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Drum Notation
Guide - Drum
Key
Written by Nate Brown & Steve Ley

The Basic Drum Key (above) is a quick-

reference for the most commonly used
notations.

Our Master Drum Key (below) includes

both basic and advanced notations. We've
included detailed explanations and videos
below the key. Feel free to print
the Master Drum Key for your reference.

PRINT MASTER DRUM KEY

You'll find detailed explanations, graphics

and videos below. Read this section
straight-through or skip ahead to the
notations you need further support with.

Bass

Bass 1 is the standard bass drum played

with the primary bass drum pedal.

Bass 2 is played either on a secondary

bass drum or on the same bass drum
with the slave pedal of a double bass
drum pedal (see below).

Toms

Our drum key includes 7 toms arranged

from lowest pitched to highest. It's
unlikely that you will encounter many
songs that require 7 toms. However,
because some do require 7 toms, we've
identified the notation on this master
drum key.

Arranged from lowest pitched to highest

pitched, the toms are as follows:

Floor tom 2

Floor tom 1

Tom 3

Tom 2

Tom 1

Additional tom(s)

A traditional drum set arrangement has 3

toms. This is the most common
arrangement you're likely to encounter in
drum sheet music. In the master drum
key, they are identified as floor tom 1, tom
2 and tom 1 (see below).

Another common tom arrangement is

called, "Two Up, Two Down." This
arrangement features two toms mounted
above the bass drum (i.e. "up") and two
floor toms resting on the ground (i.e.
"down"). In the master drum key, they are
identified as tom 1, tom 2, floor tom 1 and
floor tom 2 (see below).

A similar tom arrangement to the "Two-

Up, Two-Down" is the "One-Up, Two-
Down" arrangement. As the name
implies, one tom is mounted above the
bass drum (i.e. "up"), and two floor
toms are resting on the ground (i.e.
"down"). The toms for this arrangement
are identified in the graphic below.

IMPORTANT: If your drums are setup in

this arrangement, it's common (and often
necessary) to play floor tom 1 as your tom
2 and floor tom 2 as your floor tom 1 when
reading drum sheet music.

The two highest pitched toms in our

Master Drum Key are called "additional
toms" because they are additions to the
most common tom arrangements.
Additional toms aren't often used in
mainstream music, but you will come
across these from time to time. If you
don't have seven toms, you will have to
substitute your tom 1 (or another tom) for
the additional toms in the sheet music.

Note on floor toms: Floor toms rest on

the floor on three legs. In some setups,
the lowest tom(s) are attached to a
cymbal stand with a clamp rather than
resting on the floor. It's fine to use an
"attached" low tom(s) in place of a
traditional floor tom(s).

Modifiers

Drum Modifiers change the way you strike

a drum or cymbal. Our Master Drum Key
shows these modifiers in the snare drum
space, but they can apply to any drum or
cymbal. For example, you may find
a ghost on a tom stroke, hi-hat stroke,
bass drum stroke, etc.

Cross-stick: Video Example (explanation

starts at 1:05)

A stroke played with the butt of the stick

against the rim while the tip of the stick
remains resting on the drum head. Grip
the stick in between your thumb and
index finger. On the down-stroke, your
remaining the fingers will touch the drum
head. On the up-stroke, be sure that the
tip of the stick remains on the drum head.

Ghost: Video Example

A very quiet stroke. You can think of a

ghost stroke as a light tap (or drop)
against the head. Generally, ghost
strokes are played with the stroke
starting at about 2 inches above the drum
head.

Accent: Video Example

An accented stroke is to be played louder

than other strokes. In other words, it
should stand out.

Marcato:

A marcato is a type of accent, but

the marcato stands out even more than a
normal accent. You can think of a marcato
as a 'strong accent.'

Flam: Video Example

In a right-handed flam, the left stick plays

a quiet grace stroke slightly before the
right stick plays the main,
primary stroke. Traditionally, a flam
should be played with one motion (i.e.
both hands move at the same time). The
stick you're playing the grace stroke with
should start about 2 inches above the
drum head while the primary stroke
starts in normal position.

Additional flam notes: A power flam is

achieved by playing the flam's grace
stroke at the same volume as the
primary stroke. This type of flam is often
used in rock music. Another type of flam
is a flat flam. This is played by playing
both the grace stroke and primary stroke
at the same time.

Drag: Video Example

A drag is sometimes referred to as a ruff.

You can use the terms interchangeably.
The drag is very similar to a flam but
the drag has 2 grace strokes instead of 1.
The grace strokes can be achieved by
bouncing the stick, or for a more
orchestral sound you can play the grace
strokes as a buzz against the drum head.

