I have been playing drums for just over 21 years but was always too intimidated to try and learn to ready music. This video has given me the confidence to pursue it. Can't thank you enough for this!
Stephen, For someone who played before you were born and stopped playing after high school I really want to say thanks. This video really helped with relearning the basics of reading music. Thanks again!
Gods, I love finding years-old videos on your channel that are still just dense with great information. Thanks for everything over the years man, it's been lovely.
This is one of the few videos about music theory that I wasn't lost after 10 minutes of jargon. Thorough, to the point and so easy to keep up with. Great job Stephen!
I enjoyed your breakdown for how to read percussion music. I played woodwind instruments so i can read music, but i've never read it for the drums. You made this made it easy to understand. I'm learning all i can so i can be helpful to my 3 year old who has an interest in playing.
Stephen, this was an excellent video; thanks for taking the time to make it. I usually count in a quarter or eighth notes when playing and frequently have issues with syncopated beats on the kick. Watching this video has caused me to wonder if I should count in 16ths so that I have a counting method to anchor the otherwise syncopated notes. Thanks! Isaac Hogue.
Thanks for this great refresher. I've been playing drums for 23 years but definitely fell-off the reading side of things since grade school, so it was great to slowly recall these things as you went along, mainly due to your great explanations. It's giving me confidence to start teaching again. Thanks so much, Stephen
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is by far one of the clearest explanations of drum notation I've seen. I'll be using the PDF's with my students and giving you full props my man.
Excellent instruction. This will help drummers young and old get the basics of reading drum music for years. Your videos are succinct and to the point. Great job.
I've been playing less than a year and I honestly never thought I'd be able to grasp reading music. My husband plays guitar and does it all by ear and basically tells me how/what to play in relation to what he's playing but I knew I was missing so much. This video gives me so much hope that I'll be able to figure it all out (even though I'm a bit lost right now lol). Thank you for this!! You're a fantastic teacher and that's from someone who is horrible at math and transposes numbers 😂
Circa 13:00: The preceding note's value determines when the next note happens. That, right there, is so very helpful! Thank you, Stephen. You are really good at explaining complicated things -- stuff that I "learned" years ago, but am now re-learning many years later -- in a very understandable way. I wish I'd had you decades ago!
Stephen an excellent lesson and I was one of your repliers who asked for this when you made a call for what folks wanted. BTW to the person below, I started playing left handed. But after a long pause from drumming due to a broken left wrist I decided I would relearn right handed. Why? Drum music starts with the right hand unless notated to start with the left where you play notes with alternating hands or feet if one uses double pedals. I did not want to rewrite all the drum music I planned to buy. Thanks again Stephen for the great lesson. Next triplets?
Many decades ago, I learned to read drum music but I've never needed to read charts. However, I found it to be extremely important to be able to "speak" drum notes because I played with lots of different leaders in the trios and quartets who had specific preferences. For example, one of them never wanted very many "dotted eighths" and another didn't want twelfth notes (triplets) in ballads. Gotta remember who is the boss and you have to listen to him/her.
I don't want to sound like I'm bragging but I pretty much knew all of this before I started watching this video period but it was a fantastic refresher course. That felt really good. I think I'm going to save this one for future reference. And I am one person who has never been a big fan of tablature. For the same reasons that he described here. And also I have found that tablature can be unreliable and not accurate to the actual piece. So when anybody asks me about that I always encourage them to learn how to read drum notation. It will help you out a ton.
Short answer, Simon, is "because I literally didn't know that I was supposed to play 'lefty' when I first started!" ;) I just played the way I saw other drummers play, and it never crossed my mind that lefty's usually played backwards.
I prefer to play left handed but had to learn right so I could share a kit at gigs. Moving drums is easy. Moving mics doesn't make you popular with the sound guys. When learning RH, I literally stumbled onto some interesting grooves and fills. It also improved my independence. Give it a go. P.s. no disrespect meant Sensei :-)
It's simple: if you want to get into the studio, learn to read, because an average drummer who can read will get the gig while a better drummer that can't loses out. And, if you learn to read, you don't remain average for long.
