Drum Notation

[gmckayle]

Hello,

I am looking for advice on a good drum notation system. Mostly I've learned by call and response, but sometimes I want to write a rhythm down so I won't forget it.

I've seen and used the "asterisk, circle, triangle" system but have found it to be limiting when the beats don't fall neatly into the boxes (when you start just before the "one," for example.

Any suggestions?

Gaby

[michi]

The clearest and easiest-to-read font I have seen is the one used in Mamady's book. In essence, it uses the basic idea of box notation, but presents it in much more readable form. (The person who created the font clearly knew something about font design and readability.)

The font includes notation that allows you to express three-, five-, and seven-rolls, flams, muffled slaps, and so on, and it has an arrow that marks the starting point for patterns that do not enter at the start of a cycle.

You can buy the font from Michael Peters. Cost is €45.00. The license permits personal and non-commercial use, so you can use it for yourself or for class hand-outs, for example, but you can't use it to, say, publish a book or as the font for a rhythm collection on the web.

Cheers,

Michi.

[bubudi]

there is a drum notation system on this site that is essentially the same concept. as in mamady's book. here's a sample:


there's also a free djembe font you can download and use. it differs from the one used in mamady's book but it's still relatively simple. personally i have never bothered using a notation font.

there are two tricks to representing a pattern that starts before the 'one'. some people put an arrow or similar marker where the pattern starts. others put some extra cells at the beginning and table to allow patterns that don't start/end in the exact number of beats to be more intuitively represented.

[gmckayle]

Thank you! I will check the notation system on this site. I think I found and downloaded the free djembe font, but I was struggling with using it. Hopefully this site will have examples with rhythms I know so I can understand it better.

Don't have mamady's book yet, but hope to acquire it soon!

Gaby

[gmckayle]

Michi,

Thank you for that information on the font that is used in Mamady's book!

Gaby

[bubudi]

I think I found and downloaded the free djembe font, but I was struggling with using it.

there's an element of learning with any font, but you get the instructions on that site and i strongly recommend you print those out for reference.

Hopefully this site will have examples with rhythms I know so I can understand it better.

there isn't a huge database of rhythms here yet because the notation system here doesn't currently work under safari and chrome browsers. i'm sure that one day james will get around to fixing this. it works fine under internet explorer and mozilla/firefox.

some of us use plain characters to represent rhythms. you can see examples of that in the rhythm of the month discussions.

[Babbe]

Hi,

I 'm very happy with this http://www.yankadi.nl/yankadifont.html?mode=iframe free font for several years now. Thank you again, Dennis!

Babbe

[Trumpet]

Why don't more use traditional notation? I find it much easier to read. I used MuseScore to notate Gahu. As for notes in the staff lower in the staff is bass, central in the staff is tone, and high on the staff is slap. Rhythms are notated traditionally.

[michi]

Why don't more use traditional notation? I find it much easier to read.

People who understand traditional notation often find it easier to read, sure. But the majority of people who play djembe don't know traditional notation. For them, box notation (or some variant thereof) is much easier to learn.

I can read traditional notation but prefer box notation for djembe.

Michi.