Drumming notation needs a face lift!

larsson1111

Junior Member
Hi guys, I'm new here!

I'm Joakim and I just wrote a blog post about my view of the future of drumming notation and musical notation in general! Here's an excerpt:

I learned to play drums a weird way, using video games. I bought a Rock Band for my Xbox360 console back in 2009 and feebly sat down in front of the low quality plastic drum set.[...] I had gone from a complete novice to a real drummer almost effortless in less than six months. WTF had just happened?

And besides, anything to challenge the status quo of musical notation is good. I mean, come on, the current notation system has been around since ancient Greece, god damn it. Just because it’s old and many people use it doesn’t mean that it’s good or that can’t be improved.

Read it and comment on it, if you agree or not, and what your view of the future is. You find it on www.daasta.net

I'd like to ask you to keep the discussion on the blog post since I'm promoting it on several different platforms, including this forum!

Thanks, and Peace!

Joakim
 
I'll have to read your entire piece to comment, but a few points:

- You're off by a couple of millenia on the age of the current system of notation. Anything older than a few hundred years would require special training for modern musicians to read. Drumming notation has mostly been inadequate until the last 50-60 years.

- Your premise seems to be that the function of notation is to teach drum parts to people who can't play. That's wrong.

- I'd like to be able to judge for myself whether your method has made you into a "real" drummer or not- do you have video of your playing?
 
Absolutely agree with Todd's assertions.

Modern notational systems are under constant revisions - albeit slight. Reading an original Mozart score is possible but there are minor differences and conventions present in the music that we have since changed, e.g. tuning references or systems. What I might write in a score would be different from what another musician might write in a score even if the music being written is the same in terms of pitch, rhythm and dynamics - one composer might choose to use a different interpretation of the same note value or introduce new words on a score.

Frankly, your comments seem like those of somebody that hasn't had much experience with score. I'm not a good reader of score myself but have extensive experience with it - especially when I used to sing (I was a Classical singer and still occasionally break it out) and I can assure you that although the scoring system we have is not perfect or even always necessary it is beautifully flexible and open. Composers can choose to score very 'tightly' or more ambiguously. Some composers even include graphics on their scores (e.g. Stockhausen) to express musical elements that are not made explicit by the notation.

Score is a very big area and one generalised blog post (particularly one with misinformation) is not going to change the World or even make a convincing argument.
 
I believe the problem you have with notation is the same problem that Indian drummers face, there is no totally effective notation system to write down music, you have to hear it to catch all the small details and inflections. But you don't learn music by reading it, you learn by hearing it, notation is just notes so you can keep track of everything or share with people who you can't just show them the piece, this however is becoming less important with youtube and the internet.

Plus too many classical musicians my age (young 20s) only know how to read and can't hear a part, which leaves their playing cold. Notation is a tool to share music when you can't share music, learn it. but its not THAT important especially on drums.

Writing about music is like dancing about architecture - Frank Zappa
 
The two standard books that thousands of us are very familiar with are Stick Control and Accents and Rebounds for the snare drummer. Both written by G. L. Stone from Boston. They have just undergone a new typeface and revision to allow for a cleaner and more modern appearance. It's a start perhaps? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZJKwakj1BPk
 
There's a reason it's been around since "ancient Greece": IT WORKS.

Our modern notation system hasn't been around since Ancient Greece. It's been around since about the 16th Century at best and if you're being realistic, the mid-17th Century. Precursors certainly have existed since around the 12th Century but as Todd says, they cannot be read without special study.
 
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I understand your argument for IVN vs standard drum notation, but coming up with a new drum notation that is as versatile, expressive and accurate as the current standard is just not practical. Especially when IVN requires a digital video output source and computer.

Why go through all that trouble when there is a perfectly usable system in place that only requires paper and ink?
 
What you call IVN works in a video game, with very basic groove patterns.
Anyway, I think your ability to play the song comes more from listening than from reading the IVN, and I bet you couldn't sightread the IVN of a song you've never heard, with the sound off, unless it's very basic again.

I've seen a few attempts to "reinvent" drums notation, but I've seen nothing as good and simple as standard notation, yet. Don't waste your time and learn how to read, it's not that difficult.
 
Agree with Todd as well.

I don't know of anyone who's gone from novice to "real drummer" - by any definition of those words - in 6 months.

Likewise, it's very difficult for a "real drummer" to successfully use Rock Band or Guitar Hero without considerable practice. The goal of the game (and remember, it is a game) is not to play drums, it's to play the game. It's all about playing in synch with the lights, not about playing the parts. This is why so many pros can't successfully play their own parts on these games, at least not without a lot of work. Come to think of it, I haven't heard of any drummers mastering it, although I know there are some kids out there who can play to the light signals with high accuracy. That by itself does not translate into playing drums.

Hey, Rock Band & Guitar Hero are fun. But they're games. The only thing to be learned from them is how to play the game. That said, I have no doubt you can play better than I.

As for the validity of notation, tabs are a workable alternative for some drummers. I just don't see a need to introduce a third written method for writing/teaching/learning drums or parts.

Bermuda
 
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