Reading Drum Music
If you’ve gone through my other lessons on reading drum music, then you have already familiarized yourself with the staff, notes and symbols found in Drum Sheet Music. If not, be sure to take the time to learn How To Read Drum Music. Now, let’s move on to the note values and counting music.
The above diagram shows how music notes are divided. You’ll see this picture or one similar in just about every drumming or entry level music book on the market. The largest note is the whole note. It gets the full count of a measure. But, what is the count of a measure?
Measures are defined by beats and beats are assigned a value based on the type of note. Below are the most common notes you’ll be come across while reading drum music. I haven’t included 32nd notes, since this is a beginner drum lesson. You probably won’t be reading these for awhile.
Quarter notes are the most common way to count a measure, with 4/4 being the most common time signature in popular music. Learn more about Time Signatures. As you can see above, each quarter note is counted 1-2-3-4. That is the length of your measure. Pretty simple right? Try reading it aloud along with a metronome. If you can keep your count consistent with the metronome, then you’ve got rhythm.
The 8th note divides each quarter note in half. It is counted 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and. You may see the “and” represented as “&” or “+” depending on the transcriber. Again try reading out loud along with a metronome. Don’t have one, try this free Online Metronome.
Sixteenth notes divide each 8th note in half. They are counted 1-E-&-A-2-E-&-A-3-E-&-A-4-E-&-A. The A is pronounced “uh” while the E makes the long “eeeee” sound. Again, try reading this out loud with your metronome. Be sure to use the same tempo on all three exercises, so you can get a feel for how the notes are simply divisions of other notes.
To learn more, check out this lesson on Reading Drum Music or check out the online drum lesson covering How To Read Drum Tabs.
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