Like you say, with recognition and repetition it comes like reading words. Simple. Being a newbie, I would like to know if the coordination of playing the different drum pieces becomes like walking and chewing gum at the same time? Thanks
I read sax music in middle school but for drummers set wise its ive just learned by listening but knowing some about the theory deff prolly helped drums are just in different spots but not even really drum notes are notes persay but strikes lol
What piece of equipment are you using to make and draw those graphics on the screen and edit and move them around for us to see? And how much is it and where do I get it at?
My sticks keep clacking together like dancing with two left feet. Is there some solution to how I'm supposed to hold my sticks, or is it hand/eye coordination, or something else?
8th note and two 16th notes, compared to two 16th and one 8th is weird. They are the same same symbol, but flipped. Yet one takes up three 16ths, the other 2 16th. The two 16th notes and one 8th could be seen as the 16th nested under the 8th, and the flip version as the 16th attached to the right. That’s hard to picture though in just black and white.
Wow, this is timely to have found this. Decided to learn to read a couple of months ago, been using Ted Reed "Syncopation", "Rudiments" and good old You Tube for guidance
Great video as usual. 🤗 I can't even read drum tabs. I've tried to learn to read drum notes, but it's no use. I can understand the very basic stuff. I can read the most simple 4/4 with a couple of common kick variations or with a tom or cymbal hit. But after that it becomes rocket science for me. There's just way too much stuff to process at the same time. If I hear what's in the notes, and if it isn't too hard over my level, I can usually play it, but can't get that from the notes. I definately understand the benefits of reading music, and wish I could learn that. But after almost 33 years of drumming, I probably have to let go of that wish.
Why do I watch this? I used to learn in a musician school for the past 10 years. I already know these things 😂😂. However it's really easy to use so learn it if you want to become a musician.
it has been years since I covered this. its like going back to the begining of primary school... thanks for reminding me just how old I am... because I need that...right? (at this point I wish I could convey mild sarcasm)
I can count ok but my problem comes from being able to count 16th notes fast. Also being able to change the count depending on the section that I’m in. (I.e build up > chorus) I end up stumbling onto myself in my head or out loud.
When it comes to guitars, tabs will get you by for the most part if you're just casual and not playing professionally. However for drums, I would say reading notation is almost easier than the tabs. I takes just as much time to figure out tabs as the notation do you might as well just learn the notation
I'd 1st like to apologize to Mr. Aversano, my 7th and 8th grade band director.. Deadly accurate with the conductor's baton. We were paying attention, but we were drummers. Don't put the pretty girls in front of us.. Secondly I'd like to thank him from the bottom of my whole existence... Reading is fundamental.. His words "I don't want drummers, I want percussionist".. Coming from Clarinet and sax. I could read a bit, so he put me behind the Timpanis. I got into tuning them from another great percussionist who was 1st chair Trombone... To truly unlock where drumming can take you, reading and expanding your percussive voices.
Thanks for this video. I’d subscribe your channel if you just make a series of videos about 1-3 minutes long (like a song) with simple reading to advance level. Kind of like the Syncopated book but with actual rhythm tapping/playing where book doesn’t provide the actual sound of the rhythm.I appreciate that. Hearing the rhythm tapped while reading it against a metronome probably really helpful. Maybe 1 bar you play the rhythm and next bar just metronome sound and we have to tap the rhythm relative to the sound of metronome while reading the note. BPM can be at 3 basic speeds: Slow, medium and fast. Thank you very much
Hey in an ideal situation, you use both. Many times you're hearing the groove then writing it out. But the more you practice reading rhythms, the better you get at "playing them back" in your head. It just takes patience - keep at it, and you'll get better at it! :)
I have been playing drums for just over 21 years but was always too intimidated to try and learn to ready music. This video has given me the confidence to pursue it. Can't thank you enough for this!
Boy ain't no way you've been doing ut for 21 years and can't read music
@@lemental_outlander4111 Ok, if you say so.
@@lemental_outlander4111 Protip: Anna Murphy cant read music to this day. You may wanna look her up.
