Tone or Sound Drones & harmonics?

[mizmar]

So drones. They have the root / tonic; obviously.
Then, if played on an instrument, whatever Overton/partial/harmonic series that thing has (for strings and tubes; octave, 5th 4th, major 3rd, minor 3rd or whatever).
Equally, the synth in TE Tuner app allows to add a major 3rd and/or perfect 5th.

So, my question, is that what one always wants?
If you're playing something in minor or a more exotic harmonic landscape? I guess you can use the relative minor; but then the tonal center / root is wrong. Ok. You can't change the harmonic series of a natural instrument; but with synths, the world is your blue oyster cult.
Or maybe it doesn't matter.

I bet the world of Sitar drones is more interesting!

 

[Pete Thomas]

So, my question, is that what one always wants?

It's up to you what you want to use drones for when practicing. I don't think I ever used them but I can understand how it could be useful to play along to and make your ears aware of the relationship between what you are playing and the drone pitch. Whether a drone is a tonic or a root, again that would depend on what you are doing

 

[mizmar]

My wondering was more focused on the spectrum of the drone than the root.
Not everything one might want to do fits against the harmonic series, surely?

 

[Pete Thomas]

My wondering was more focused on the spectrum of the drone than the root.

Do you mean the harmonics in the actual drone? If you use a sine wave there are no harmonics.

 

[mizmar]

Do you mean the harmonics in the actual drone?

Yes

If you use a sine wave there are no harmonics.

Sure... But that'd be quiet boring as a drone and I said about harmonics in the OP.
Even the tone generator in TE offers not just sin but Saw , square and a range of instruments... All of which have harmonics. Although saw and square are not the standard (tube or string) harmonic series.

people who publish Drones - normally produce a more complex sound than even the TE tone generator instruments, for example

Post in thread 'Recording with backing track and tuner' Backing Tracks - Recording with backing track and tuner

 

[skeller047]

The drones I use were done with samples of string orchestra ensemble. Because of the way they are made, I don’t know what actual instruments were used, and it varies from note to note. I also suspect that different octves are being played, it’s a real ensemble sound. I added the fifth, or rather the 12th, above - to add a bit of weight to the sound. But the root tone is all you really perceive, the added tone is mixed much lower.

I do play various tones against the drones, usually from a Mixolydian mode based on the root, as that is the most “natural” sounding (it closely matches the harmonic series of the root note). I often listen for difference tones as a way to tune, as I was taught by my clarinet teacher many decades ago. This is part of long tone and tonal centering exercise, it’s kind of like a meditation. Each drone tone is held for either 30 seconds or a minute, depending on how much time I want to spend on tonal focus.