How to Write Drum Music

Depending on your strengths, writing drum music can be a lot easier than writing the parts for the rest of band. Plotting out drum parts requires a good sense of rhythm and a solid understanding of percussion's purpose within a larger musical context. With some basic knowledge, you can write drum parts for various styles of music.

Things You'll Need

• Drumming practice pad
• Drumsticks
• Notation aoftware
• Beat-making software (optional)

Instructions

1. Decide what sort of drum music you'd like to write. The percussion parts in a symphonic band will differ greatly from those found in a rock band, and jazz and hip-hop are a different story entirely. Write drum parts for the types of music you already love. If you want to expand your writing capabilities, you'll need to thoroughly listen to unfamiliar types of music to get a broader rhythmic sense.

2. Consider learning to play the drums yourself. Although you certainly don't have to be a masterful drummer to write good drum music, some basic skills and techniques won't hurt. Learning to play the snare drum, bass drum, crash cymbals and percussion "toys" like shakers and triangles will be relatively simple for most musicians, while learning the drum set will require a bit more time and coordination.

3. Procure some basic notation software, such as Finale or Sibelious. Finale Notepad is a limited version of their scoring software available for free. This will allow you to sketch out some basic patterns and rhythms and play them back in real time. If you plan to make drumming arrangements for hip-hop or electronic music, beat-making software will be a nice addition to your application stable.

4. Understand the capabilities of the drummers you're writing for and write your drum parts accordingly. For example, a drum set piece playable by professional studio drummers like Tony Royster Jr. will simply be unplayable for most amateur musicians and certainly out of reach for student drummers.

5. Write your drum parts in an order than makes sense to you. For example, you might start by sketching out the bass drum parts, placing bass notes on downbeats and accented beats. Add the snare part next, which will serve as the driving rhythmic force behind most pieces of concert band music. Ornament the score with additional percussion, such as cymbals, tambourines, shakers, cowbells and timpani. The exact instruments you use will depend on the style of music.

Tips & Warnings

• Don't be afraid to modify or even delete entire sections as you write. As you brainstorm ideas in your notation software, you'll probably come up with as many bad ideas as good ones.

• Don't overcrowd your drum parts. Sometimes silence is more effective than noise.

References

• Write Original Drum Tracks