Drones and chords in all keys
🎵 How to use the Chord Player
1. Pick a root note to start the drone
2. Choose a mode – major, minor, or sus
3. Add color with chord extensions
4. Start practicing!
(Optional) Turn on the metronome and sharpen your timing, too.
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Ambient Drones For Both Major and Minor Keys
Each drone provides a sustained pitch with a soft, ambient sound pleasing to the ear. They are designed to help musicians on all wind instruments practice intonation and tonal center stability. The drones provided on this page cover all 12 major and minor keys, offering versatility for various musical exercises. The tuning is based on the A at 440hz.
Add chords and modes
The Chord Player expands the practice possibilities far beyond single-note drones. By combining drones with major, minor, and sus modes — and adding chord extensions, you can train your ears and improvisation skills in a musical setting.
Trombone Practice Tips
These tips will let you get the most out of practicing with drones. Note that the tips work for most instruments although written with the trombone in mind.
- Pre-Warm-Up: Pick a drone and do some lip buzzing or play on your mouthpiece in perfect tune (or at least try to play in tune).
- Scale Practice: Play scales along with the drone to improve pitch accuracy. Vary between major and minor scales.
- Triad Practice: Play triads in major and minor against the drone – not only the tonic but also other triads that can be played in the same key.
- Interval Training: Sing or play intervals against the drone to develop ear training. Pro tip: don’t think about it as intervals – rather think of the function you are singing or playing. Example in C major: don’t consider the leap from C to G a fifth, but rather going from the tonic to the dominant.
FAQ
Q1: How do I use drones effectively in practice? Use drones to practice scales, intervals, and pieces, focusing on staying in tune with the drone and relating to the key you are working on.
Q2: Can I use drones for any instrument? Yes, drones are beneficial for all instruments and voice, helping to improve pitch and intonation. This includes piano and guitar – being good at hearing the relationship between notes in a given key will make you a better musician.
Q3: How often should I practice with drones? Incorporate drones into your daily practice routine for all suitable exercises!
Q4: Why are some chord buttons grayed out?
Chord extensions are only available when they make musical sense combined with the selected mode. Graying them out helps keep the practice musical and prevents impossible or stupid chord combinations.
Q5: Can I use the Chord Player without the drones?
No, chords cannot survive without a root. That would be like painting with colors in pitch black.
Q6: What instruments benefit most from this tool?
Any instrument you play!
Q7: Can I practice improvisation with the Chord Player?
Absolutely! The app provides a harmonic context you can improvise over, helping you train both your ear and your creativity.
Q8: What is the best chord in the world?
That would be a P7#44add1 – for obvious reasons.
Drones available on this page
- Drone in C major and C minor
- Drone in C♯/D♭ major and C♯/D♭ minor
- Drone in D major and D minor
- Drone in D♯/E♭ major and D♯/E♭ minor
- Drone in E major and E minor
- Drone in F major and F minor
- Drone in F♯/G♭ major and F♯/G♭ minor
- Drone in G major and G minor
- Drone in G♯/A♭ major and G♯/A♭ minor
- Drone in A major and A minor
- Drone in A♯/B♭ major and A♯/B♭ minor
- Drone in B major and B minor
Available Modes and Chords
Modes:
- Major
- Minor
- Sus (suspended)
Chord Extensions:
- 6, 7, 9, 13 (basic dominant chords)
- 6/9, Δ7, Δ7#11, Δ7#5 (chords with a major 7)
- 7b9, 7#9, 7alt, 13b9 (advanced dominant chords)
- add9, b6 (adding color to major and minor chords)
- ø7, ø9 (half-diminished chords)
Slide on and play great!
