Percussion notation

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Percussion notation is a type of musical notation indicating notes to be played by percussion instruments. As with other forms of musical notation, sounds are represented by symbols which are usually written onto a musical staff (or "stave").

Percussion instruments are generally grouped into two categories: pitched and non-pitched. The notation of non-pitched percussion instruments is less standardized. Non-pitched percussion notation on a conventional staff once commonly employed the bass clef, but the neutral clef (or "percussion clef"), consisting of two parallel vertical lines, is usually preferred now. It is usual to label each instrument and technique the first time it is introduced, or to add an explanatory footnote, to clarify this. Below is an example of drum set notation.

Contents

[edit] Drums

Bass drum: low A. Snare: D. Floor tom: C. Middle tom: high F. High tom: high G.

[edit] Cymbals

Hi-hat with foot: low F with X. Hi-hat with stick, mallet, brush, or hand: high G with X. Ride cymbal: high A with X. Bell of ride: circle high-A X. Crash cymbal: high B with unfilled-in diamond. China cymbal and splash cymbal: high B with filled-in diamond.

[edit] Other

Mounted triangle: ledger-line high C with "X" replacing notehead. Maraca: high-B with "+" replacing notehead. Mounted tambourine: high-B with "X" through conventional notehead.

[edit] Techniques

All note letter-names in this section refer to the bass clef.

Rolls: Diagonal lines across stem (or above whole note). Open hi-hat: o above high-G X. Closed hi-hat: + above high-G X. Rim click: X in E snare space. Stick shot: diagonal slash through note head. Brush sweep: horizontal line (replacing note head) in E snare space with slur to show brush is not lifted. (With stem this looks rather like a long "T" or a long inverted "T", depending which way the stem is going.)

[edit] Dynamic accents

-- Tenueto (-) Long and connected; Accent (<) make note stronger; (^) staccato accent = short and separated with being stronger.

[edit] Anti-accents

  1. slightly softer than surrounding notes: u (breve above or below—inverted—notehead)
  2. significantly softer than surrounding notes: ( ) (note head in parentheses)
  3. much softer than surrounding notes: [ ] (note head in brackets)

(Ghost note is a less formal alternative term which may refer either to anti-accentuation in general or to a particular degree of anti-accentuation. Ghost notes are often considered to be especially faint.)

[edit] See also