Drum charts are musical charts written for drummers. They are used to help guide the drummer through the music. Sometimes they are meant to be read literally and other times they are used as suggestions for what the drummer should play. Drum charts include their own musical vocabulary. The music written for drummers is not the same as, say, a pianist

Pianist

A pianist is a musician who plays the piano. A professional pianist can perform solo pieces, play with an ensemble or orchestra, or accompany one or more singers, solo instrumentalists, or other performers.-Choice of genres:...

. Drummers use their own symbols and language in their charts. For example, a "middle C" note written on a staff for pianists is equivalent to the "snare drum

Snare drum

The snare drum or side drum is a melodic percussion instrument with strands of snares made of curled metal wire, metal cable, plastic cable, or gut cords stretched across the drumhead, typically the bottom. Pipe and tabor and some military snare drums often have a second set of snares on the bottom...

" for drummers. Or, the note "F" on the piano staff is equal to the "bass drum

Bass drum

Bass drums are percussion instruments that can vary in size and are used in several musical genres. Three major types of bass drums can be distinguished. The type usually seen or heard in orchestral, ensemble or concert band music is the orchestral, or concert bass drum . It is the largest drum of...

." There is no set standard for writing drum music. But there is a guide that is usually adhered to. For example, in Steve Houghton's book "Studio & Big Band Drumming", p. 9, under "Rock Patterns", Steve writes each drum or cymbal

Cymbal

Cymbals are a common percussion instrument. Cymbals consist of thin, normally round plates of various alloys; see cymbal making for a discussion of their manufacture. The greater majority of cymbals are of indefinite pitch, although small disc-shaped cymbals based on ancient designs sound a...

 used in a percussion staff and states the assigned "note." The placement of the drum notes is very typical of a drum chart but may not always be the same within the drum community.

Sources

• Houghton, Steve. Studio & Big Band Drumming. Iowa: C.L. Barnhouse Company, 1985