Study Guide
Week 13
[ Reading ] [ Textbook ] [ Review ] [ New Material ] [ What You Should Know ] [ Homework ]
Reading
No textbook reading this week.
Review
New Material
Drum notation
A drum kit is a group of percussion instruments arranged in a way that they can be played by the hands and feet of a single drummer. Drum notation is not completely standardized. The position of crash, ride and hi-hat cymbals, snare, bass and tom-toms seems to be fairly consistent among arrangers, but there are variations, especially between countries. Here is one mapping:
By default, Sibelius uses a slightly different setup (which can be altered and customized to suit your purposes):
The "x" is used to denote a cymbal. A crash cymbal is a "x" within a circle.
Open hi-hat can also be written this way but most often "+" and "°" above the note are used to denote closed and open, the operation of which is controlled by the drummer's foot.
Durations of half note and whole note use the open note shaped like a diamond.
Drums with skins use the normal note heads.Drum kits are usually written on a five-line staff with the two vertical lines for a drum clef. When a single instrument is played instead you can use fewer lines. For example, a single player often plays two conga drums, with one pitched higher than the other:
[ midi ]
Basic pop beats
[ midi ]
[ midi ]
[ midi ]
Ear training
Try notating the following examples. Listen to the MIDI file, then check your answers with the Scorch page.
What You Should Know
At the end of this week you should be able to:
Transcribe simple drum patterns using correct percussion notation.
Homework
See the assignment sheet.©2001 Robert Willey
