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Is Sheet Music Used When You Play Drums in a Band?

We need data! We can’t guess about something as important as a drummer using sheet music to play in a band.

And what’s the best way to get data from a drummer? Hang out at the local drum store?  How about conducting a phone survey?

But before we get into the phone survey, let me give you a little background.

I was asked this question recently: “aw hey i’d love to learn drums this might be a dumb question but can you get sheet music for it or is everything done by ear?”

It sounded to me like 3 different questions:

  1. Can you get sheet music for drums?
  2. Is sheet music used when you play drums in a band?
  3. Should you learn to play the drums by ear or by using sheet music?

I answered the first question here.  This post is answering the second question.  Now, back to the drum sheet music phone survey.

The Phone Survey
[African Drum ring tone plays]

Drummer: Hey.

Pollster: Hi, I’m from LearnDrumsNow.com and I’m conducting a not-so-random survey to find out if sheet music is used when playing drums in a band. Is the drummer of the house available?

Drummer: Yeah, that’s me.

Pollster: Do you or anyone you know have an affiliation with LearnDrumsNow.com?

Drummer: Well yes, I’m the one who hired you to conduct this survey for my site.  I even gave you my phone number!

Pollster: Sorry, I got a little carried away with this survey thing. For background purposes, how long have you been playing drums?

Drummer: Many years.

Pollster: And how many bands have you been in?

Drummer: Lots of bands.

Pollster:  And what kind of music have you played in those bands?

Drummer: All different styles: Rock, Country, Blues, Funk, Christian Pop, Jazz, Big Band and Brazilian. About the only thing I haven’t played is Metal and Rap.  But I could if I had the opportunity!

Rock & Country Band Drum Sheet Music
Pollster: Could you please tell me all of the Rock, Country, Blues, Funk and Christian Pop bands you’ve played in that had pre-written sheet music for drums?

Drummer: That’s easy. Gary & the Geezers and the band at church.

Pollster: That’s it? Two bands?

Drummer: Yes, those are the only ones.

Pollster: Ok, could you please tell me all of the Rock, Country, Blues, Funk and Christian Pop bands you’ve played in that DID NOT have pre-written sheet music for drums?

Drummer: American Spirit, The Mel Palmer Trio, Elysium, Rip Edwards, Rapid Transit (in Portland), The Family Jewels, The Myron Kline Band, Carnival, Steve Unruh & Sun, Heinsight, Shakey Bone, James Lawill, Gambler, DD Smith & Taxi, Mainstreet, Montana Al & The Mutton Punchers, Tony Murphy, The Chris Ward Band.

Pollster: What?!? You mean all those bands DID NOT have drum sheet music?

Drummer: None of them had PRE-WRITTEN drum music.  If I wanted sheet music, I had to create it myself using my own song sketch method. [See The Magic of Song Sketches].

Pollster: By the way, those are some weird band names.

Drummer: Well, a band is kind of like a democracy but the people with the PA, the place to practice and the vehicle to transport equipment have the most votes.

Jazz and Big Bands
Pollster: Next question: Name the jazz and big bands where you had sheet music.

Drummer: Sam Barlow High School Stage & Pep Bands, Mt. Hood Community College Big Band & Dixieland Pep Band, Herb Marti & the Martinis, Los Angeles Rehearsal Band, Swing Set, Brazz.

Pollster: Ok, how about the jazz and big bands where you did NOT have sheet music.

Drummer: Forecast and Klyber/Nyberg Fusion Band. Both of these bands played a mix of cover tunes (songs done by another artist) and original compositions.

Pollster: So jazz is just the opposite of rock: Most jazz bands have sheet music for drums.

Drummer: Yes, that’s right.

Orchestra Music
Pollster: Name the symphony orchestras that you’ve played in that have used sheet music.

Drummer: Sam Barlow High Concert Band and Percussion Ensemble, Mt. Hood Community College Symphonic Band.  And I know what you’re going to ask next, and the answer is, “No, I’ve never played in (or have I heard of) a symphony orchestra that did not have percussion music.”

Other Drumming Situations
Pollster:  Have you ever played drums in the studio?

Drummer:  Yes, I have, mostly for song writers who have written original songs and need a demo of their music.  In those cases I usually do not have sheet music.  I’ve never played a big time studio gig where everyone’s getting paid a lot of money but I understand that they ALWAYS have sheet music.

Pollster: Are there any other musical situations where you did or didn’t use drum sheet music.

Drummer: I played snare drum solos in high school and I always had sheet music but I was expected to have the solo memorized for a performance.

Pollster: Cool.  Anything else?

Drummer:  I’ve never played in a marching band but I’ve heard that you read music to learn the songs and then are expected to have it memorized by the time you perform.

Pollster: What about drum circles?

Drummer:  Sheet music is NEVER used in a drum circle. It’s all about listening to each other and playing the rhythm you feel!

Pollster:  Thank you for you very much for your time.  We’ll tabulate the results from this one-person survey and let you know what we conclude.

Drummer: Ok, sounds good. Bye!

Pollster: Bye!

Conclusion
So there you have it.  Here are the conclusions from our one person phone survey:

  1. Almost all rock bands do not use drum sheet music unless the drummer creates it.
  2. Almost all jazz bands DO use drum sheet music.
  3. All symphony bands use percussion sheet music.
  4. Informal studio gigs don’t use sheet music but the big time studio gigs ALWAYS use sheet music.
  5. Solo snare drummers and marching bands use sheet music to learn their parts but never use sheet music during a performance.
  6. Drum circles NEVER use drum music because it would “kill the buzz, man.”

I hope this has been helpful and not too goofy.  Just trying to make the boring subject of drum sheet music a little fun!  Let me know what your drum sheet music experiences have been by leaving a comment below.



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