Burden (music)

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In music, the burden is the drone or base in some musical instruments, and the pipe or part that plays it, such as a bagpipe or pedal point in an organ. Hence, the burden of song is that part repeated at the end of each stanza, i.e. the chorus or refrain.

The term comes from the French bourdon, a staff; or a pipe made in the form of a staff, imitating the gross murmurs of bees or drones.

This is what was anciently called proslambanomenos.

This article incorporates content from the 1728 Cyclopaedia, a publication in the public domain.

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