UNDERSTANDING BASIC NOTE VALUES
This guide breaks down the most common note values and rests that you’ll come across, and how to count them in a 4/4 time signature.
NOTE VALUES
below are the most commonly used note values.
You’ll notice that there’s two different names for each of the note values.
the American terminology (listed on the left) is the simplEst and probably the most useful way to think of it when counting drum music, as it directly refers to how much of the bar each note takes uP in a 4/4 Time signature .
HOWEVER, THE BRITISH TERMINOLOGY (LISTED ON THE RIGHT) IS ALSO very IMPORTANT TO LEARN AS these are THE MORE commonly used terms with musicians that play other instruments.
EACH NOTE VALUE AS YOU WORK YOUR WAY DOWN IS EXACTLY HALF AS LONG AND Played TWICE AS FAST AS THE PREVIOUS.
AND EVERY EXTRA LINE THAT CONNECTS THE NOTES SPLITS THEM IN HALF.
UNLIKE OTHER INSTRUMENTS, when playing drums, YOU CAn’t USually sustain the notes.
so for example if you PLAY A WHOLE NOTE SNARE drum, IT WILL BE PLAYED (AND SOUND) EXACTLY THE Same way as a sixteenth note snare drum.
REST VALUES
THE whole note and half note rests are the easiest to mix up. AS with all of the rests, THEY can be positioned anywhere on, ABOVE, OR BELOW the stave. the whole note rest hangs from the line, and the half note sits on top of it.
BELOW ARE THE EQUIVALENT RESTS FOR EACH NOTE VALUE
Sixteenth note rests are also very similar to eighth note rests.
an extra ‘tail’ is added to the eighth note rest to split it in half to become a sixteenth note rest.
MULTI BAR RESTS
When the chart has more than one bar of restS it will be written with a solid black line through the bar with A NUMBER ABOVE RELATING TO HOW MANY BARS TO REST FOR.
WHAT ABOUT TRIPLETS?
CLICK HERE FOR OUR GUIDE ON TRIPLETS AND TRIPLET RESTS
COUNTING BASIC NOTE VALUES
IN a 4/4 TIME SIGNATURE THERE aRE FOUR BEATS IN EACH BAR.
SO THE COUNT IS SIMPLY; ‘1,2,3,4’, and then you start counting again from the next bar.
BELOW ARE THE COUNTING SYSTEMS FOR EACH NOTE VALUE
For Whole notes and half notes, you still count all four beats, even when you are resting.
(The rests for these note values are in brackets)
WHEN notes are split into eighth notes and sixteenth notes, there are extra notes between each ‘strong’ beat.
For eighth notes you count these extra notes as ‘+’.
And for sixteenth notes, you still count the ‘+’, but you also have an ‘E’ and An ‘A’ either side of it.
WHAT IS A BAR?
CLICK HERE FOR OUR GUIDE ON DRUM NOTATION
OTHER THINGS TO NOTE (NO PUN INTENDED!).
THIRTY-SECOND NOTES (DEMISEMIQUAVERS)
ALTHOUGH LESS COMMON, THESE WILL COME UP FROM TIME TO TIME.
THIRTY-SECOND NOTES ARE TWICE AS FAST, AND HALF AS LONG AS SIXTEENTH NOTES.
TO SPLIT A SIXTEENTH NOTE , YOU SIMPLY APPLY THE SAME PRINCIPLE AS YOU WOULD TO SPLIT AN EIGHTH NOTE INTO A SIXTEENTH NOTE:
ADD AN EXTRA LINE OR TAIL TO A SIXTEENTH NOTE OR REST TO CHANGE IT INTO A THIRY-SECOND NOTE.
COMBINING DIFFERENT NOTE VALUES.
DOTTED NOTES.
WHEN A DOT IS WRITTEN AFTER THE NOTE HEAD, IT ADDS AN EXTRA HALF TO THE NOTE’S VALUE.
