Reading Drum Sheet Music and How to Grow As a Musician
February 21st, 2009 | 
Author: Very often self taught drummers never learn the art of reading drum sheet music and try to learn by ear. This can be done and there are actually many great drummers that can’t read a note of sheet music, Dave Grohl for example. However, I would advise learning sheet music, even if it’s just basic beats. This way you will be able to open up your learning to tuition books and forms of music. You will also find it easier to write drums to other music, this skill will come in very handy if you plan on becoming a session drummer where an understanding of metronome and time signatures is crucial.
Metronome marks and time signatures
Metronome is the speed of the piece and the time signature is the timing (how many beats in each bar), very often sheet music will have a metronome mark at the start with a number. The number stands for the speed (tempo) the piece should be played at. The most common speed is probably 120, this is considered to be average. The time signature is also at the beginning of the stave. The most common time signature is 4/4 (common time), this means that there is four beats to the bar. The 4/4 (common time) signature is used heavily in rock and pop music.
The notes of the stave
With drum sheet music the notes of the stave can differ slightly depending on what country the music was published in, that said 95% of the time the rules are the same. Basically each gap on the stave represents a different drum. The first (bottom) gap is the bass drum, the second is the floor tom, the third is the snare drum, the forth is the small tom, and above the stave is the cymbals. If the line between the snare and small tom has a note on it then it it the middle tom. Cymbal notes look slightly different to standard drum notes and are marked with an X.
Obviously this is a very basic and simplified way to read drum sheet music. In reality there are a lot more notes you need to be aware of, but this will start as a good foundation to understanding how drum sheet music works. Reading drum music is a very good way to learn outside of a lesson, making it essential to growing as a musician.
Posted in Drum