How to Learn to Read Music for the Drums
A lot of drummers never learn to read drum music notation, preferring to play by ear. Some serious drummers opt to take their musical skills to another level by learning to read drum music. It isn't necessary to read drum notation to be a good drummer, but learning to read drum music can improve your playing abilities. Reading drum parts allows you to understand what's expected of you rhythmically and will also allow you to study the drum methods of some of your favorite drummers.
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Instructions
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Get familiar with the music staff. The same staff used for traditional music notation is used for drum notation. The music staff is five lines and four spaces. Instead of note names on these lines and spaces, drummers indicate which drums are to be played. The bass drum is placed on the first line of the music, the ride cymbal goes on the space just below it and cymbals are placed on the first line above the music staff. Snare drums are indicated on the third line of the music staff, toms are placed on the fourth space and the the hi-hat cymbals are notated on the first space above the music staff.
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It is important to understand the rhythmic note values of traditional music notation. Drum music doesn't indicate musical pitch, just the rhythm that the drummer will play. These note rhythms are whole notes, half notes, quarter notes, eighth notes and 16th notes. These note values tell you how long a beat is held during each bar of music. You can purchase a basic music notation book from a music store or bookstore or you can find free instruction for basic music rhythms online.
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Begin notating drum parts right away. Start with a simple pattern. You can purchase blank music paper at a music store. Notate a whole/half note pattern to start. It's simple and will illustrate beginning rhythm in a way you should be able to understand. Draw bar lines (horizontal lines) on your music staff to break the staff into bars. Place a whole note on the bass drum line. It will be indicated as a small circle. It tells you to hit the bass drum on the first count and hold it until you reach four.
Write two half notes (a small circle with a horizontal stem) in the second bar, notated on the bass drum line. You will play your bass drum on the first count and hold it to the count of two, then kick the bass drum on three and hold it through four.
Quarter notes, eighth notes and 16th notes are indicated with a horizontal line and a little (xI). In the third bar of your music, write four quarter notes on your bass drum line. You will play the bass drum on each count during this bar of music.
Notating rhythms will strengthen your reading ability. Gradually work with combinations of these note rhythms and apply counts on the appropriate beats. You'll soon be reading and writing drum notation as if it were your second language.
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References
- Photo Credit Qf8: flickr.com