THE DOT CAN BE ADDED TO ANY NOTE VALUE, BUT HERE ARE EXAMPLES OF THE MOST COMMON USES - THE QUARTER NOTE AND THE EIGHTH NOTE.
WHEN PLAYING OTHER INSTRUMENTS, THIS WOULD MEAN THAT YOU SUSTAIN THE NOTE FOR AN EXTRA 50% TO A NOTE WITHOUT THE DOT.
HOWEVER WE CAN’T SUSTAIN OUR SINGULAR NOTES WHEN PLAYING DRUMS, SO WE PLAY THE NOTE EXACTLY THE SAME AS NORMAL. THE DIFFERENCE IS JUST THE SPACING OF WHERE THE NEXT NOTE FALLS.
DOTTED QUARTER NOTES.
A QUARTER NOTE IS THE EQUIVALENT LENGTH OF TWO EIGHTH NOTES, WHICH MEANS HALF OF IT’S LENGTH IS THEREFORE ONE EIGHTH NOTE - THE DOT ADDS HALF ON TOP OF IT’S EXISTING LENGTH, MAKING IT THE EQUIVALENT OF THREE EIGHTH NOTES.
DOTTED EIGHTH NOTES.
An EIGHTH NOTE IS THE EQUIVALENT LENGTH OF TWO SIXTEENTH NOTES, WHICH MEANS HALF OF IT’S LENGTH IS THEREFORE ONE SIXTEENTH NOTE - THE DOT ADDS HALF ON TOP OF IT’S EXISTING LENGTH, MAKING IT THE EQUIVALENT OF THREE EIGHTH NOTES.
TIED NOTES.
TIES ARE SOMETIMES USED TO COMBINE THE LENGTHS OF TWO OR MORE NOTES.
SIMILARLY TO DOTTED NOTES, THIS WOULD USUALLY MEAN THAT YOU SUSTAIN THE NOTE FOR LONGER (ON OTHER INSTRUMENTS). WE HOWEVER PLAY THEM THE SAME AS NORMAL AND TREAT THE NOTE(S) THAT THE FIRST NOTE IS TIED TO AS A REST.
THESE ARE OFTEN USED TO MATCH THE PHRASING OF ANOTHER INSTRUMENT THAT IS PLAYING AT THE SAME TIME. SO WHILE WE DON’T NEED TO SUSTAIN THE NOTES AS SUCH, WE CAN USE THIS INTERPRETATION TO MATCH THE FEEL AND DYNAMICS OF OTHER INSTRUMENTS THAT FEATURE IN THE SONG.
BROWSE OUR RANGE OF FREE FULLY NOTATED DRUM CHARTS.
HERE ARE SOME MORE BEGINNER GUIDES YOU MAY FIND HELPFUL.
HOW TO READ DRUM NOTATION
LEARN THE ESSENTIALS YOU’LL NEED TO TO UNDERSTAND WHEN READING A DRUM CHART FOR THE FIRST TIME.
AND FIND OUT HOW EACH DRUM AND CYMBAL IS REPRESENTED ON THE STAVE.
DYNAMICS
THIS GUIDE TAKES YOU THROUGH THE ENTIRE RANGE OF DYNAMICS THAT YOU WILL FIND ON A DRUM CHART.
FROM PIANISSIMO TO FORTISSIMO, ACCENTS TO GHOST NOTES.
TRIPLETS
LEARN HOW TO READ AND COUNT DIFFERENT TRIPLET NOTE VALUES AND THIER EQUIVALENT RESTS.
THIS GUIDE SHOWS TRIPLETS IN COMPARISON TO STANDARD NOTE VALUES.
REPEATS AND NAVIGATING YOUR WAY THROUGH A COMPLICATED CHART.
REPEATS COME IN SEVERAL SHAPES AND FORMS AND ARE FOUND IN MOST DRUM CHARTS.
LEARN HOW TO NAVIGATE YOUR WAY THROUGH ANY DRUM CHART.
