Tips on reading music + "Numeral", Gustavo Cerati transcription.

Welcome back!. This is a Drum Cam series that includes free PDF download so you can see closely how to play what's written on a chart plus some advice on how to improve your drumming. If you missed the previous one where I talk about POCKET, click here (includes a simple exercise to play on the drums). If you have any questions please leave a comment below! I'll be happy to answer.

READING

Reading music is not any different to read text in any language, and you'd not be able to do it if you didn't know the language from the basics, like those basic things you are not even paying attention while reading this text. Are you? Are you focusing on every letter or space you see right now? I doubt it, actually your eyes go faster than what it takes you so say the words and that is because this is a language you know very well and you are constantly practicing all the time.

Look at music reading as if you wanted to learn a new language. First you'd have to learn the letters, learn how to write them, how they sound and how the combination of different letters sounds (words), then you'd have to spend quite some time practicing those combinations so next time you see them you are able to recognize them and read them immediately, like with your native language. In music, instead of letters and words, we have notes and the rhythmic ideas that you can put together by making combinations of notes.

You have to learn and practice as much combinations as possible if you want to be able to read music. The more you practice, the faster you recognize those rhythmic ideas the next time you see them in a chart.

There is no shortcuts, just like any language, you need to study, learn, and practice a lot!

BONUS - TIPS

Having said that, there is some tips that i find helpful when it comes to incorporate new vocabulary in music:

Always count out loud and in different subdivisions, for example:

• Half notes (every two beats): One, (click), Two, (click).

• Quarter notes (on every beat): One, Two, Three, Four.

• Eighth notes (two on every beat): One &, Two &, Three &, Four &

• and Sixteenth notes: One e & a, Two e & a, Three e & a, Four e & a. (four on every beat)

From now on, every time you practice something, it might be a stick Control exercise, a particular groove, pattern or any of the over 30 PDFs you can find in this Blog, do it while counting those 4 different subdivisions. That will help you to really own what you learn so you don't forget it the next day.

In this case "Numeral", which is the transcription I'm sharing with you today you only need to count to 3, since the song is in 3/4 :). For that same reason you can't count Half notes on this one, but you can count dotted half notes (3 beats), by saying just the "one" of every bar.

P.D.: I hope this makes sense in english. If you have any questions leave a comment below!

That's it for now. Don't forget to share so we can help more drummers with these tips!.

Down below is the PDF, download it, practice and have fun!. Stick around for the next post.

Bye!

GET THE PDF!

Link to the original video of PLANEADOR V