Here’s an excellent book, that is quite obscure— or was, to me: Beginning Drum Chart Reading by Gil Graham. It was written in 1983, and is only available from Graham’s site, as far as I can see. I only learned of it recently, reading a notebook kept by a student of my brother, John Bishop. It’s a stealth topic in drumming literature, what do you actually do, how do you play music.
A shockingly original notion.
The introduction sums it up:
Beginning Drum Chart Reading teaches the novice reader how to decipher, in a logical yet musical fashion, the sometimes confusing figures on a drum chart or lead sheet. It explains the principles of playing various figures, illustrates these with specific examples for large and small ensembles and includes practice methods and concentration aids. It stresses throughout the importance of good time, accurate fills and figures, creative time feels, musicality, and improvisation. An appendix of assorted drum charts provides the opportunity to practice and apply this learning. The glossary at the end of this book includes musical terms and common abbreviations.
It reads like a field manual, the tone is straightforward and professional all the way through. The examples are written by hand, by a professional copyist, that can be a little hard to read for people used to computer or traditional engraving, but you’re getting the real stuff, this is what pros have been seeing forever. In that sense this book is quite hard core. It doesn’t nursemaid people through every detail of the subject, and seems to assume that you’re playing reading situations day to day, and/or that you are preparing to do them in the immediate future. It’s for people who are going to work.
There are sections covering different note values— tied 8ths, dotted quarters, quarter note figures, 8th note figures, quarter and 8th combinations, 16th notes— and different styles— swing time, bossa nova, samba and mambo, funk and ballad time. In addition to many short examples, both of how a figure it written, and actually played, there are some thumbnail lead sheets of common tunes, with cues and figures. At the end of the book there are ~10 complete charts.
We get into not just how to read and play the figures, but how you reconcile them with your main playing duty, that is to play time— getting from one thing to the other, and back. And we get into how to handle other aspects of reading, half time and double time feels, and other less tangible things. Really it explains the entire job of the drummer, nominally in big band and show band situations, but it applies to all situations.
The common “advice” given today is to simply be a superman and be great at everything, here we understand that playing is always a negotiation, between the chart, what is actually happening musically, and our present playing abilities, and our creativity, and some other musicians. I think this is an essential library item for anyone teaching and playing professionally, or who hopes to do so, and anyone with a serious interest in this craft.
103 pages – Gil Graham Enterprises
Get Beginning Drum Chart Reading from Gilgraham.com.
Also see my other posts, Several Big Band Drumming Books, and The Chart Reading Pyramid.
I am happy to help you with any of the materials on the site, and with anything else drumming related— contact me for private lessons, online world wide, or in person in Portland, Oregon. All levels of players, and all people, are welcome.
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