Standard drum notation

Hi all!

We all (OK, many of us can read drumset scores, and we can see the way they denote individual drums in the drumset are different from time to time.

Does anybody have any book, or link, or whatever, to really standard notation? I have found something like that here, but it is by far not complete

Any ideas?

I'm not aware of any standard notation. I'm only away of common conventions.

There is no recognized standard. That is why you see a key used virtually everytime to explain what each line and space represents. Remember there is really no such thing as a standard instrument (drumset). Lots of variety.

Not sure if this helps...

http://www.drummingweb.com/reading.htm

The source you posted is pretty good. However, as RCA said, there's really no standard. If I were writing a drumset score, I'd probably copy the same key they use in Modern Drummer in their lessons. In general, kick drum is toward the bottom of the staff, snare is somewhere in the middle, and various toms are spread about according to their relative pitch. Cymbals and other percussion get written in "X" notes at the top.

Look at it this way: there's no "standard drumkit", so "standard notation" is pretty tough to come up with. Why reserve a "standard" position on the staff for a splash cymbal if not everybody uses one?

Steve pretty much hit it - my first exposure to drum notation was when I bought my 'Compleat Beatles' book years ago, and I accepted their conventions as being the standard. Ringo's kit doesn't have a lot of the frills that many do though, so when you need to notate a monster Portnoy-esque kit, the same conventions aren't going to cut it, and some changes need to be made.

If every kit was a 5-piece with 3 cymbals - just like all pianos have 88 keys, and all guitars have at least 6 strings - there would probably be a standard.

This is very nice info I've already found, but it is actually about reading music in general. The question is more about denoting separate instruments in the drumset.

Quite right, however, everybody uses hi-hats, but sometimes they put X over the top line for hi-hats, and sometines on the top line.

I've found some info here: http://www.jazclass.aust.com/basicth/bt2.htm#08, but things common to all drummers regardles of their sets (e. g. ride bell as opposed to ride bow) are still missing

In some scores I've seen bells denoted as X in a circle, in others I've found a shaded diamond (in both cases on the same line as "'normal" bow-played ride).

Also I've seen side-stick denoted as snare note in a circle, and rim-shot denoted as X in the same "snare space".

Is this OK with your experience?

"but things common to all drummers regardles of their sets (e. g. ride bell as opposed to ride bow) are still missing"

I use a 20" Sabian HHX flat ride with my rock band in small rooms and early gigs during dinner hours. I have seen some punk rock drummers with no ride at all, just crashes and hats. Like second line drumming. Common use merely means not unusual. So I agree its common to have a ride with a bell included in a set, but that does not mean it's required or standard.

On the other hand, it's really up to the composer to write what he WANTS to be played in any song, so if he writes a part for a cowbell and a wood block into the drum score, it's up to the musician to get the gear, set it up, and play it.

Anyway, I guess we can agree that there's no "standard", but there are certainly trends. I assume that most cymbal parts (ride and/or hi-hat in particular) will be at the top line or above it written in "X" notes or something similar. The kick will be at the bottom somewhere, usually in "normal" notes. As long as you don't do anything too goofy (i.e. put the kick at the top, and the hi-hat at the bottom) you should be fine.

Not to get off topic (yeah right) this all really is part of the history of drums. Every other instrument in an orchestra is relatively "standard". A violinist can play pretty much any violin. A flute is a flute. Drums are a different story. Early drumkits were born out of economics and necessity more than as individual instruments. Instead of a bandleader hiring two guys to play bass drum and snare drum, somebody figured out the kick pedal, and got hired because he could do both. Then, as more drums and percussion were needed for different songs, "traps" were added to the set, and the rest is history. All in all, we drummers are a pretty flexible and industrious lot.

Anyway, if you think about it, it totally makes sense that there's no "standard notation" for drums if you look at the evolution of the drumkit.

Don't know what it's like in the USA, but I've done a lot of reading gigs, shows, cabarets, etc, and in the UK, there is fixed notation. Yes, there are people who write drum books and decide to create their own way of placing notes on the stave, but in studios, theatres or any professional reading gig, drummers are aware of standard note placement. Snare drum always sits on the 3rd line down below the first tom, bass drum always sits on the 5th/bottom line, first tom always on 2nd line down above the snare, second tom sits 'through' the 2nd line, and floor tom sits on the 4th line below the snare. Usually a crosstick/rimclick is denoted with a circle around the 1/4 note/1/8 note. The only variation I've come across is the hihat sharing the same line where the first tom goes, rather than on the top line. Other than that, it's all pretty clear.

Hi folks,

Actually there is a standard to drumset notation. This topic was my DMA document at Indiana University. It has since been published by the Percussive Arts Society and is now distributed by Hal Leonard.

It's called "Guide to Standardized Drumset Notation"

If your local music store doesn't carry it, you can purchase it at: http://www.halleonard.com/item_detail.jsp?itemid=6620063&order=3&catcode=00&refer=search&type=product&keywords=weinberg+

This standard has been adopted by the Percussive Arts Society, all the major drum magazines, several music publishers, and even notation software titles (Finale and Sibelius). It's strength is that it covers all the "standard" instruments and playing techniques on kit - both for precise and improvised styles - and lays out a logical framework and series of suggestions for when someone needs to expand the "standard" system - i.e. adding a set of temple blocks or five tuned gongs, or playing the cymblas with an altered technique.

I won't take up any more of your time with additonal details, but you can read more about the book at: http://www.cfa.arizona.edu/weinberg/books.htm

Check it out - it might just be what you're looking for! This is what Peter Erskine had to say about the book:

Peter Erskine: "...I hope and recommend that ALL composers, arrangers, authors of pedagogical studies and drummers read, digest and use this long-awaited standard of drumset notation. Norm Weinberg has done contemporary music a great service with this book..."

About time somebody did something about it. Kudos to you.

Originally posted by rca About time somebody did something about it. Kudos to you.

Very good for citizens of USA, Western Europe and some other countries.

Any ideas for others?

I suggest that you contact Prof. Weinberg by email and ask him. It may be that the guidelines in his book are broad enough to cover any situation (even though its limited to an English language edition). He might know of similar works in other cultures.

...well, there you go. Nice job.

Frankly I wasn't losing much sleep over this topic over the past 25 or so years that I've been playing, but I guess I wont' have to worry about this becoming an issue later on down the road. I'm so relieved.

Oh no, it's not a question of language or culture. It's pure business. I don't think prof will send it to me free of charge. I would like to buy it, but I don't have any means to transfer money