How to Write Drum Tabs

Tablature, better known as tabs, is a way for people who don't read music to read guitar or drum music in its simplest form. Even if you read music, tabs provide an easier method for showing the drumbeats used in a song. Budding songwriters can also compose and write drum tabs. Although different formats exist, drum tabs share many similarities.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Realize that drum tabs come in a line format that looks like a secret code to people who don't read tabs. Most tabs start with cymbals in the top lines and end with either the snare or the floor tom at the bottom. Use only as many lines as you need to represent the drum pieces used in your song.

2. Know the abbreviations for the different parts of the drum kit: BA or B represents the bass, or if you have a double bass you would use B1 and B2 for bass drum 1 and 2; SN or S is the snare; RC or R is ride cymbal; CC or C is crash cymbal; SC is the splash cymbal; HH or H is hi-hat. To identify your toms, use T1 for tom-tom #1 and T2 for tom-tom #2. FT represents the floor tom.

3. Use dashes before and after the numbers to represent the length of time in 0.5-second intervals. You'll also need to write the tempo using v.slow (very slow), slow, moderate, fast and v.fast (very fast). You can also indicate the timing and tempo before the song.

4. Tell other drummers to repeat patterns by using an "x" followed by a number. For example, a pattern followed by "x3" tells a drummer to repeat the pattern three times. When you have no numbers next to the "x," it means something different. An "-x-" often means to click the hi-hat with your foot. A capital X means to either strike the hi-hat or strike the crash hard. An "-o-" means that you strike the specific drum. A capital O represents the accent.

5. End your originally written drum tabs with your name, contact information, title and date. This serves as your copyright.

Tips & Warnings

• Further identify the state of your hi hat. If it's the same throughout a song, just indicate that at the beginning. Otherwise, use something like OH for open hi hat; SH for slightly open hi hat state; CH for closed hi hat.
• Some drum tab methods use numbers to indicate the force that a drummer should strike a drum, with 1 meaning a soft strike, 2 for a normal strike and 3 for hard.
• Drum tabs can be as simple or complicated as you need them to be. Use a key at the beginning of your song to help other drummers identify your marks.

Resources

• Print free blank tab paper at Blank Sheet Music.