Writing for Drum Set
 

I understand from Sherry that there are changes in the plans for writing for drum sets in Notation Composer. I don't know how far along this project is, but I thought I'd add a few thoughts.

There's a very good book available by Norman Weinberg, Guide to Standardized Drumset Notation, that has the blessing of the "Percussive Arts Society". Here's the Amazon link:

http://www.amazon.com/Standardized-D...2059028&sr=8-1

Not knowing what you have planned, as an old mainframe programmer, our programming languages had "equates", which the programmer could assign to a value, and later use the equate, rather than have to use the value over and over again.

The book uses a staff with the first line at the bottom of the staff.

What I would like to see is the capability for a Notation Composer pitch to be equated (assigned) to a specific place on the staff, like the standard notation mentioned in the book cited above, i.e., bass drum (B2) = 1st space; snare (G2) = 3rd space; hi-hat pedal (G#3)= 1st space below the staff; hi-hat closed (F#3)= 1st space above the staff; hi-hat open (A#3) = same, with O above it to signify open; tom 1 (D4) = 4th space; tom 2 (C4) = 4th line; tom 3 (B3) = 2nd space; tom 4 (A3) = 2nd line; etc. The pitches included here relate to the Drum Jazz Set on my Clavinova.

This would present a much more easily readable (in my opinion) drum part to print. I realize that the above is a bit of a simplification, as there are many more nuances itemized in the standards book, but I just wanted to present the gist of the idea.

Comments, anyone?

Ralph Rayner

Re: Writing for Drum Set
 

I recall that several years ago, drum set notation was set for an upgrade, perhaps along the line of my original post below. Words being tossed around in the 2008-2010 time-frame were mentioning Release 3. I'm guessing that is not going to happen. Is there any projection for future releases in this regard?

Ralph

Re: Writing for Drum Set
 

Hi Ralph,

I actually picked up a copy of your recommended book below for reference, and I still have it :) We've had to shift the priorities a bit (as you can imagine) with the passing of Mark Walsen and then the transition to Reinhold Hoffmann. Supporting a standardized drumset notation is still on the "to do" list, and your idea of "equating" actually fits in quite well with the idea. From what I can see (and what drum folks tell me), the actual instrument on any given line can be different, and they don't really care as long as someone tells them up front which space/line is what instrument.

Please do let us know of any further recommendations for a drum notation feature. We can't promise a time line for it at this point, but I can say that we do listen and try to implement features to fit our users :)

ttfn,
Sherry

Re: Writing for Drum Set
 

Hi everyone,

I have problems understanding how drum notation is dealt with in Notation Composer. Is there a way to display proper drum notation with the right symbols for each piece of the drum kit (high hat, ride, crash, high hat foot, etc..) ? Also, the displayed key is the bass key, but it should be the drum key (two vertical bars at the beginning of the staff). This one particular point isn't important, but the rest is if I want to print drum parts for drummer to read and play them. For those not familiar with drum symbols and drum notation, I would like my drum parts to display the proper symbols as shown in the link below. Can anyone help me achieve that ?

https://www.onlinedrummer.com/drum-key/

Re: Writing for Drum Set
 

Hi,


The notation that is shown is really the "working MIDI" pseudo-pitches that represent each drum/percussion instrument. Composer does not currently have a standard 5-line drum kit notation feature. We have done some research on what that would entail, and it's more work than the demand for such a feature has been (the drummer in our big band might argue with that statement ;) ). We have been quite busy with other areas of the software, but do still have standard 5-line drum kit notation in the task database.


If you're arranging for a concert band or orchestra, you can indeed "fan out" these different instruments into appropriate single-line staves for each instrument.



For more information, please see Help -> User Guide and use the Index to look up "drum" for a variety of helps with the drum staff and notation.


ttfn,
Sherry

Re: Writing for Drum Set
 

If you would like to see some examples of how I use drum set notation in Notation Composer, browse through the Share Your Music forum and for example search for septet. You will find a number of arrangements that I have shared that use a fairly basic drum notation. That forum also has a number of big band charts and a couple of concert band charts that I wrote and had performed.

For example, look at my Sermonette. It's pretty basic. I'm not a drummer, but I've written parts like these and drummers will say it's a help (and generally not give me any specific suggestions).

You might also search for drum in this forum, for example, Drum Groove and a Story, which includes a little discourse about drum notation.