Bourdon derives from the French for

bumblebee A bumblebee (or bumble bee, bumble-bee, or humble-bee) is any of over 250 species in the genus ''Bombus'', part of Apidae, one of the bee families. This genus is the only extant group in the tribe Bombini, though a few extinct related gener ...

, and may refer to: *

Bourdon (bell) The bourdon is the heaviest of the bells that belong to a musical instrument, especially a chime or a carillon, and produces its lowest tone. As an example, the largest bell of a carillon of 64 bells, the sixth largest bell hanging in the world ...

, the lowest bell in a set * Bourdon (organ pipe), a stopped organ pipe of a construction favored for low pitches * Bourdon (surname) *

Drone (music) In music, a drone is a harmonic or monophonic effect or accompaniment where a note or chord is continuously sounded throughout most or all of a piece. A drone may also be any part of a musical instrument used to produce this effect; an archai ...

: The lowest course of a

lute A lute ( or ) is any plucked string instrument with a neck and a deep round back enclosing a hollow cavity, usually with a sound hole or opening in the body. It may be either fretted or unfretted. More specifically, the term "lute" can ref ...

, or the lowest drone pipe of a bagpipe, sometimes called a bourdon * Faux bourdon,

fauxbourdon Fauxbourdon (also fauxbordon, and also commonly two words: faux bourdon or faulx bourdon, and in Italian falso bordone) – French for ''false drone'' – is a technique of musical harmonisation used in the late Middle Ages and early Renaissance, ...

, faburden or

falsobordone Falsobordone is a style of recitation found in music from the 15th to the 18th centuries. Most often associated with the harmonization of Gregorian psalm tones, it is based on root position triads and is first known to have appeared in southern Eu ...

, terms applied (without perfect consistency) to a variety of music compositional techniques * Bourdon, Somme, a small town in France * Bourdon (grape), another name for the French wine grape Douce noir

See also