Drumming Notation Lesson 2 We learned in lesson 1 that in 4/4 time, there are four 1/4 notes in a measure (or bar). It looks like this.
How do we count this? To make it easier to understand, the music is to be played at 60 beats per minute (60 bpm). So for the above example, if you listen to the sound of a clock ticking off seconds, the above 4 beats represents 4 seconds. You would count them as 1, 2, 3, 4, along with the clicking of your clock.
Quite often when we find the music notation for West African rhythms on the internet, it looks nothing like the above Western Music Notation. Instead it will be in a table that might look like this. 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a djembe1
T
T
T
T
A djembe can play three basic notes called base, tone, slap. The "T" in the table stands for a tone. So in the above example, you would play a tone on the beats 1, 2, 3, 4, just like it is written in the previous example. Now to explain the "e", "&", and "a". The "a" is pronounced "uh". In our example, we are playing at 60 bpm. Well, just like a minute can be broken down into seconds, we can break down seconds into smaller bits as well. Remember, there are two eighth notes in a quarter note. Therefore, an eighth note is 1/2 of a 1/4 note. If you look at the following table, you will notice that "&" is halfway between 1 and 2.
1 djemb2
T
e
& T
a
2 S
e
& S
a
3 T
e
& T
a
4 S
e
&
a
S
The "S" in the table stands for slap. To get a feel for this, pat your foot to the beat of 1 time per second. When your foot hits the floor, count (say) 1, then 2, then 3, then 4. When your foot is raised say "and". So, for the above beat, you would say, 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 with your foot hitting the floor on 1, 2, 3, 4. Your hands would be playing along with tone tone slap slap tone tone slap slap. In Western notation, it would look like this.
Remember, there are 4 sixteenth notes in a quarter note. Therefore, a sixteenth note is 1/4 of a 1/4 note. If you look at the following table, you will notice that "e" is halfway between "1" and "&" and that "a" is halfway between "&" and 2. 1 e & a 2 e & a 3 e & a 4 e & a B T T B S S S S To count sixteenth notes, just say: one ee and uh two ee and uh three ee and uh four ee and uh one ee and uh two ee and uh three ee and uh four ee and uh Now start patting your foot along with your foot hitting the floor on 1, 2, 3, 4. That's it. Now rub your belly and pat your head. Just kidding:) djembe3
For the above rhythm you would count: one two and three four ee and uh. Remember the beat is on 1, 2, 3, 4. Your hands would be playing along with base tone tone base slap slap slap slap. In Western notation, it would look like this.
That's it for lesson 2. Click on lesson 3 when you are ready.