The Drummer's Notation Guide

2012-04-03T01:53:00.000-07:00

How to do a Single Paradiddle!

2012-04-03T01:46:00.000-07:00

How to do a Drum Roll. Great for beginners!

2012-01-24T06:36:00.001-08:00

Rudiment: Basic Flam

2012-01-24T01:30:00.000-08:00

Now, here's an important rudiment that all good drummers SHOULD know: the flam. This is the basic one which you'll need to know if you want to progress in the rudiment system.

Here is a measure of alternating drum flam:

So, as you can see, the flam stroke is two notes being played as though they are one. The first one is smaller to indicate that it is played at a lower volume and the second one is played at a normal volume. Now, what you're supposed to do is play the notes a little off-set so that they sound fatter.

2011-12-17T06:46:00.001-08:00

watch this amazing drum solo!

Metronomes, Basic

2011-10-12T04:40:00.000-07:00

If you're looking for a basic, inexpensive yet quality metronome to aid you in your practice routines then check out the stuff on this page. For the perfect Korg metronome that's even a good guitar tuner! Both of them really pack a punch in terms of functionality as well.

Want to Master your Rudiments on Drums easily and quickly? Want to double or even triple your dynamic range? Want to get your fundamental drumming technique as perfect as possible? Click Here!

Applying The Single Paradiddle!

2011-10-12T03:58:00.000-07:00

Below is a great drum beat that uses the single paradiddle rudiment.

1)

(Go back to the first lesson if you are unsure of what drum 'voices', or sounds, each line or space is)

Play it slow at first (the point is to get it down and do it right!), then slowly speed up the tempo. It's highly recommended to use a metronome so that you can get the timings right.

Single Paradiddle

2011-10-12T02:33:00.000-07:00

A single paradiddle is most commonly placed within drum beats, drum fills, and also certain solo patterns. This is on the top five of the most popular and must-know drum rudiments. Let's say, it's practically a must for any drummer who wants to make it big and expand there possibilities for the future! This is the basic pattern:

1)

So basically, this single paradiddle is a combination of both single and double strokes. First, play to alternating strokes and then a double. - That would be the first half of the rudiment. Next do the same pattern just with the opposite hand starting first. When you play it altogether you get the single paradiddle! Simple?

eBook Coming Soon

2011-10-11T05:03:00.000-07:00

I'll be posting an eBook on my site very soon which will be a full course to learning the basics of drum notation. What I've given here is just the beginning; so keep an eye out for the new stuff!

P.S. follow this by email and i'll send it to you for free!

LESSON 3: counting eighth notes

2011-10-08T07:59:00.000-07:00

In this next lesson you will learn how to count eighth notes within a 4/4 time. Also, you will learn how quarter notes and eighth notes relate so that you can understand how sub-divisions work. This will help you build a solid foundation in which to grow on. Before you go through this lesson, however, make sure you fully understand the one before on quarter notes. It is very important that you fully understand all this before moving on to the other theory and notation lessons.

Eighth notes are sub-divisions of quarter notes. This means, there are eight of them in a measure of 4/4 time. The first example show a measure of eighth notes with the counts on top of each note. If you have a metronome, set it to 80 BPM and count this measure like this: one, and, two, and, three, and, four, and (then, re-start at one). Look at and remember, how the eighth notes have a horizontal line connecting the to the quarter notes in groups. You should be able to distinguish between a quarter note and an eighth note.

The second diagram shows a measure of quarter notes leading up to a measure of eighth notes. This exercise is pretty important because it shows you how to go from one sub-division of time to the other.

The counts one, two three, four to remain consistent through both of the measures. Then, for the second measure the 'and' counts simple get added into double the speed of those notes. So, this way you can play double the speed while still maintaining consistent time.

2)

The third diagram mixes quarter and eighth notes into four measures. As you can see, the bottom two lines have notes in different vertical positions. This simply indicates the different drum sounds across a drum set; however, they are still quarter and eighth notes.

3)

If you have a metronome, set it to 80 BPM and count it like this: one, two, three, and, four, and, one, two, three, four, and, one, and two, and three, and four, one, and, two, and, three, four, and (then, repeat from the start again). It is not necessary to be able to play this on the drum set. It is simply placed in this order so that you can really understand that no matter where in the measure and on the line a note is, you should be able to count and identify the timing and beat.

Now, if you have any questions, please feel free to comment and ask. If you understand all of the above and can do this exercise seamlessly you are ready to move on to the next lesson.

LESSON 2: counting quarter notes

2011-10-06T11:04:00.000-07:00

This lesson is going to teach you to count quarter notes in 4/4 time. This is the basics, the foundation, to learning the eighth notes, eighth note triplets, sixteenth notes, sixteenth note triplets, and 32nd notes.

Now starting at the first exercise of sheet music, there are four quarter notes in one measure. So, each quarter note is taking 1/4 or one quarter of the measure. The counts are on the top of each note. So, you just count : one, two, three, four (and then going back again to one at the end of the measure).

1)

The second diagram has two measures of quarter notes. You can tell a measure apart by the vertical line which shows you where it begins and ends. Counting these quarter notes are as simple as counting one, two, three, four out loud and then restarting at each measure, as i mentioned above. Now, for this next example you would count both measures as: one, two, three, four, one, two, three, four.

2)

The third exercise has got four measures of quarter notes. This is almost the same as the other exercises, only that the notes are indicating the various drum set sounds. As I explained in lesson one, the notes in there various vertical places represent the different sounds (parts) of a drum kit.

Even though these notes are placed differently on the staff, they are still quarter notes. A quarter note is a solid note (meaning one in which the circle in the middle is filled) in the measure with a single stem (line) coming up from it.

Go over this a couple times until it all makes sense to you, until you FULLY understand it. The next lesson will incorporate quarter and eighth notes to help you to count and get used to both.

A Staff and Stave

2011-10-03T11:44:00.000-07:00

Now, I know for most musicians this is common knowledge, but here's a little bit of the basics you must know. The diagram of lines and spaces below is called a stave. A stave has got five horizontal lines and four spaces used in musical notation. In between each line is a gap called a space. Most music notes are oval shaped symbols that are placed on the lines and in the space. However, in drum notation we will come across a lot more symbols.

Example of a stave with notes on the lines and in the spaces

LESSON 1: basic drum patterns and place key

2011-10-03T09:43:00.000-07:00

Here are all the basic quarter notes you should be familiar with. Think of this as a place to find the drum set "voices" that you will come across in different beats, patterns and fills. Each measure has four quarter notes that use the same symbol to show the different drum set "voices".

So, from the diagram above it can be said that the snare drum note is on the 3rd line and that the bass drum note is on the 4th space and so on respectively. Take in to account the shapes (symbols) of the head and it's position.- They are very important in differentiating one note from another.

Intro

2011-10-03T09:32:00.000-07:00

This program will be spread out over different lessons, from a beginners level to a pretty advance one. I'll try to post a new lesson or two every day, so keep an eye out for the latest lessons. There will also be tips, ideas and personal suggestions on what types of drums and drum sticks to purchase as well as how to get the most out this drum notation guide. Please contact me if you have any suggestions, ideas and tips of your own which would be instrumental in helping others to learn from this blog. So let's get started, cheerz!