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How To Read Drum Tabs

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Reading Drum Tabs

A D r u mt a b l a t u r e , als o known as d r u mt a b is a tablature in us e for drums . To read drum tabs follow the example below : Featured M ember

H| x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x | x x x x x x x x | | S| o o o | o o o | o o o | o o o | | B| o o | o o | o o | o o | o | C C | x x | | x | | x | C C | C r a s hC y m b a l | H H | H i H a t | R d | R i d e C y m b a l | S N | S n a r e d r u m | L T | L o w T o m | H T | H i g h T o m | F T | F l o o r T o m | B| B a s s D r u m | H f | H i H a t w / f o o t |
Some alternative lines :

C R | C r a s h R i d e C y m b a l | R C | R i d e C y m b a l | S| S n a r e d r u m | T 1 | T o m 1 ( h i g h t o m ) | T 2 | T o m 2 ( l o w / m i d t o m ) |T o m1 ,T o m2e t c .c a nb ec o n t i n u e dt oa sm a n yt o m sa sy o uh a v e . F| F l o o r T o m | B D | B a s s D r u m |
G enerally there will not be that many lines during vers es ; the above is more c ommon during fills . For example in vers e there may be only 3 lines (bas s , s nare, and H H ), while during c horus H H is replac ed with RD , s ymbolizing a ride c ymbal. A ls o, what to us e to s ymbolize the drum c an vary from tab to tab (eg. us ing t for L T ). A dditionally, there are s ymbols to depic t how the tabs s hould be played: C ymbals :

| x |S t r i k eC y m b a lo rH i H a t | X |S t r i k eL o o s eH i H a t ,o rh i tC r a s hH a r d | o |O p e nH i g hH a t | # |C h o k eC y m b a l( G r a bC y m b a lW i t hH a n dA f t e rS t r i k i n gI t ) | s |S p l a s hC y m b a l | c |C h i n aC y m b a l | b |B e l lo fR i d e | x |C l i c kH i H a tW i t hF o o t
D rums :

| o |S t r i k e | O |A c c e n t | g |G h o s tN o t e | f |[ [ F l a m ] ] | d |D r a g | b |S o f tO n e H a n d e dR o l l | B |A c c e n t e dO n e H a n d e dR o l l | @ |S n a r eR i m
U nlike guitar tabs whic h often fail to ac c urately repres ent timing information, drum tabs us ually des c ribe timing information very ac c urately.

Drum Notation
Notation of percussion instruments P erc us s ion notation c onventions are varied bec aus e of the wide range of perc us s ion ins truments . P erc us s ion ins truments are generally grouped into two c ategories : pitc hed and non- pitc hed. T he notation of non- pitc hed perc us s ion ins truments is the more problematic and les s s tandardized. N on- pitc hed perc us s ion notation on a c onventional s taff onc e c ommonly employed the bas s c lef, but a neutral s taff of two parallel vertic al lines is us ually preferred now. I n drum tabs , it is us ual to label eac h ins trument and tec hnique the firs t time it is introduc ed, or to add an explanatory footnote, to c larify c ertain notes in a tab. Below is an example of drum s et notation (aka drum tabs ): Drums

Cymbals

Dynamic accents

How to Read Drum Tabs Quick Start Tutorial

D rum N otation (or T abs ) are repres ented in lines that are c alled meas ure lines or bar lines , and the s pac e between any two of thes e vertic al lines is c alled a meas ure or a bar. T he notes and res ts will now be s een within a meas ure, like words in a s entenc e. A drum part (or pattern, as youll s ometimes hear it c alled by drummers ) is made up of a meas ure or a group of meas ures , like s entenc es in a paragraph.

Working with meas ures in drum tabs is very important when dis c us s ing s pec ific parts of s ongs . Y ou c an c ount meas ures in a pattern or s ong and name them ac c ording to their c orres ponding numbers . For example, you c an now refer to the third meas ure or meas ure 3 1 2 , and s o on. M eas ures thems elves vary in length ac c ording to rules that are s et down at the beginning of a piec e of mus ic , c alled a time s ignature. A time s ignature looks like a frac tion. L ets look at a time s ignature:

T his time s ignature is c alled four- four and is the mos t c ommon for mos t of the s tyles of mus ic that youre likely to want to play. T he top number of the time s ignature tells you how many beats there are in a meas ure. A beat is s imply the mus ic al term for a drum tabs part. A ll the parts of a meas ure are equal in length of time, kind of like how a football game has four quarters that are all of an equal time length. Y ou will now als o be able to name the beats of a meas ure with numbers in order. For example, if you want to talk about the third part of a meas ure, you would s ay beat three. T he bottom number of the time s ignature tells you what kind of note will equal the length of one beat- the number four in this c as e, indic ating a quarter note.

So, the two important bits of information that a time s ignature of 4 /4 tells you is that there will be four beats per meas ure (the top four of the frac tion) and that a quarter note will equal one beat (the bottom four of the frac tion). So, a meas ure of 4 /4 with four quarter notes in it looks like drum tabs below:

Y ou c an fit only four quarter notes in a meas ure of 4 /4 , and s inc e two times four is eight, you c an fit eight eighth notes in a meas ure of 4 /4 , thats why its c alled an eighth note. (drum tabs example below)

Y ou c an give eac h eighth note its own name, jus t like you did earlier with quarter notes . H owever, ins tead of naming eac h eighth note in a meas ure with its own number (1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ), we will name them like you s ee in below pic ture, us ing the s ymbol + in between eac h number (1 +2 +3 +4 +).

Y ou pronounc e the + s ymbol as the word and. So, if you wanted to c ount out the eight notes in a meas ure, you would s ay oneand- two- and- three- and- four- and. E ighth notes are played twic e as fas t as quarter notes . L ets us e a metronome to demons trate this . T ake your metronome and s et it at 6 6 . (T he numbers on your metronome repres ent tempo, the mus ic al term for the s peed at whic h youll play s omething. T he number 6 6 means that youll play s omething at 6 6 BP M , or 6 6 beats per minute.) L is ten to the metronome c lic k at 6 6 BP M , and imagine that eac h c lic k is a quarter note.

Count Along the Drum Tabs You Are Reading

N ow, c ount along to the c lic ks from one to four, and then bac k through one to four again, and s o on, like this : O ne, two, three, four, one, two, three, four. T his repres ents the s peed at whic h quarter notes are played at this tempo. So, if you want to figure out how eighth notes would s ound at this tempo, all you have to do is c ontinue to c ount from one to four at the s ame s peed as you did earlier, and s imply add the word and between eac h number, like this : O ne and two and three and four and one and two and three and four and. T his is how eight notes will s ound at this tempo.

Discuss How to Read Drum Tabs

N ow you c an dis c us s how to rea d drum ta bs with other drummers in re ading drum tabs discussion group drum_tec hniuqes /reading_drum_tabs .txt L as t modified: 2 0 0 8 /1 2 /1 1 2 2 :3 3 by PASHA Search Drum Wiki Go Searc h

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