Drum Notation Chart
Which line or space means which drum · the PAS standard key · tap any symbol to hear it
How to play
- Drums are written on an ordinary 5-line staff, but the lines and spaces do not mean pitches — each one is assigned to a piece of the kit. The clef at the start is the percussion clef (two thick vertical bars), which is what tells you to read it that way. Tap any symbol to hear that drum.
- The positions here follow the Percussive Arts Society standard, set out in Norman Weinberg's Guidelines for Drumset Notation. The neat rule underneath it: hi-hats go on spaces, hanging cymbals go on lines. That is what separates the ride (top line) from the hi-hat (the space just above it).
- Noteheads carry meaning. A normal filled head is a drum; an × is a cymbal — any cymbal. Position tells you which one. A normal head inside a circle is a rimshot, not a cymbal, so do not confuse the two.
- Tom positions are not fixed, and this surprises people. The standard does not define “tom 1, tom 2, tom 3” — it assigns positions based on how many toms the piece uses in total. Change the Toms setting and watch them move. With five or more toms the highest one lands on the ride's line, which is exactly why big kits need their own printed key.
- Open hi-hat is marked with a small circle above the note. Closed is the default and is normally left unmarked — the standard specifically says putting a + over every closed note would be “cumbersome and clumsy”.
- Play the groove reads a one-bar rock beat off the staff, lighting each note as it sounds: hi-hats on every eighth, snare on beats 2 and 4, bass drum on 1 and 3. Tap it again to stop.
- Two symbols are not defined by the standard and genuinely vary between publishers: the ride bell (shown here as a diamond on the ride's line) and the cross-stick (shown as an × in the snare position). You will also meet the crash drawn as a circled × rather than the plain × the standard specifies.
- Because of that variation, the standard's very first rule is that every chart should include a key — which is what this chart is. Read the key before you read the music.
- Keyboard — Tab to any symbol and press Enter or Space to hear it.
Clicking on the music staff, or pressing the right keys on your computer keyboard will let you use this drum notation widget. It’s not only a useful visual aid but also a playable map of what note is where on each drum and cymbal. This means that you’ll gain an understanding of the Percussive Arts Society standard used in most moddern drum charts.
You will notice that there is a musical staff displaying note heads for various kit parts in the main area. Each symbol refer to a particular position of drums or cymbals. If you choose a note then this appear in the readout box above the staff along with name of the instrument. You can see exactly where the cymbal, toms, bass drum and snare are positioned in relation to one another.
How to Use This Drum Notation Tool
At the top of the kit you have the ability to change its layout via Toms control. These is the numbered buttons. Clicking one of these buttons will change the number of tom that show up on the staff. Note, when you do this the tom notes automatically adjusts to match. Here they follows normal notational rules. This is helpful if you want to see how notation differs between say a two-tom set-up and a five- or six-tom kit. You’ll notice the location of the highest placed tom adjusts according to this choice, so although charts might indicate same instruments, sometimes they may vary in appearance.
The symbols represent musical notes which you can click on to listen to that note played on the instrument. Alternatively, you can navigate from one note to another using your computer keyboard. To make an element stand out and be ‘selected’, just use tab key or the arrow keys to step through it and then hit Space or Enter to activate the sound. If you don’t want to use the mouse this will speed up how fast you can navigate between instruments and notes. All of the sounds is made, so no external samples or audio files are needed.
Below you will find the Play the groove button that illustrates a typical rock beat. When clicked it perform a one bar loop consisting of the bass drum, snare and hi-hats. The lights come on below as note are played. What this does is show you exactly which notes corresponds to which drums and cymbals. This is a very useful illustration of how these notations become actualy rhythms. Hit the button once more and the performance stop.
To turn down the sound, use the slider located in the bottom right-hand corner to match what you need.
If you’re out of practice with reading music, click on the How to play button. This will bring up a help panel that details the note head shape and basic clef (percussion in this case). It also explain how they work. It details the rules about where to place the cymbals and hi-hats, and it clears up common misunderstandings, such as when to use a cymbal versus a rimshot. Read through the guidelines and then close the panel by clicking on the same button again.
On smaller devices, click the Fullscreen button for an expanded view. The widget will expand to occupy your browser window. This lets you more easy read through the descriptions and get a better look at the notation detail. This is especially useful when you follow along with the example of lighting the groove closely in time. To exit fullscreen, simply click the same button again or use the normal commands to exit in your browser.
Click through all the notes and take some time to get familiar with the layout. Note where the ride cymbal is positioned on a line, whereas the hi-hat is placed on a space. Watch the position of the toms as you change the number of tom. Listen to the groove playback and relate the rhythmic pattern to what you see in the notation. You should of get your hands on it and this will become far more intuitive for reading standard drum charts.