with how they relate musicalexpression. Move forward once you are confident that you have internalized the soundof each interval for each drone across the range of your instrument.

Exercise 3: Long Tone Scales

Play various types of long tone scales over each drone:

major

natural, melodic, or harmonic minor

whole tone

pentatonic, blues, diminished, etc.

Focus on sound quality rather than speed and dexterity for this exercise. Pay carefulattention to the character of each note, and be sure you achieve the same quality ofintonation and feeling that was achieved in Exercise 2.

If you notice any notes that are individually out of tune, practice them separately, thengradually add the neighboring notes until you can play the entire scale confidently andin tune with the drone.

Aim to play several scales for each drone along the full range of your instrument withaccurate intonation and a pleasing, uniform tone quality.

Example Scale Exercises - top to bottom: C major scale, C natural minor scale,C whole tone scale


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Exercise 4: Interval Exercises

Practice a combination of scales and intervals in the same key as the drone. Initially,you may try series of ascending and descending seconds, thirds, and fourths from thescale of your choice. Starting with small simple intervals then gradually increasing the

width and complexity of each interval is suggested.

Next, progress towards larger intervals such as fifths, sixths, sevenths, and octaves.

Also try series of minor thirds, minor sevenths, minor sixths, or any other complex

interval while ascending and descending a given scale.

In time, you may become comfortable practicing with an increase in tempo or withaltering rhythms, articulation, and even improvisation. In all cases, remember to strivefor accuracy and a clear tone along your instrument"s full range. Slow down or isolateproblem areas if you notice any loss of control.

ascending major thirds in C

ascending fourths in C

ascending fifths in C

ascending minor thirds


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Since this exercise involves multiple intervals based upon multiple scales in all twelvekeys, there is plenty of ground to cover! However, remember that the goal is to masterrelative pitch and intonation rather than play an arbitrary scale pattern in each key.Once you are able to play a wide variety of successive intervals with accurate intonationand good tone quality, then it is time to move forward to the next exercise.

Exercise 5: Arpeggios

In the same spirit as the previous exercise, begin adding various arpeggios based onyour preferred scales. Keep tone quality and intonation with the tonic at the forefront ofyour practice while playing various arpeggios up and down the full range of yourinstrument.

Exercise 6: Harmonic Series

The harmonic (or overtone) series consists of a pattern of natural harmonics based

upon a fundamental pitch. In a method nearly identical to the just scale, each note of theharmonic series is related to a fundamental pitch using a series of mathematicalproportions.

The harmonic series is as follows.

first harmonic: the tonic or fundamental pitch

second harmonic: the octave of the fundamental

third harmonic: a perfect fifth and an octave above the fundamental

fourth harmonic: two octaves above the fundamentalfifth harmonic: two octaves and a major third above the fundamental

Further research may be required in order to play the harmonic series on your specificinstrument. For example, brasswind instruments inherently use the harmonic series toproduce notes while most woodwinds require special fingerings and embouchuretechnique to play the series correctly.

Arpeggios in C - left to right: C major, C minor, C diminished, C major7th, C dominant 7th


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Play the series while using each drone as the fundamental pitch. Strive for accurateintonation for each note. Initially, patience may help with this exercise because you mayonly be able to reach the second or third harmonic. However, with practice, you willencounter less difficulty in reaching the higher harmonics.

Consider yourself competent in this exercise once you are able to play up the fourthharmonic accurately and in tune. However, the harmonic series goes on indefinitely.Many instruments are capable of reaching the 7th and 8th harmonics and beyond. Moveforward once you can perform this exercise as competently as the others.

Exercise 7: Pitch Variations

Play any desired combination of the previous exercises while altering your pitch aquarter step sharp or flat. Take note of the changes that occur in the sound of the

interval. You may notice increasing instability as you make a note sharp or flat in relationthe drone.

By completing this exercise on a variety of intervals throughout the full range of yourinstrument, you will gain the flexibility needed to vary your pitch at whim. As statedearlier, one example of pitch embellishment is the blue note. Blue notes are performedby playing a flattened third, fifth, or seventh of a scale. These slight alterations in pitchallow blue notes to add color and tension to music. Augmenting the pitch of a giveninterval can provide a similar effect.

