Before the arrival of the
harmonium in the
Indian subcontinent, musicians used either a
tambura or a specific
pitch reference instrument, such as the
nadaswaram, to produce the drone. Some forms of music such as
Yakshagana used the
pungi reed pipe as a drone. After the Western small pump harmonium became popular, musicians would modify the harmonium to automatically produce the reference pitch. Typically, one would open up the cover and adjust the
stop of the harmonium to produce a drone. Later, a keyless version of the harmonium was invented for the specific purpose of producing the drone sound. It was given the name shruti box or sruti box. These types of instruments had controls on the top or on the side of the box for controlling the pitch. The shruti box is enjoying a renaissance in the West among traditional and contemporary musicians, who are using it for a range of different styles. In the early nineties, traditional Irish singer
Nóirín Ní Riain brought the shruti box to Ireland, giving it a minor place in traditional Irish music. More recently Scottish folk artists
Karine Polwart and
Julie Fowlis used the instrument on some of their songs. Singers find it very useful as an accompaniment and instrumentalists enjoy the drone reference it gives to play along with. ==See also==