Did you know that Buddy Rich, Elvis and the BeeGees could not read music? Some people are naturally talented. @@lemental_outlander4111
Stephen, For someone who played before you were born and stopped playing after high school I really want to say thanks. This video really helped with relearning the basics of reading music. Thanks again!
New drummer (at 65 yrs young) who just came across this video. Great stuff! Subscribed.
Gods, I love finding years-old videos on your channel that are still just dense with great information. Thanks for everything over the years man, it's been lovely.
Perfect. You’ve helped me understand notation better than others have in twice the time. You’ve changed a musician’s life today, my friend.🤘🏻🤘🏻
This is one of the few videos about music theory that I wasn't lost after 10 minutes of jargon. Thorough, to the point and so easy to keep up with. Great job Stephen!
I enjoyed your breakdown for how to read percussion music. I played woodwind instruments so i can read music, but i've never read it for the drums. You made this made it easy to understand. I'm learning all i can so i can be helpful to my 3 year old who has an interest in playing.
Great help for my learning GarageBand and Rhythm, great perspective logically put in place, thanks for the kick start.
Stephen, this was an excellent video; thanks for taking the time to make it. I usually count in a quarter or eighth notes when playing and frequently have issues with syncopated beats on the kick. Watching this video has caused me to wonder if I should count in 16ths so that I have a counting method to anchor the otherwise syncopated notes.
Thanks! Isaac Hogue.
Thanks for this great refresher. I've been playing drums for 23 years but definitely fell-off the reading side of things since grade school, so it was great to slowly recall these things as you went along, mainly due to your great explanations. It's giving me confidence to start teaching again. Thanks so much, Stephen
Excellent tutorial!! You make reading music easy. Thank you!!
Absolutely!!!!!!!!!!! Spending a little time with this will save a ton of time in the future. Well done!
Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is by far one of the clearest explanations of drum notation I've seen. I'll be using the PDF's with my students and giving you full props my man.
Dude, I had just been digging your drum cheat sheet video and got into charting songs and understanding written grooves. Thanks for this!
Thank you for this I had a phobia about reading drum charts but maybe now I can slowly get used to remembering the notation and what it is in rhythm
Best lesson I've ever had on drum notation thank you so much lol
Very nice and clear explanation. Thank you!
You've really helped me in dealing with some of the complex rhythm. I know with this, it will go a long way. Thanks man
This was an awesome crash course!
I think now I just gotta start looking at sheet music just to practice reading it
You've taken alot of time between the video and pdfs. Thanks and keep doing what you're doing. As always great lesson
Great video man, you definitely deserve way more followes!
Thank you. Nice refresher. Quite clear
Excellent instruction. This will help drummers young and old get the basics of reading drum music for years. Your videos are succinct and to the point. Great job.
I've been playing less than a year and I honestly never thought I'd be able to grasp reading music. My husband plays guitar and does it all by ear and basically tells me how/what to play in relation to what he's playing but I knew I was missing so much. This video gives me so much hope that I'll be able to figure it all out (even though I'm a bit lost right now lol). Thank you for this!! You're a fantastic teacher and that's from someone who is horrible at math and transposes numbers 😂
Circa 13:00:
The preceding note's value determines when the next note happens.
That, right there, is so very helpful!
Thank you, Stephen. You are really good at explaining complicated things -- stuff that I "learned" years ago, but am now re-learning many years later -- in a very understandable way. I wish I'd had you decades ago!
AWESOME AWESOME.....thank you........Mike (Regina Canada)
I past out watching this. Now i know for a fact it is the best video on this subject.
Stephen an excellent lesson and I was one of your repliers who asked for this when you made a call for what folks wanted. BTW to the person below, I started playing left handed. But after a long pause from drumming due to a broken left wrist I decided I would relearn right handed. Why? Drum music starts with the right hand unless notated to start with the left where you play notes with alternating hands or feet if one uses double pedals. I did not want to rewrite all the drum music I planned to buy. Thanks again Stephen for the great lesson. Next triplets?
Many thanks Stephen, just starting playing at 60 years old, this is a great help to me. Greetings from England! Subscribed.
Thanks for another great video. You’re the man.
Great video thanks for making this!
