How to Read Drum Music Scores

Reading music scores allows you to understand music language common to other musicians.

If you want to become accomplished at playing the drums, you must learn how to play scores, or sheet music. To play in a professional band, or master difficult music quickly by ear, understanding music theory for drums is essential. In this lesson, you will be introduced to basic music concepts for playing the drums.

Things You'll Need

• Drums
• Sheet music

Instructions

1. Learn how to play a staff for a drum score. The staff lines and spaces represent different drums on the drum set. A drum staff uses a neutral clef, which has two vertical lines. Musicians use the neutral clef for instruments that produce no specific pitch.

2. Memorize the positions for the bass and snare drums. The bass drum sits on the bottom space of the staff. The snare drum sits on the second space from the top of the staff. Both are represented by a simple "note."

3. Memorize the location for the three tom toms on the staff, also represented by a simple "note." The high tom tom sits on the second line from the top of the staff. The mid, or second tom tom, sits on the third line from the top of the staff, while the low tom tom, or floor tom, sits on the fourth line from the top of the staff.

4. Memorize the position of the cymbals on the staff. An "X" represents their positions. The notation for the hi-hat's foot pedal sits on the first space from the bottom of the staff. The hi-hat played with a drumstick sits on the fourth space from the top of the staff. The ride cymbal sits on top of the staff. The crash cymbal is above the staff on a little imaginary line called a ledger line that extends the staff.

5. Read your time signatures. The top number of a time signature represents how many beats per measure should be played and the bottom number indicates what type of note gets the beat.

6. Remember your note values. Note values relate to time signatures. Whole notes, quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes are important when playing the drums. Stems for these note values are added to the simple notes or "X" that represent the various drums on the staff when you play them.

Tips & Warnings

• Read other music. Some music notation on a staff for different drum sets or cymbals are positioned differently.

References

• 8notes.com: Beginners Drum Lesson

Resources

• You Tube, Expert Village: Learning To Read Drum Music 1 : The Staff on Drum Sheet Music
• You Tube, Expert Village: Learning To Read Drum Music 1: Understanding Musical Time Signatures