Why Read Drum Music?

Many great drummers play entirely by ear. But being able to read drum notation means you can learn songs faster, communicate with other musicians more precisely, and access a huge library of educational material. It's a skill worth having.

The Basics of Drum Notation

Drum music is written on a standard five-line staff, but each line and space represents a different drum or cymbal rather than a pitch.

Common assignments:

  • Bass drum: bottom space or below the staff
  • Snare drum: third space from bottom
  • Hi-hat: top space or above the staff (with an X notehead)
  • Ride cymbal: above the staff (X notehead)
  • Crash cymbal: above the staff (X notehead, often with an accent mark)
  • Tom-toms: various spaces depending on the number of toms

Note Values

Drum notation uses the same note values as all other music:

  • Whole note: 4 beats
  • Half note: 2 beats
  • Quarter note: 1 beat
  • Eighth note: half a beat
  • Sixteenth note: quarter of a beat
Most basic rock beats are written in eighth notes.

Reading Your First Beat

A standard rock beat in notation looks like this:

  • Hi-hat: eighth notes on every beat (1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and)
  • Snare: quarter notes on beats 2 and 4
  • Bass drum: quarter notes on beats 1 and 3
Once you can read this pattern, you can read hundreds of variations.

We Teach Notation at Every Level

Our Elkhorn instructors integrate notation reading into lessons from the beginning. You'll be reading beats within your first few months of study.