Drum tablature

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A Drum tablature, also known as drum tab is a tablature in use for drums. An example follows:

  H |-xxxxx-x|xxxxxxxx|-xxxxxxx|xxxxxxxx|-|
  S |--oo--o-|--oo--o-|--oo--o-|--oo--o-|-|
  B |o---o---|o---o---|o---o---|o---o---|o|
  CC|x-----x-|--------|x-------|--------|x|
  
(as depicted in Misirlou, Pulp Fiction theme)

Usually there are the following lines: (edited from mxtabs.net)

  CC|-Crash Cymbal----|
  HH|-Hi-Hat----------|
  Rd|-Ride-Cymbal-----|
  SN|-Snare-drum------|
  LT|-Low-Tom---------|
  HT|-High-Tom--------|
  FT|-Floor-Tom-------|
  B |-Bass-Drum-------|
  Hf|-Hi-Hat-w/foot---|

Some alternative lines:

  CR|-Crash-Ride-Cymbal--|
  RC|-Ride-Cymbal--------|
  S |-Snare-drum---------|
  T1|-Tom-1-(high-tom)---|
  T2|-Tom-2-(low/mid-tom)|
    NOTE: Tom 1, Tom 2 etc. can be continued to as many toms as you have.
  F |-Floor-Tom----------|
  BD|-Bass-Drum----------|

Generally there will not be that many lines during verses; the above is more common during fills. For example in verse there may be only 3 lines (bass, snare, and HH), while during chorus HH is replaced with RD, symbolizing a ride cymbal. Also, what to use to symbolize the drum can vary from tab to tab (eg. using 't' for LT).

Additionally, there are symbols to depict how the tabs should be played: (also from mxtabs.com)

Cymbals:

  |-x-| Strike Cymbal or Hi-Hat
  |-X-| Strike Loose Hi-Hat, or hit Crash Hard
  |-o-| Open High Hat
  |-#-| Choke Cymbal (Grab Cymbal With Hand After Striking It)
  |-s-| Splash Cymbal
  |-c-| China Cymbal
  |-b-| Bell of Ride
  |-x-| Click Hi-Hat With Foot

Drums:

  |-o-| Strike
  |-O-| Accent
  |-g-| Ghost Note 
  |-f-| Flam  
  |-d-| Drag
  |-b-| Soft One-Handed Roll
  |-B-| Accented One-Handed Roll
  |-@-| Snare Rim

Interestingly, the method of showing the notes to play in the game DrumMania essentially employed a six-line drum tablature:

  HH|--------|
  S |--------|
  B |--------|    (rotate it counter-clockwise by 90 degrees)
  HT|--------|
  LT|--------|
  C |--------|

Unlike guitar tabs which often fail to accurately represent timing information, drum tabs usually describe timing information very accurately.

Drum tabs can be created, edited and converted to standard drum notation with TabTrax and Dtab software.

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