Composition Study: Drones and Modes
- Using at least 2 of the 7 basic modes
- Create a drone which is organic, interesting and evolving
Research
The Britannica Encyclopaedia states that a drone is “a sustained tone, usually rather low in pitch, providing a sonorous foundation for a melody or melodies sounding at a higher pitch”. (Source 1) Both Britannica and Roots of the Classical: The Popular Origins of Western Music agree that
like a great many other Oriental things, the systematic drone reached medieval Europe in the Middle Ages” (Merwe 2004)
The name was given to this musical technique as it was compared to the buzzing of a bumblebee and therefore, as a male bee is named a drone, the musical practice was also named this.
The Britannica Encyclopaedia states that a drone is “a sustained tone, usually rather low in pitch, providing a sonorous foundation for a melody or melodies sounding at a higher pitch”. (Source 1) Both Britannica and Roots of the Classical: The Popular Origins of Western Music agree that
like a great many other Oriental things, the systematic drone reached medieval Europe in the Middle Ages” (Merwe 2004)
The name was given to this musical technique as it was compared to the buzzing of a bumblebee and therefore, as a male bee is named a drone, the musical practice was also named this.
A mode in music is a way of organising the notes of a scale
in accordance to the intervals with the tonic and therefore provides a structure
for a melody. These modes were derived
from the Ancient Greeks where the lyre was the instrument of choice, “it had
eight strings, tuned so that the top and bottom notes sounded an octave apart…
The early Christian Church adopted this Greek leading edge music technology and
developed it for their own purpose”. (Source 2) There are 7 basic modes of music
which are named:
- Ionian
- Dorian
- Phrygian
- Lydian
- Mixolydian
- Aeolian
- Locrian
The picture below shows the music for each of the modes starting with C as the root note.
[source 3]
The composition was created with a sinister quality in mind
and to give a sense of unease. The theme
is to give the impression like it’s part of a ominous scene in a film or game. The entire piece is in the key of C (as in
the modes all start on the note C) and the time signature changes as the piece
goes on. The drone is a mix of organic
sounds recorded from an instrument and a sound source whilst the “melodies” are
created using the synth Massive.
The drone was created by recording the lowest C on an alto
saxophone being played. The sound was
not entirely pitched and there was some movement to higher notes as the pitch
could not be sustained. This was then
edited, pitch shifted down and had EQ applied to it in Cubase. The sound was then looped and arranged into
the current pattern. This was a
deliberate positioning of the edits to give breaks in between the drone sound
with the Morse code like pitches. The
drone continues and develops throughout the piece.
There is another part to the drone which is mixed in later
on. It’s a type of “growling”
sound. This was created by degrading and
distorting a formula 1 car sample in both Cecilia 5 and then Soundgrain. The sound was transformed over 8 times to get
to that stage and it was brought into the piece by a very long fade in to be
mixed with the saxophone drone.
There are 3 mains sections to the piece. These sections are clearly defined by the use
of a new mode and a new instrument. The first
section is in 4/4 and begins in bar 4.
The mode is Aeolian and the sound is Xenakis 2 in massive. This sections is symbolising the emerging
danger and is a sort of warning to the listener.
The second sections comes after a 2 bar break from the first
section. It begins by repeating a phrase
from section 1 but it is in its new mode giving the listener a sense of unease
as they are expecting a replica of the phrase in the first section. This pause in the melody is to allow the
listener to take in the imminent danger and to clearly hear the drones in the
background. This section is in ¾ and the
melody is a little quicker than that of the first section. It is in the Mixolydian mode and the sound is
Frozen Flokati in Massive.
The third section also begins after a 2 bar break, once
again giving the listener a break from the danger and richness of sound. The melody here is more polyphonic and has
more movement to it. It is in 4/4 time
and is in the Phrygian mode. The sound
here is Flying on the Earth in Massive.
Analysis of the Piece
The composition, although flows into each sections, doesn't really develop into anything and so feels a little flat and somewhat boring. There needed to be some drama in the piece to help it create the sense intended.
Analysis of the Piece
The composition, although flows into each sections, doesn't really develop into anything and so feels a little flat and somewhat boring. There needed to be some drama in the piece to help it create the sense intended.
References
Mewre, P. (2004) Roots of the Classical: The Popular
Origins of Western Music; Oxford University Press; [p62]
Date Accessed: 13/02/14
Date Accessed: 13/02/14
Source 3: http://legacy.earlham.edu/~tobeyfo/musictheory/Book1/FFH1_CH1/1I_Modes.html
Date Accessed: 15/05/2014
Source 3: http://legacy.earlham.edu/~tobeyfo/musictheory/Book1/FFH1_CH1/1I_Modes.html
Date Accessed: 15/05/2014
Other reading
Date Accessed: 13/02/14
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