{"id":29673,"date":"2021-08-25T08:21:03","date_gmt":"2021-08-25T15:21:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/?p=29673"},"modified":"2026-02-10T09:23:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-10T17:23:50","slug":"how-to-read-drum-music","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/how-to-read-drum-music\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Read Drum Music (For Beginners)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Are you starting to play drums<\/a> and want to learn how to read music<\/a>? Maybe you\u2019ve been drumming for years but you’ve been too intimidated to give it a try. Whether it’s a concert score or AC\/DC PDFs<\/a>, this guide will teach you the basics of reading and writing drum notation from the first quarter note to the final cymbal crash. <\/p>\n\n\n

This article will teach you several ways to notate drum music and includes multiple formatting styles. Because notation isn’t 100% standardized, rhythms may be presented differently from one drum book or lesson to another. It’s better to be prepared for anything!
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Chapters<\/strong><\/h3>\n
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  1. The Staff<\/a><\/li>\n
  2. Time Signature & Tempo<\/a><\/li>\n
  3. How To Read Drum Notation<\/a><\/li>\n
  4. Rests<\/a><\/li>\n
  5. Sticking, Accents & Phrasing<\/a><\/li>\n
  6. Dynamics<\/a><\/li>\n
  7. Directions<\/a><\/li>\n
  8. Charts<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n
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    The Staff<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    Drum notation has a lot in common with the notation for other instruments since it\u2019s laid out on a set of five horizontal lines (called a \u201cstaff\u201d). Each part of the drum set is written on a line – or in the space between the lines – so you can visually tell everything apart. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Lower pitches like the bass drum and floor tom are towards the bottom of the staff, while the snare and toms are in the middle. Higher tones like cymbals are at the top.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    This graphic – known as a \u2018drum key\u2019 – shows where the most common parts of the drum set appear on the staff. It all makes sense when you look at it!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    For example, the hi-hat is both at the top (when you hit it with your stick) and the bottom (when you step on it). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The two vertical boxes on the left are called the \u201cdrum clef,\u201d which tells us that this music is specifically for drums. It\u2019s just like the treble and bass clefs you\u2019ll see in notation for melodic instruments. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    Drum clef, treble clef, bass clef<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div><\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

    Time Signature<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    This is one of the first things you should look for when you see a drum chart. The time signature is the two numbers stacked on top of each other on the left side of the staff. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Written music is divided into chunks called measures. Think of a measure (or \u201cbar\u201d) as a pie. Every measure has a certain number of counts or \u201cbeats\u201d in it, which make up fractions of the whole pie. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In the time signature, the top number tells you how many beats are in each measure. The bottom number tells you the value of each beat. For example, 4\/4 time has 4 beats per measure and each beat is worth one quarter note. 6\/8 time has 6 beats per measure but each beat is worth one eighth note.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    It\u2019s also important to check out the tempo or \u201cbeats per minute\u201d at the top left of your chart. A tempo of 60 beats per minute (BPM) in 4\/4 time means that each of the measure\u2019s four quarter notes occur once per second (just like the second hand of a clock).<\/p>\n\n\n

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