Drum Tab Convention

BassDriver · #1 11-06-2009, 08:48 AM

Basically, the aim of this topic is for drummers to share their different drum tab conventions (the way it is layed out and written etc.) and to discuss which is best by what other people think.

Note: Tab refers to what you tablate with word processors, not actual musical notation

Mine is layed out like this:

Letters down the side abreviate the different parts of the kit.

"x" is only used for cymbals (including hats) and "o"s are for any other part played normally. "o" is only used for hi-hat when it is opened.

Capital letter means (x or o) indicates an accented strike.

one dash ("-") = one 16th note (can change depending on what notes are used some systems use a dash as a 32nd note).

Time signature is stated at the start of a song and when another time signature starts.

Some other letters to indicate how to strike and other things:
g = ghost note
c = cros-stick
r = rimshot
# = indicates when to choke cymbal

Tuplets are indicated with counting and by signs above tab

4
4
CC|X---------------|----------------|
HH|--x-x-x-x-x-x-x-|x-x-x-x-x-x-X-x-|
SD|----o-------o---|----g-------O---|
BD|o-------o-------|o-------oo------|

Typical shuffle pattern.
| Triplet
|_|1tl2tl3tl4tl|
HH|o-oo-oo-oo-o|

In this case one dash = one eighth-not triplet.

...discuss...

jeffwj · #2 11-06-2009, 08:17 PM

Please don't take this the wrong way, but shouldn't drum tab be obsolete by now? I mean it was only used as shorthand notation - usually printed out on typewriters. Now that the average person has access to a computer and music notation programs why would anyone use drum tab? Drum tab has never been recognized as a form of notation. If it were, drum tab would be taught in schools, private lessons, and you would see tab in magazines and method books.

Isn't learning drum tab now similar to learning how to change a typewriter ribbon? Again, that is just my take on it. Is there really a big push for tab?

Jeff

Boomka · #3 11-06-2009, 08:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffwj

Please don't take this the wrong way, but shouldn't drum tab be outdated by now? I mean it was only used as shorthand notation - usually printed out on typewriters. Now that the average person has access to a computer and music notation programs why would anyone use drum tab? Drum tab has never been recognized as a form of notation. If it were, drum tab would be taught in schools, private lessons, and you would see tab in magazines and method books.

Isn't learning drum tab now similar to learning how to change a typewriter ribbon? Again, that is just my take on it. Is there really a big push for tab?

Jeff

I'm with you, Jeff. There are so many notation programs available at low cost, or for free (legally and illegally...) I don't see the point of using tab. Moreover, hundreds of years of trial and error have produced features in musical notation designed to make it as easy as possible to read at pace. For instance, tab drives me nuts because it is sometimes difficult to make vertical connections between events meant to take place at the same time, and the distance between events. The same problem used to exist in musical notation until the invention of stems! Stems give the eye a vertical orientation point that helps us see the sequence of events (notes) more easily. Moreover, the "dash" method of keeping track of unplayed subdivisions is far more difficult to read than the note/rest-value based method of accounting for time/events.

But, that said, for those that love it: enjoy!

BassDriver · #4 11-07-2009, 09:37 AM

...okay, I'm going to clear things up...

...I would prefer reading musical notation over drum tab any day...but if one tries to learn a song tabs are much more available on the net than notation...

...I have Finale Notepad, but the program doesn't map the drumkit properly, and can't change noteheads for cymbals etc....

...I also have Sibelius on my PC, it is a very complicated program and my computer simply doesn't have the CPU to handle it, about 50% of the time when I open it, and the PC will at some point just crap itself and I will have to shut the program down...

...I got this good program called TabTrax, it is made specifically for drumkit notation and can change drum tabs (like the ones on the net) into musical notation, that's how I'm learning how to play Schism (song by Tool), I just happened to come across the perfect tab (they are just spot on, shows where the time signature changes and accents are and everything), I copied it, adjusted the settings (basically which letter corresponds to which part of the kit), and put it into TabTrax and hey presto I have printable notation...

nhzoso · #5 11-07-2009, 02:08 PM

I have to agree with bass driver, Tabs are much more accessible when looking for a take on a particular song. I have also tried a few notation programs and they are all cumbersome and not made for drummers.

I will look over a tab and get the general idea down, then re-write any tough parts using notation. By the way most tabs I find are only about 90% correct. But it's a good way to learn music for guys like me anyway. I am not making a career out of drumming nor did I go to any kind of schooling.

The thing I never get though is the backlash against tabs that some people have? I mean it's not really a big deal IMO and it is still much easier to access than notation. If there were web sites that offered free notation sheets or even if I had to pay for them I would use it before a tab but alas there are none that I know of.

jeffwj · #6 11-07-2009, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhzoso

I have to agree with bass driver, Tabs are much more accessible when looking for a take on a particular song. I have also tried a few notation programs and they are all cumbersome and not made for drummers.

I guess I see the reason some people use it. I never really relied on written parts to learn songs. I would transcribe the parts myself or just learn them by ear. So tab it just a way to get by until a student has the ability to hear and transcribe what is going on? (By the way, I'm not being sarcastic - it's an actual question).

Quote:

Originally Posted by nhzoso

The thing I never get though is the backlash against tabs that some people have? I mean it's not really a big deal IMO and it is still much easier to access than notation. If there were web sites that offered free notation sheets or even if I had to pay for them I would use it before a tab but alas there are none that I know of.

I don't think it is as much of a backlash as a misunderstanding between teachers and students. I have had people bring in drum tabs to their lesson thinking that this is something they will need know to be a competent drummer. Some think that it is an alternate notation that is comparable to standard notation. The student are sometimes confused when the teacher doesn't read tab.

Jeff

nhzoso · #7 11-08-2009, 03:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jeffwj

I guess I see the reason some people use it. I never really relied on written parts to learn songs. I would transcribe the parts myself or just learn them by ear. So tab it just a way to get by until a student has the ability to hear and transcribe what is going on? (By the way, I'm not being sarcastic - it's an actual question).

Jeff

NP Jeff. I guess for me you are correct, I can hear and transcribe a lot of 4/4 but anything else I need a little help. I have been playing for 4+ years and still consider myself a beginner. I don't think that Tabs have ever confused me, I know that they are just short hand for notation.