Drum Kit Notation Guide

Bass 1 is the standard bass drum played with the primary bass drum pedal.

Liquid drum and bass mix download. In most drum notation systems the lines and spaces of a standard 5 line music staff are used to define the various drums of a kit. Use more of the stave a standard 5 piece kit doesnt generally make use the second and third lines from the bottom of the stave. In a five piece drum kit there are two types of toms.

A guide to drum kit notation folkloric styles. Music is written on a music staff which features five parallel horizontal lines. Drum notation guide drum key.

Drum kit notation key. Every type of instrument has its own shape. Like the other drums in the kit the toms are generally made from wood or metal.

Non kit percussion instruments can be notated on any of these staff types. The below drum notation key is internationally recognised but you might see a few different notation systems out there all music on this site follows the format below. The floor and rack toms are most commonly used during drum fills.

Measures bar lines. The most common are x note heads which are used for cymbals. These can be used to notate extra toms.

In addition to these basic parts of a drum set you can also add cymbals like the hi hat crash and ride. On your journey to becoming a better drummer there are few skills more important than learning how to read and write drum sheet music. By brendan bache categories drums.

Everything you need to know about drum notes and drum score collected in a handy drum notation guide. Our drum key includes 7 toms arranged from lowest pitched to highest. For simple parts for example a kick and snare pattern a 1 or 2 line line staff may be used.

This way drums are dots cymbals are xs and blocks and bells are squares or triangles. When playing the drums you need to get used to the fact that theres no such thing as a standard notation system. Drum notation guide drum key bass.

One example i gave was brazilian samba which has a very unique rhythmic sway that cannot be. In the last article we discussed some of the reasons that many traditional folkloric musical styles dont translate seamlessly when applying western notation. Its unlikely that you will encounter many.

Drum kit notation guide. Drum notation is unique because it uses note head symbols in addition to the regular note ball. If in doubt look for a notation key to go with the music you want to play.

Other note heads are diamonds triangles and slashes. Bass 2 is played either on a secondary. In fact clearly understanding this musical language is a drumming superpower.