a method of controlling a brushless dc motor of the type having a stator , comprising a stator winding excitable to generate a stator magnetic field , and a rotor , arranged to rotate with respect to the stator and comprising permanently magnetized material arranged to generate a rotor magnetic field to interact with the stator magnetic field to produce rotation of the rotor . the method comprises the steps of driving current through the stator winding to generate a stator magnetic field to interact with the rotor magnetic field , detecting rotor position with respect to the stator , and cyclically commutating the stator winding current according to rotor position as the rotor rotates . each commutation cycle includes a drive portion during which current is driven through the stator winding in one sense and at the end of which the driving of current in said sense is ceased . the method further comprises the steps of during an initial portion of each drive portion , driving current through the winding such that the magnitude of the winding current increases and during an end portion of each drive portion , actively reducing the magnitude of the winding current .