Northumbrian Smallpipes - Drones

Drones

There are usually four drones on a set of Northumbrian pipes, mounted in parallel in a common stock. These are tunable, and three will usually be tuned to the tonic, dominant and octave tonic, the other one being shut off. Like the chanter, these have a narrow cylindrical bore. Unlike the chanter, though, the reeds have a single blade; they are either cut from a single tube of cane, or else a strip of cane in a metal body.

As well as a tuning slide for precise adjustment of tuning, each drone will usually possess one or two 'bead holes' allowing its pitch to be raised by a tone or two, therefore allowing the piper to play in different musical keys, but still generally using the tonic, dominant and octave tonic combination of drone harmony.

Sets with five or even six drones have been made since the 19th century (to allow ease of retuning); however these are not common and generally specifically commissioned.

Only three drones are usually sounded at once, tuned for instance to G, D and g if the tonic of the tune is G. Sets sometimes have thumb-operated drone switches, allowing players to change key without stopping playing. Occasionally, though rarely, other tunings have been used, for example Tom Clough recommended G, c, g, suitable for tunes in C major, or D, A, d, a, for some tunes in D major.