Reading drum music, drum score or drum charts is an important skill for a drummer to learn. Not only will you be faced with drum charts if you play in a big band or orchestra but drum charts are the way we communicate rhythms and drum patterns to other drummers.
Here you’ll find my explanation of how to read drum music. I’ll cover;
- Drum Notation – the symbols used to represent each sound a drum kit can produce
- Note Types – how the note type determines the “space” we give each note
- Time Signatures – what they mean and how we can use them
Drum Notation
There is a “standard” system for scoring drum music that is used by most composers. It is best described by Dr Norman Weinberg in his article published in Percussive Notes in 1994.
The main features of this system are shown below.
This system can be expanded to include additional tom-toms, cymbals, percussion instruments, bass drums and cue-notes (notes that are being played by other instruments) as well as cross stick marks and cowbells.
Note Types
For those that play “tuned” instruments e.g. piano, guitar, flute etc the different note types indicate how long (how may beats or pulses) each note should be played for. For drummers we don’t play notes in the same way but we use the note types to know how much space to give each note before we play the next note.
- A Semibreve (or Whole Note) is given the most space of four beats before playing the next note
- A Minim (or Half Note) is given two beats before playing the next note
- A Crochet (or Quarter Note) is given one beat
- A Quaver (or Eighth Note) is given half a beat
- A Semi-Quaver (or Sixteenth Note) is given a quarter beat
- A Demi-Semi-Quaver (or Thirty Second Note) is given an eighth of a beat
- A Hemi-Demi-Semi-Quaver* (or Sixty Forth Note) is given a 16th of a beat
*Note
Semi means half e.g. semicircle or half circle,
Demi means half e.g. Demigod or half man and half god,
Hemi means half e.g. Hemisphere or half a sphere, so…
A Hemi-Demi-Semi-Quaver is a half of a half of a half of a Quaver.
Sometimes a drum roll is shown as one long note when it’s actually a series of notes played quickly one after the other.
A drum roll is shown as a single note to make it easier to read and write down. This same approach is used for other notes.
For a drummer, all the bars below would be played in the same way with a high-hat on every beat and a snare note on the first beat of each bar.
The note type that the composer will choose for the snare drum will depend on a number of things including;
- How lazy they are – Writing a minim is quicker than a crochet and three rests,
- What else the drummer is playing – With the crochet beat notes on the high-hat then a crochet could be used for the snare drum to match,
- What other musicians are playing – There may be quaver notes played by other instruments during the bar so using a quaver to match would make sense, or
- The software being used – Different software often simplifies how the notes are shown automatically.
With time you can learn to recognise the different patterns of notes and rests and how to interpret them. During a lesson I’ll show you examples of drum notation and we can talk about the differences.
Time Signatures
Time signatures are really useful for drummers, especially if you are sight reading or having to follow another instrument’s part. Time signatures are those two numbers you see one above the other at the start of a piece of music.
Picture a conductor conducting an orchestra. Each stroke of his stick is a beat and the orchestra play in time with that beat.
The top number of the time signature indicates how many beats there are in a bar while the bottom number indicates the type of note each beat represents. You may also see a ‘C’ which stands for Common time, the same as 4/4 or a ‘₵’ which means Cut Common time, the same as 2/2.
Once we understand how to use these numbers then we can set the pulse for the rest of the band. Giving a rhythm for other musicians or dancers to follow is one of the most important jobs for a drummer.
Bottom number
2 (two) on the bottom
A number 2 (two) on the bottom represents a Minim or Half Note. For a non-percussion player this note is held for two beats. For a drummer this time signature suggests a two beat feel one strong pulse followed by one weaker pulse. I’ve put the strong pulse on the bass and the weaker pulse on the high-hat in the example below but you could put it on the snare. Songs in 2/2 (two over two) or Cut Common time ‘₵’ are very popular, especially for marching music as it gives a “Left, Right” feel. A good example of the feel you want would be any marching band music.