C Harmonic Series

Blue Notes (*) in the C scale


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Many genres of world music make use of these slight alterations in tuning, which give adistinct air to the music. Blue notes originated in the tribal folk songs of Africa andsimilar sounds can be found in Arabic and Indian cultural music. Combining these typesof embellishments with more traditional forms of music can create beautifully contrastedpieces of aural art and vastly expand your musical dialect.

Exercise 8: Tonal blending

By completing the previous exercises, you should now have a firm grasp on thefundamental principles and advanced techniques involved in maintaining relative pitch.You may now begin experimenting with your instrument"s different tone colors while alsokeeping the pitch steady and under control.

Each drone of the Drone Tones album uses a distinct tone ranging from classicalinstruments and choirs to synthesizers and horns. The major difference between eachtone is the presence or absence of harmonic overtones. Varying amounts of overtonesare also what give each instrument a characteristic sound. For example, the thinnerstrings of the violin produce a larger degree of high-order harmonics than the cello"sthicker, lower pitched strings. In fact, you may have noticed in the last exercise thatcertain notes in your instrument"s harmonic series have different timbres than its naturalnotes.

Color your sound so that it blends in with the drone. A tone that is dark and centeredmay work well with certain drones while a tone that is bright and colorful may work bestfor others. Use you best judgement in determining when you have thoroughly exploredthis exercise.

Create and Improvise

With a firm grounding in relative pitch and an expanded capacity in creativity andexpression, you may find limitless applications for these exercises. Think of new andinteresting ways to apply your abilities to music performance and more advancedexercises to push your skills even further. Enjoy the new boundaries of your creativityand extend them as far as your mind and body allow.


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Perfect Pitch: Journey and DestinationThe quest for perfect pitch is a goal for many passionate musicians. But perfectioncompared to what? Do you want perfect pitch compared to a 440 Hz tone, a justtempered major 3rd, an equal tempered fifth, the Balinese musical scale, or a really flat

lead saxophonist?

Personally, I consider perfect pitch as of a combination of pitch accuracy and flexibilityto achieve an intended musical expression in a variety of musical settings.Paradoxically, perfect pitch is not perfect at all times. Just as a small number of naturalphysical laws yield and explain a vast variety of interesting and creative outcomes in ouruniverse, the fundamental principles behind pitch and intonation create a plethora ofvivid and imaginative sounds. The destination of perfect pitch remains an everlasting

journey in creativity.

References1. Lundy, Miranda. Sutton, Daud. Ashton, Anthony. Martineau, Jason. Martineau, John.

Quadrivium . Walker Publishing Company, 2010.

2. Salomon Jadassohn. A Practical Course in Ear Training . Breitkopf and Härtel, 1899.

3. Duffin, Ross. How Equal Temperament Ruined Harmony (and Why You ShouldCare). W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.

4. Hopkin Bart. Musical Instrument Design: Practical Information for Instrument Making .See Sharp Press, 1996.

5. HMT | Hermode Tuning | Program Controlled Tuning . Werner Mohrlok. Web. 9 Sept.2011. .

6. Truax, Barry. "Just_Tuning." SFU.ca . Cambridge Street Publishing, 1999. Web. 10Sept. 2011. .

7. Bain, Reginald. "The Harmonic Series." A Web-based Multimedia Approach to theHarmonic Series . University of South Carolina School of Music, 2002. Web. 14 Sept.

2011. .


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http://www.music.sc.edu/fs/bain/atmi02/index.htmlhttp://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/Just_Tuning.htmlhttp://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/Just_Tuning.htmlhttp://www.hermode.com/index_en.htmlhttp://www.music.sc.edu/fs/bain/atmi02/index.htmlhttp://www.music.sc.edu/fs/bain/atmi02/index.htmlhttp://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/Just_Tuning.htmlhttp://www.sfu.ca/sonic-studio/handbook/Just_Tuning.htmlhttp://www.hermode.com/index_en.htmlhttp://www.hermode.com/index_en.html

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