Studio Drummer – Chart Reading – First things First!

FIRST THINGS FIRST:

When I get a chart on a session I do the following;

I figure out the ‘road map’ so to speak. 

Are there repeats? Is there a DS, is there a DC, is there a DS al coda?

What are the dynamic markings, are there tacits, are there rals or rits, first and second endings etc?

By the way, never feel bad about clearing up issues around a chart and the way it’s ‘reading down’ so to speak.  What often happens is that you’re actually noticing a chart error on a session before the other musicians.  This happens very frequently since producers and writers are often cramming to finish a chart for a session.  At the very least it shows that you have a reading awareness and producers take note and appreciate this fact.

Then I move to tricky rhythmical phrases, ones that I don’t immediately recognize and I take a moment to interpret them.

*ONCE I’VE ESTABLISHED THAT I MOVE TO A PERSONAL TRICK THAT I USE THAT YOU MIGHT WANT TO INCORPORATE.* 

A lot of chart writers put a different amount of bars on each stave.  This can be annoying and confusing if you’re looking away from the chart constantly.  What I do is I mark 4 and 8 bar sections all the way down the chart with a pencil.  Being that we normally feel western music in 4 and 8 bar phrases this is something you should try.  I’ve found it to be a very helpful navigational tool.

This way if I have a poorly written, hard to decipher chart that has different bar amounts on each line (and perhaps no chord changes written so it’s just a bar chart)  I can look away from the chart and look back and immediately know where I am.  This little trick has been invaluable to me over the years.

Since we have the unenviable task of playing such a physical instrument as well as not being able to look directly at the chart as well as having to so constantly divert our eyes away from the chart, every little helper we can discover for ourselves will be most helpful!

tune in for the next installment regarding reading tips!

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Studio Drummer – Chart Reading – Lead Sheets

*LEAD SHEETS.*

A very real challenge for drummers is that 90 % of the time when you’re on a session you will get what’s known as a ‘lead sheet’ as a chart.  I personally love lead sheets because they don’t confine you as a player so much.  What they are is a general layout of the song or piece of music for all of the musicians. 

Lead sheets encompass the road map aspects that we’ve talked about, the chord changes, the melody and the rhythmic figures of the song.  Yet the rhythmic figures can sometimes imply figures for the entire ensemble or just for specific members.  What is good is that this process is most often left to be additionally refined by the session players.  On a lead sheet you will have a notated rhythmic phrase.  However it is not notated in a drumistic sort of way.  It is a general notation or musical rhythmic phrase.

So your challenge as a reading drummer is to intimately know rhythmic phrases that most often arise. That way you can apply them around the drum kit in any number of ways, subtlety or flamboyantly without a lot of needless forethought.

These notations are not written out in drum language so to speak so you have to know how to interpret them quickly and effectively around the drum kit.

*READING AHEAD.*

You have to develop the skill of reading ahead.  What this means is that you are playing a passage while reading a chart.  You are playing with full intensity and artistry but you have to concentrate on looking ahead on the chart to something that may be a stumbling block such as a rhythmic figure, groove change or a rit etc.  It’s true multi-tasking!

This requires that you continue with your unfettered playing and intensity while continuously counting, which is always necessary and with the anticipation and mental preparation of the upcoming event.  This again takes time and experience but it comes with practice. 

tune in for the next installment of Chart Reading Tips!

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