Rimshot: Video Example

A rimshot is played by striking both the

head of the drum and the rim of the drum
at the same time. The tip of the stick
strikes the drum head, generally just off-
center, and the shaft of the stick strikes
the rim. This produces a higher-pitched,
louder (and often 'ringy') sound. You can
experiment with moving the tip of the
stick closer to the edge of the drum head
to product different sounds.

Click sticks:

Strike the sticks together. Usually, the

left stick stays stationary while the right
stick strikes the left stick (if you're a right
handed drummer).

Rim:

Play the rim of the drum. For the snare

drum, the rim is usually hit at the point
where it's furthest away from the
drummer (i.e. the 'top'). For toms, the rim
is usually struck at the closest point to
the drummer (i.e. the bottom). These are
not hard and fast rules, however. It's ok
to experiment with where you hit the rim.

Electronic pad:

In today's music, electronic drums are

becoming more and more common.
Hybrid combinations where a drummer is
using both acoustic drums and electronic
drums are also becoming common.
Sometimes, only certain sections of the
song use electronic drums. A square note
head indicates that this drum is supposed
to be played on an electronic drum (or
pad). If you don't have an electronic drum,
it's ok to play the part on your standard
acoustic drums.

Cymbals

Cymbal arrangements vary greatly from

drummer to drummer. The standard,
cymbal starter kit includes a hi-hat, crash
and ride cymbal (see below).

If you play with this cymbal setup, you'll

need to play any crash 2 in the sheet
music with your crash 1. Also, any
auxiliary cymbals, such as Chinas
or splashes will need to be played on the
crash.

Here's another common cymbal setup

that features 2 crash cymbals. As with
the previous, starter setup, if there are
any auxiliary cymbals (i.e. Chinas
or splashes) in the sheet music, you'll
have to substitute by playing either
your crash 1 or crash 2 for those strokes.

Splash cymbals and China cymbals are

great additions to any cymbal setup.
They're not used as often as the cymbals
identified above, but they do make their
way into mainstream music and other
classics throughout past decades.

A splash cymbal is a smaller cymbal that

makes a sound similar to a metallic
"splash." Listen to the 10 inch splash
cymbal being played in this video:

Zildjian 18" A Cu…

Watch on

A China cymbal has a unique, almost

"trashy" sound and is to be mounted
upside-down. Here's a video of an 18 inch
China being played:

Zildjian 18" A Cu…

Watch on

Note on crash cymbals in sheet music:

Since every drummer has their own
unique cymbal choices and
placements, you'll sometimes have to get
creative when interpreting drum sheet
music. Often, it doesn't really make much
of a difference which crash cymbal you
hit. Get creative.

Cymbal Modifiers

At times, special instructions need to be

given to the reader regarding how to hit a
cymbal. Cymbals are very dynamic and
produce distinct sounds depending on
how they are hit. Below are cymbal
modifiers that we use to communicate
how to hit the cymbals.

Crash ride

This indicates that the ride should be

hit with the shoulder of the stick on the
edge of the cymbal. In other words, hit it
the same way you would hit a crash
cymbal to make it "crash."

Ride bell

Play the ride bell. To produce a louder

sound, you can play the ride bell with the
shoulder of the stick rather than with the
tip.

Crash w/tip

Hit the crash cymbal on the bow with the

tip of the stick. A Crash w/tip should
sound (and feel) similar to playing a
normal ride cymbal stroke. It shouldn't
"crash."

Crash bell

Hit the crash cymbal on the bell, either

with the tip of the stick or with the
shoulder of the stick to produce a louder
sound.

Choke crash Video Example

Hit the crash cymbal as usual (i.e. with

the shoulder of the stick on the edge of
the cymbal), producing a crash. Then,
choke the cymbal by grabbing it with your
other hand, cutting off the sound. For an
advanced choke, you can both hit the
crash and catch it with the same hand.

Let ring

Cymbals are meant to let ring out unless

some other type of instruction has been
given. For example, a cymbal choke or hi-
hat close. However, sometimes including
the "let ring" symbol (i.e. an unconnected
tie) makes it clearer to the reader and
reinforces that the cymbal is to let ring. It
is especially helpful if there are rests
after the crash cymbal. Telling the reader
to let the cymbals ring out throughout
those rests gives the reader extra
confidence.

Splash HH Video Example

The hi-hat splash is achieved by hitting

the hi-hat cymbals together with the foot,
and then quickly releasing them apart to
let them ring out. It's similar to an
orchestral crash cymbal.

Loose HH

The slashed circle above a hi-hat stroke

means to play the hi-hat "loose." In other
words, instead of pressing the hi-hat
pedals together tightly, lift up on the
pedal a little to allow the cymbals to
reverberate when hit. This gives a "loose"
sound.

Open HH Video Example

The open hi-hat is indicated by a circle

above the note head. This means that the
two cymbals should be "open" (or not
touching) when the hi-hat is hit.