How to sing a drone of staggering beauty

A drone is a note continuously sounded throughout most or all of a song.

 

But singers have to breathe, so how can this be achieved?

The different types of polyphonic singing 9: synthesis polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s synthesis polyphony, the last of the nine types of polyphonic singing.

The different types of polyphonic singing 8: chordal polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

Tenores di Bitti, Sardinia

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s chordal polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 7: overlapping polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

 

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s overlapping polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 6: heterophonic polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples.

This week it’s heterophonic polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 5: ostinato polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. 

This week it’s ostinato polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 4: contrapuntal polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

 

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s contrapuntal polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 3: canonic polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

Gailė Paštukaitė, CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s canonical polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 2: drone polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

 

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s drone polyphony.

The different types of polyphonic singing 1: parallel polyphony

Joseph Jordania has outlined nine different types of polyphonic singing in his book Choral singing in human evolution.

Photo by Michael Trolove

I will be working through each type trying to give a simplified explanation and some musical examples. This week it’s parallel polyphony.

What is polyphonic singing?

Most choirs sing in harmony. They sing a kind of ‘vocal polyphony’.

It’s a bit of a daunting word, but very useful. So let’s find out what ‘polyphony’ means.