Stephen, what is this awesome application you are using to write the notations? Is that an iPad app? Great information, by the way.
I started out with tabs and it took me about 2 days till I ditched them and switched to notation. For exactly the reasons you outline
Cool! I learned a lot!
So, at 6:02 you were keeping the measure by clapping in 8th notes?
Thanks man, amazing video!
Many decades ago, I learned to read drum music but I've never needed to read charts. However, I found it to be extremely important to be able to "speak" drum notes because I played with lots of different leaders in the trios and quartets who had specific preferences. For example, one of them never wanted very many "dotted eighths" and another didn't want twelfth notes (triplets) in ballads. Gotta remember who is the boss and you have to listen to him/her.
Thank you, Stephen its all there but I need to put all this on slow mo
I don't want to sound like I'm bragging but I pretty much knew all of this before I started watching this video period but it was a fantastic refresher course. That felt really good. I think I'm going to save this one for future reference. And I am one person who has never been a big fan of tablature. For the same reasons that he described here. And also I have found that tablature can be unreliable and not accurate to the actual piece. So when anybody asks me about that I always encourage them to learn how to read drum notation. It will help you out a ton.
Dotted notes explained very clearly, and the rest(s)! TY!
Excellent breakdown!
Cool you did cover quite a bit trying to follow , Thanks for your time ✌
this is awesome, thanks Stephen
This lesson is exactly what I needed. Thank you so much!!
I CAN DO THIS!
Thanks, Stephen!
Very thorough. Found myself watching to the end. With you on the drum tabs thing. As a fellow lefty, now curious why you drum right handed.
Short answer, Simon, is "because I literally didn't know that I was supposed to play 'lefty' when I first started!" ;) I just played the way I saw other drummers play, and it never crossed my mind that lefty's usually played backwards.
I prefer to play left handed but had to learn right so I could share a kit at gigs. Moving drums is easy. Moving mics doesn't make you popular with the sound guys. When learning RH, I literally stumbled onto some interesting grooves and fills. It also improved my independence. Give it a go. P.s. no disrespect meant Sensei :-)
@@simonvasey8546 Just play like Lenny White!
:-)
Putting the letters in the right spot was my biggest issue, your drawings helped a lot.
Man this is so great! Thank You!
Great lesson. I’ll have watch the video a few more times. Thanks
I have learned more in 20 plus minutes by such a simple explanation than anyone who has ever tried to teach me...
Fantastic video!!
Genius, useful for any instrument!
Excellent guide, thanks.
Amazing lesion
thank you so much for this materiail. ita a whole course in 30 min. you are a great teacher!!
It's simple: if you want to get into the studio, learn to read, because an average drummer who can read will get the gig while a better drummer that can't loses out.
And, if you learn to read, you don't remain average for long.
Great vid mate
U are the perfect 1,thk u so much.💯💯💯🥁
Like you say, with recognition and repetition it comes like reading words. Simple. Being a newbie, I would like to know if the coordination of playing the different drum pieces becomes like walking and chewing gum at the same time? Thanks
This is amazing thank you so much
Came expecting the notation patterns not to be simple, and left as a better drummer. Thanks!
hi
thanks Stephen you are doing a great job, I appreciate that
This was great!
I read sax music in middle school but for drummers set wise its ive just learned by listening but knowing some about the theory deff prolly helped drums are just in different spots but not even really drum notes are notes persay but strikes lol
Hi, What software are you using to write this?
I can't thankyou enough for this thankyou so much
What are drum tabs? How do they look?
What piece of equipment are you using to make and draw those graphics on the screen and edit and move them around for us to see? And how much is it and where do I get it at?
Helpful video! the new breed from Gary Chester is my recommendation
Hi from tucson az. Thank You for posting.
Crucial video thank you so much
My sticks keep clacking together like dancing with two left feet. Is there some solution to how I'm supposed to hold my sticks, or is it hand/eye coordination, or something else?
Thank you
Thanks 😊
Vielen Dank. Das hat mir sehr gut gefallen.
feelin' a bit "dank" are ye ? try to keep the windows open for more fresh air get that "dank" out of there....
8th note and two 16th notes, compared to two 16th and one 8th is weird.
