How to read drum notation
On a drum stave no line means a pitch: every position belongs to an instrument. Eleven of them with notation, sound and four basic beats.
A drum stave has five lines like any other stave — only here they do not mean pitches. They are pigeonholes: every line and every space belongs to one instrument, and the notehead adds whether it is struck or shimmered. That is why there is no treble or bass clef at the start, but the percussion sign made of two thick strokes.
Which position is which instrument
| On the stave | Instrument | Position | Sound |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hi-hat with the foot | Below the stave | ||
| Bass drum | Space 1 | ||
| Floor tom | Space 2 | ||
| Snare | Space 3 | ||
| Rim shot | Space 3 | ||
| Low tom | Line 4 | ||
| High tom | Space 4 | ||
| Ride cymbal | Line 5 | ||
| Hi-hat closed | Above the stave | ||
| Hi-hat open | Above the stave | ||
| Crash cymbal | Above the stave |
The two noteheads
Four basic beats
The basic beat
The rock beat
The same beat on the ride
In three-four time
This mapping is a convention, not a standard. For the toms and the floor tom other spellings are in use, and some parts put the hi-hat on its own small line above the stave. What always holds: the part says at the start which position means which instrument, and the reader relies on that.
Open and closed hi-hat sit on the same position. They are told apart not by the place but by the sign above the head and by the length — measured, the open one rings more than thirty times as long.
Anotona does this for you
Photograph a page of sheet music or play the melody — Anotona finds the key, engraves the notes and transposes them into any other. Free.
See AnotonaEvery note on this page is computed, not typed in — following the rule that also makes F# major spell its seventh degree E#, not F.