5.2.3.1.1 - d-Wizz' Online Academy of Membranophonic Instruction

Lesson 1: Basics of Music Theory


A drummer, like any other musician, should be able to read standard musical notation. Even though a drummer does not need to know about pitch or chords in order to play, it's a good idea to learn a few basics about these concepts in any case, as they assist you in being able to understand what the other musicians are doing as they play their parts. This in turn, allows you to play intuitively.

You can find information about chords, keys, scales, etc. here. This page is only basic information, if you want to study these topics in more detail, I suggest you search the Internet, or ask a musical friend.

For the drummer, the most important musical notation concept is, of course, timing and rhythm. The symbols and time values of each note used in musical notation are:
Whole note or semi-breve, 4 beats
Half note or minim, 2 beats
Quarter note or crotchet, 1 beat
Eighth note or quaver, ¨ö beat
Sixteenth note or semi-quaver, ¨ù beat

Occasionally, you may also encounter...
Thirty-second note or demi-semi quaver, 1/8 note

The first names I have given for these notes are the American names, those after are the "traditional", or English names. You will find that the two sets of names are often used interchangeably. The American names are based on the number of each type of note in a bar of 4/4, ie. there are 16 sixteenth notes in such a bar. With most of the drumming techniques coming from America, it has become somewhat commonplace for drummers to use American names for notes.

A few little things about note values and combinations of notes in rhythm.
Most modern music is written in what is called "common time", which is 4/4. This simply means that each bar (or "measure" as some Americans call it) has 4 beats (the top number tell you this), and that each beat is a crotchet (the bottom number). If the top number in a time signature is divisible by two, then we have what is caled "simple time". If it is divisible by three, it is "compound time". If it not divisible by two or three, it is "odd (or irregular) time". The bottom number of a time signature must correspond to one of the note values (1, 2, 4, 8, 16 or 32). A bar must contain a whole number of a given note type; it cannot have half a note.

With this in mind, the various notes can be arranged in a variety of ways to add up to 4 beats. Here are some examples:

Rests. A rest indicates silence for a period of time as indicated. Each note value has a corresponding rest symbol associated with it.
A whole note looks like , a whole note rest looks like
A half note looks like , a half note rest looks like
A quarter note looks like , a quarter note rest looks like
An eighth note looks like , an eighth note rest looks like
A sixteenth note looks like , a sixteenth note rest looks like

Here are a few examples of 4/4 bars with notes and rests.
Dotted notes
This allows the value of a given note to be extended by one half of its original value. Rests may also have a dot after them.
Minim (2 beats) -- dotted minim (3 beats - 2 + ?of 2)
Crotchet (1 beat) -- dotted crotchet (1?beats - 1 + ?of 1)
Quaver (?beat) -- dotted quaver (3/4 beat - ?beat + ? of ?

Note that a dotted note is worth the same as three of the next shortest note.

Two dots after a note or rest indicate that the value is to be extended by half and then half again, ie three-quarters. I tend not to use this notation, as it can be a bit confusing; I prefer instead to use tied notes.

Minim (2 beats) -- double-dotted minim (3?beats - 2 + ?of 2 + ?of 2)
Crotchet (1 beat) -- double-dotted crotchet (1-3/4 beats - 1 + ?of 1 + ?of 1)
Quaver (?beat) -- double-dotted quaver (7/8 beat - ?+ ?of ?+ ?of ?

Ties
Two or more notes may also be tied together - this means you ADD the time values of the notes together, and play the entire series as ONE note. Here are some examples:


Counting:
It's very important to count, especially when you are learning. Each note is counted according to its time value.

  • for quarter notes, count 1...2...3...4 - once per beat
  • for eighth notes, count 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + ("+" is said as "and"; ie "1 and 2 and", etc)
  • for sixteenth notes, count 1 e + a 2 e + a 3 e + a 4 e + a. The "e" and "a" are the phonetic long "e" (as in "easy") and "short" a (as in "apple"). Thus you count in your head or aloud: "one e and a two e and a three e and a four e and a one e and...", and so on.

    when you have a combination, you may need to use divisional counting between beats, eg.
    "1 2 and a 3 and 4 e and a"

    Lesson 1: Basics of Music Theory
    Lesson 2: Parts of the Drum Kit
    Lesson 3: Basic Techniques of Drumming
    Lesson 4: Basic Drum Kit Technique
    Lesson 5: Reading Drum Score
    Lesson 6: Eighth-note Grooves
    Lesson 7: Sixteenth-note Grooves
    Lesson 8: Mixing It Up COMING SOON!
    Lesson 9: Tricks and Tips COMING SOON!


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