They are the same same symbol, but flipped. Yet one takes up three 16ths, the other 2 16th.
The two 16th notes and one 8th could be seen as the 16th nested under the 8th, and the flip version as the 16th attached to the right. That’s hard to picture though in just black and white.
Wow, this is timely to have found this. Decided to learn to read a couple of months ago, been using Ted Reed "Syncopation", "Rudiments" and good old You Tube for guidance
Great video as usual. 🤗
I can't even read drum tabs.
I've tried to learn to read drum notes, but it's no use.
I can understand the very basic stuff. I can read the most simple 4/4 with a couple of common kick variations or with a tom or cymbal hit. But after that it becomes rocket science for me. There's just way too much stuff to process at the same time.
If I hear what's in the notes, and if it isn't too hard over my level, I can usually play it, but can't get that from the notes.
I definately understand the benefits of reading music, and wish I could learn that. But after almost 33 years of drumming, I probably have to let go of that wish.
I didn’t even know drum tabs exist
Why do I watch this? I used to learn in a musician school for the past 10 years. I already know these things 😂😂. However it's really easy to use so learn it if you want to become a musician.
it has been years since I covered this. its like going back to the begining of primary school... thanks for reminding me just how old I am... because I need that...right? (at this point I wish I could convey mild sarcasm)
“Modern Reading Text in 4/4” by Louis Bellson is an excellent resource for working on reading, if not the best.
I'm guessing your bit on Drum Tabs doesn't count apps like Songsterr, which actually *does* show the barred notes and doesn't rely on grids...
You’re lucky as a drummer to not have to worry about the really hard parts of notation; keys, sharps/flats, chords, bass and treble clefs, etc.
I can count ok but my problem comes from being able to count 16th notes fast. Also being able to change the count depending on the section that I’m in. (I.e build up > chorus) I end up stumbling onto myself in my head or out loud.
Awesome
Thanks for making it click, this was a huge grey area for me
A cheat sheet for rhythms/groves would be also to learn. I am just starting
When it comes to guitars, tabs will get you by for the most part if you're just casual and not playing professionally. However for drums, I would say reading notation is almost easier than the tabs. I takes just as much time to figure out tabs as the notation do you might as well just learn the notation
thx
I'd 1st like to apologize to Mr. Aversano, my 7th and 8th grade band director.. Deadly accurate with the conductor's baton. We were paying attention, but we were drummers. Don't put the pretty girls in front of us..
Secondly I'd like to thank him from the bottom of my whole existence... Reading is fundamental.. His words "I don't want drummers, I want percussionist".. Coming from Clarinet and sax. I could read a bit, so he put me behind the Timpanis. I got into tuning them from another great percussionist who was 1st chair Trombone... To truly unlock where drumming can take you, reading and expanding your percussive voices.
Iam the first viewer from India
Thanks for this video. I’d subscribe your channel if you just make a series of videos about 1-3 minutes long (like a song) with simple reading to advance level. Kind of like the Syncopated book but with actual rhythm tapping/playing where book doesn’t provide the actual sound of the rhythm.I appreciate that. Hearing the rhythm tapped while reading it against a metronome probably really helpful. Maybe 1 bar you play the rhythm and next bar just metronome sound and we have to tap the rhythm relative to the sound of metronome while reading the note. BPM can be at 3 basic speeds: Slow, medium and fast. Thank you very much
Thx Stephen
What is that awesome software are you using?
Hi bro
Thank you tooo
i cannot play without notation whats wrong with me
Pdf... I wrote it all out...
There's no way I can get this 😭😭😭 I need to hear the groove
Hey in an ideal situation, you use both. Many times you're hearing the groove then writing it out. But the more you practice reading rhythms, the better you get at "playing them back" in your head. It just takes patience - keep at it, and you'll get better at it! :)
@@sccdrum93 Thanks man!! I'll keep trying 👍
This is always too confusing to me. No matter how many times I have people explain it I just can’t get it in my head
There’s drum tabs? Not that theory can’t be confusing, but drum notation has been pretty easy for the most part.
Why can’t everyone explain music like this?