How to Write Drum Parts for Songs

Nearly every song you hear on the radio includes a drum part. If you're in a band, you'll need to learn to write drum parts that help your song sound more complete. Once you have a drum kit at your disposal, you can try to write a drum part. Here's how.

Instructions

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Things You’ll Need:

• Drum kit

1. Find a basic beat to build your drum part. A drum part usually starts with a simple beat in time with the music. Usually a drummer can feel this initial beat. If you're in a band, listening to the band's song several times can help you. Of course if the band's music is written down, you can look at the musical score to answer the question of music time.
2. Use the bass drum to keep a steady beat. Although not necessary, this is a common way to keep tempo in a song.
3. Play your snare, cymbals and other drums to build a more complicated rhythm. Consider the lyrics and what the rest of the band is playing. Generally, cues to get louder or more creative come from the rest of the band.
4. Write your drum part down. This will help you to remember the drum part, as well as help you to refine it later. If you're not sure how to write down a drum part, try a piece of computer software. Guitar Pro 5 and Scorewriter are a couple of examples of software that can take a rhythm and write it down onto paper.