4 (four) on the bottom
A number 4 (four) on the bottom represent a Crotchet or Quarter Note. For a non-percussion player this note is held for one beat. For a drummer this time signature suggests, even and strong pulses often played on the high-hats. Songs in 4/4 are by far the most common (which is probably why its called Common Time) and are sometimes represented by ‘C’. A great example of this even pulse feel is White Stripes’ Seven Nation Army.
8 (eight) on the bottom
A number 8 (eight) on the bottom represents a Quaver or Eighth Note. For a non-percussion player this note is held for one a beat when there is an 8 (eight) on the bottom or for half a beat when there is a 4 (four) on the bottom. For a drummer this time signature suggests, even weak pulses to give a fluid or flowing feel. A good example of this flowing feel is When a Man Loves a Woman by Percy Sledge.
Top number
The top number of the time signature indicates how many beats (or pulses) there are in a bar. This is important for drummers because we usually play a pattern of notes that repeats every bar or every two bars (called and ‘ostinato‘ but that’s not important) and we need to know how many beats to play before we repeat the pattern.
Even time signatures
Even time signatures have an even number on the top, usually a 2, 4 or 6. Even time signatures are popular in Pop and Rock music because they can have simple grooves that are easy to dance to.
Where a time signature has an even number on the top then we can divide the bar equally into two halves e.g. 4 beats per bar (four on top) would be 2 beats + 2 beats or 6 beats per bar (six on top) would be 3 beats + 3 beats. We can then create a simple pattern by playing the high-hat on every beat, playing a bass drum note on the first beat of the first half of the bar and playing a snare drum note on the first beat of the second half of the bar.
This snare drum note is often call the “Back Beat”. Adding a back beat creates a smoother feel (or groove) than would be created by a bass drum and high-hats alone.
Here are some examples.
4/4 or Common time
This has 4 (four) strong pulses in each bar, played on the high-hats. I have added a bass drum note at the start of each bar then a snare drum note half way through the bar to create the back beat.
Another common pattern drummers use is called Boots ‘n’ Cats. This adds an open high-hat on the second and fourth beats and is often used in Disco music. The circle above the note indicates an open high-hat. This is sometimes followed by a plus symbol + which indicates a closed high-hat.
6/8 (six over eight) time
This has six even, weak pulses per bar that give a fluid feel. The beat notes in this example are played on the high-hat. Again, I’ve added the bass drum on the first beat of the bar and the back beat half way though the bar.
Odd time signatures
Odd time signatures have an odd number on the top, usually a 3, 5 or 7. Although odd time signatures have been used in Pop and Rock music they are quite rare because they can be difficult to dance to. Odd time signatures appear more often in Jazz or Prog-Rock.
3/4 (three over four) time
Music in 3/4 is the standard for ballroom Waltz music. This has three strong beats or pulses per bar. The beat notes in this example are played on the high-hat with the bass drum on the first beat of each bar. The bar can’t be equally divided into two to create a back beat so I have added a snare note on the second and third beats to create a smoother feel.
5/4 (five over four) time
This has five strong beats or pulses per bar. The beat notes in this example are played on the high-hat with the bass drum on the first beat of each bar. The bar can’t be equally divided into two so you have to choose where to place the back beat, either on the third of fourth beat.
Three versions; the first with just high-hats, the second with a snare note on the fourth beat which gives a 3+2 beat feel, and the third with a snare note on the third beat to give a 2+3 beat feel.
7/8 (seven over eight) time
This has seven weaker pulses to give a flowing feel. Quaver time signatures (eight on the bottom) don’t usually have a strong back beat so you can experiment with moving the snare note onto different beats.
In this example I’ve put some typical 7/8 rhythms with the beat notes on the ride cymbal and the bass drum on the first beat of the bar. I’ve then added the greatest 7/8 groove ever created. Rush, Neil Peart, Subdivisions.
Questions or comments
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