Bill Powelson's School of Drums Provided by: Bill Powelson's, Homestudy Institute of Drums. Reading Drum Notation Back. . . to the 'Drum Lesson Menu'. . . You practically learned to read drum notation on the previous page when you were learning to PLAY the 8th 'ROCK' beat. Remember? It looked like this: COUNT ( 1 2 3 4) R=RIGHT HAND R R R R L=LEFT HAND L F=RIGHT FOOT F A correctly written 2/4 version of that beat pattern would look a little more like this example, below: C= CYMBAL OR CLOSED HI-HAT (right-hand) S= SNARE (or left-hand) B= Bass (or right-foot) Hear the Basic 8th Rock Beat Can you see how they resemble? The beat is read and played the same way. The right hand (cymbal) is written on the top line and the snare and bass lines are written on the center and bottom lines respectively. When one note falls below another on the staff then both notes are played at the same time. 8th Rock is most often written in 4/4 time like this: Hear the Basic 8th Rock Beat Now, you are seeing and hearing two full repetitions of the pattern. This is the most common way to write the pattern. It is written in 4/4 time, here. Notice the double dots at the beginning and end of the measure. These are musical symbols indicating an indefinite number of repeats. In other words, play it over and over until it has been memorized. We will learn all about the 'fractional-numbers', (called time-signatures), in the more advanced lessons. Right now, it's best to simply teach you HOW TO PLAY. Encouragement! Reading drum notation can be a tedious affair. You will get better at it with a little practice. Don't try to go too fast, too soon. Slowly count the number of cymbal notes as you tap with your right hand, then gradually add the right foot and left hand as you relax and 'feel' the flow of the rhythm. It will get a little easier with each repetition. Each of the lessons in this course are designed to GRADUALLY teach you to read notation, as you master each of the popular, classic beats and rolls within the course. Practice makes perfect! That fact is also true when it comes to reading notation. The MORE we read, the better readers we become. The trick is to hopefully be learning USEFUL, 'HAPPENING' TECHNIQUES, as we practice and slowly DEVELOP reading abilities. This entire course is based in that concept. YES! You will learning EVERYTHING YOU'LL NEED to actually score and hold a gig, playing 'live' onstage with a real live band! I'll even show you how to go about getting (AND KEEPING) the BEST gigs (or jobs.) Move on to the next lesson when you feel you are ready. NEXT LESSON . . . Now, learn to feel the Backbeat. This is the MAGIC SEED that will insure your success at the drum set. Don't miss it! ................................................................................................ There's plenty more to learn! This has only been a sample! It's just ONE of the 125, mind-blowingly EASY lessons you'll find in my complete ONE-OF-A-KIND online homestudy course! You should consider taking all 125 of the lessons in this 'UNIQUELY EASY' but thorough, ONLINE homestudy package. 125-PRIVATE DRUM SET LESSONS, ON YOUR COMPUTER, AT HOME: Check out the complete 125-lesson, COURSE CONTENTS (and the UNBELIEVABLY LOW PRICE), at the, Homestudy Institute of Drums International Copyright Secured @ Bill Powelson 1994 all rights reserved.