5 Steps to a Deep Drone

If you're a film and game music fan, you have probably heard many evolving drone sounds that carry suspense and tension over a scene or two. They are suitable for many moods: sad, contemplative, hopeful, and angry. Some sound realistic, and others sound alien. In this article, I will describe my drone composing method using VST synthesizers and automation in Lumit. It sounds like this…

Step 1 - Create the Elements and the Trigger

Keeping a song's composure is difficult when no definitive limitations or boundaries exist. By preparing the critical elements of the drone before composing, you avoid this difficulty. A d, you define the structure. Doing so will push you closer to the mixing stage, which is critical. D ones are all about the mix of tones and how they interact at different levels. It is best to think on a modular level when making the sound. Create 3 or 4 instances of any VST synth with a clean sine wave and start with just that. F 8 and Serum are great choices. T erefore. I made 3 sine wave operators in FM on different octaves and 1 sub-oscillator in Serum. Detune a couple of them (not the sub) to induce beating. In addition, we will need a long, fat attack and release on these synths. Try something like 5 or 6 seconds. B ing the sustain to full.

Draw a long note in the sequencer and duplicate the block to each track. As boring and cheap as this seems, it is best. The note in the sequencer acts as a trigger, telling the synth to "go." Drone music is static and cohesive enough to make all transpositions and pitch changes from the synths themselves. This avoids confusion and visual inconsistency when a transposed synth is sequenced. Most importantly, it sounds better.

The static drone should sound something like this…

Step 2 - Transposition and Supporting Sines

As mentioned above, we will make all pitch deviations and transpositions within the synths rather than in the sequencer. This is the nature of drone pieces. Unlike most music, they are not supposed to sound like a mix of individual elements - more like one sound from many different perspectives in space. T y transposing 1 of the oscillators in your set-up. H ld off on any dissonant intervals. We will add those later. I decided to change my highest-pitched oscillator to the fifth scale, 5 semitones down (See Blog: Scales, Intervals). Consider turning this oscillator down a little in the mix - it should not throw off the tonal center. You may want to rename this synth something like "transposed." The next step is essential. You must add some subtle harmonic content that is very low in the mix. A d another sine wave to at least 2 VST instances and tune it to a diatonic scale degree. M jor Seconds (2 semitones up), and sevenths work well. I like a darker-sounding drone, so I used the minor seventh (2 semitones down). K ep all volume envelopes linked and pan the voices out a little.   A tuned drone should sound something like this…

Step 3 - A Little Modulation

I mentioned that drone music is very static by nature, but these synths are nauseous. We must use some SLOW amplitude, pitch, phase, and pan modulation. It does not matter what synth you're using as long as the LFO rates are synced to something slow, the contour is smooth, and the depths are shallow. Be sure to add some subtle modulation on each synth. I would recommend pitch or phase modulation on the sub's higher frequency sines and amplitude modulation. Experiment with the settings, but don't make anything stand out. I  should still sound like one "object."

This is what my modulated drone sounds like...

Step 4 - Insert Processing

This part is entirely up to you. Try inserting an effects unit if you think the sound could use some spice or more movement. You could put effects on individual sounds, but I would recommend group processing. Ain, it helps preserve the consistency. For my example, I used our bit crusher on two synths grouped. The bit crushing creates some excellent digital background noise, providing an eerie contrast to an analog emulation. I also made one synth move a bit more with a phaser.

With some processing, the drone should sound something like this…

Step 5 - Mix and Master

Since these are just sine waves we are using, they interact with each other more noticeably. To our advantage, this means level changes have a significant effect on the listener. Try automating the levels and pan position of each oscillator. I like introducing the tensions first, then sweeping into the tonal center, followed by the sub.

Furthermore, drop a reverb on a return track, fully wet, and send some of each channel to it. Use a big reverb tail. Eliminate any pre-delay or early reflections. This is because we want the drone to sound like it is outside in space. Adjust the send levels on each track to your liking, and consider automating the reverb return level.

I recommend a gentle mastering suite with no compression - maybe just some EQ, excitation, and imaging. Dynamics are essential in this piece.

My drone has some added harmonics, FM side-bands, and mastering.