A drone note is one of the coolest tricks you can use on the guitar. It’s a note that rings out real prominent while you play other notes around it. Let me show you how to build riffs this way.

This lesson is part of our guitar riffs series.

We’re using the open E string as our drone here, boys and girls. That gives you the E pentatonic minor scale and the E diatonic minor scale to play with. E, F#, G, A, B, C, D, E. All those notes work over that drone.

For a related approach, check out the drone notes solo technique post lesson.

Build Your Riff with Double Picking

The technique is simple. Bounce back and forth between your scale notes and that open E drone. Try double picking in groups of four. That’s 16th notes if you want to get technical about it. But honestly, don’t worry about counting. Just listen to the groove.

You can also try groups of three instead of four. Three gives you a totally different feel. Play a note, hit the drone, play another note, hit the drone again. Switch it up. The randomness is what makes it sound musical.

Change your rhythm on purpose. Don’t lock into one pattern forever. Play fast, then slow it down. Vary how many times you hit the drone between melody notes. That’s where the real riff comes from. Your personal touch.

Here’s something that might surprise you. This works great with distortion too. A lot of folks think drones are just for clean, acoustic sounds. Not true. Plug in a heavy amp and let that drone sing. Different vibe, same concept.

The video’s under three minutes. Sometimes short and sweet is the best way to learn. Play along and find your own groove with it. Check out our for more approaches. And when you’re ready to take this further, see how it applies in our drone notes solo technique post.