Tips for Reading Drum Charts
Click Here To Open a PDF with a Key, Definitions, and Signs to help with Reading Drum Charts Reading drum music is easy when you know what to look for. If you already have an understanding of reading rhythms (Quarter notes, eighth notes, sixteenths, etc.), then my charts are simple. The PDF link above is a cheat sheet for common musical terms, signs, and a key for drum writing. Feel free to print it and use it as a reference. When I took John Ramsey's reading drum charts master class at Berklee, he taught that there is an order of importance in what to look at on a chart. First, the style and tempo. If the band leader starts the song before you are ready, at least you know what kind of groove to play. Second, the road map. Look for repeats, signs, and codas. If you skip a repeat or miss a sign or coda you are lost on the chart. At that point you better have the ears to get you through or you're over. Last are the musical figures. It's great, and expected at a high level, if you can play all the hits and rythms but if you cover the first to points you will at least get through the song. I use the same standard drum notation as professional music publishers. As often as possible, I start new sections of songs on a new line. That way you can read "Verse 8bars" in the left margin and not worry about reading every bar. You can concentrate on The Music! Additionally, I use slash notation (after I write out the groove) rather than writing out everything the original drummer played on every bar. These are not transcriptions for a couple of very important reasons. Number one, you don't want to have your nose stuck in the music stand during a gig, and secondly, the original drummer probably doesn't play EVERYTHING the same anyway. Professionals drummers are original and creative. My notation system allows you complete flexibility to be yourself and still get the job done right.
If you need more help reading drum music, I recommend using "The Drummer's Guide To Reading Drum Charts," by Steve Houghton .I studied out of this book during my college days at Virginia Commonwealth University with Howard Curtis and with John Ramsey at Berklee. It starts simple and gets very advanced. It's a great book and I highly encourage you to check it out. Of course, you can also contact me on the Request Page.
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