How to play drum without scores?

Dark Heart

New member
I have played for 2 years +. Previously i always rely on scores i tab out while jamming. But recently to prepare for gig i have to do without scores. But tabbing scores i can say it is tedious.

Everytime the beats i play are different if theres no scores. Sometimes messy. Off beat. lol

How do you guys play without scores?

I started playing drum with theory.
 
Listen to the songs in parts. Break down the intros, verses, pre-choruses, choruses, bridges. Take note of the transitions. Repeat the process over and over again. Once you get the hang of it, you can remember different parts of songs faster.

Hope this helps a little :)
 
erm ya lyk wad mel said, just rmb the transitions, becoz most of the time wads in between doesnt change much, so the only changing parts are the transitions and some occasional fills in the middle.

and btw i play w/o scores too and every time i play its different, but i dont mind becoz it helps me realise that there are many ways to play the song, and to some extent, it trains my creativity for improvisation too if u know wad i mean. :D
 
@ Dark Heart:

Why do you use pieces of paper/scores to play your drums? I use drum sticks. Maybe, you should too :)

While the above may be a joke (and I hope you get it :)), there is a hidden meaning. You only need your drims and your sticks to play. Let the music in your head take you on how you play. Scores are training wheels and in my opinion, the bane of classical musicians on the free improvisation, innovation and destroys creativity. If you can memorize one single bar and play that one single bar without looking at the score, arent you playing it without looking at the score ? You can also play an entire song just keeping 8 note time without any decorations - nobody will say its wrong. That is your primary job as a drummer. But you if cannot keep time without score - that would be funny and points to something inherently deeper.

I also dont understand how without scores, you can play off your beats. That is a metronome's job, not the score. I suspect your muscle memory is not there and the musical vocabulary is not there. I hesitate to say mental music timing because if you dont have that, you cannot keep time WITH scores anyways. Music vocab is knowing the signs and directions of the road to get to where you want to go. Muscle memory is your foot pedalling the bike without your entire body being aware of it so your mind can focus on the act of making music and reaching the destination without your brains going Left Pedal, Right Pedal, etc

Once you understand the above and I apologize for being harsh and honest (but that is the best way to learn), you will realize that scores are not the obstacle for you to going to where you want to go. Keep practicising and practice the right things. It seems to me that what you have been doing is to only cycle blindfolded from Point A to Point B WITH training wheels. Once you get the above right (and I have already told you what you need to do), you will fly when the training wheels come off.
 
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Oki, I dont play the drums but the keyboards. There was once I was roped in to play for an event and I was the only new member in the band. The songs were the normal Christmas songs but the arrangements were super difficult!!! Lots of time change and syncopation. The scores were provided but each song is like 8 pages long. Ha..haa..

Anyway, back to TS question, I would keep listening to the song until I close my eyes and can still 'see' the score in my head.
 
Lol I have the same problem too. Especially since I can be a bit perfectionist when I play songs...I tend to want to play each and every beat as the drummer plays it ><

But then, cannot remember means cannot remember haha. So what I do is to remember the major "highlights" and improvise on the "smaller", more repetitive parts :)
 
Just asking, is scores really necessary? I never relied on tabs or scores, just either improvised or memorized what I hear on the record and try to duplicate that. Of course, not saying I'm a good drummer, in fact I quit drumming quite a while ago when I was 'advised' to.
 
Just asking, is scores really necessary? I never relied on tabs or scores, just either improvised or memorized what I hear on the record and try to duplicate that. Of course, not saying I'm a good drummer, in fact I quit drumming quite a while ago when I was 'advised' to.

I guess it depends on each individual. I've never really been good at memorizing stuff so I rely on tabs/scores. It's the same when I play piano...I could have been practising a piece for months but I still cannot play if I don't have the score in front of me.

Just wondering, how come you were "advised" to quit drumming?
 
i print out the lyrics.. then i take a high lighter... highlight "trigger" words.. and the write notes over it..
eg. verse starts here... then i write out the score of the groove.. be it 1 bar groove or 2 bar groove..
chorus starts here.. again i write out the score for the groove..
interlude 7 bars here... play same groove as chorus...
1 bar syncopation here... play 1e a 2e a 3e a 4eN
solo 8 bars total... 2bars drums only.. 2 bars guitar.. 2 bars bass... 1 and 1/2 bar unison... 1/2 bar fill-in "bucket of fish"
big rock finish

stuff like that... and while playing i try to listen to the vox so i can keep track which part of the song im at while im reading the lyrics.
 
@EugeneSmasher: Every drummer in the WORLD had a time when their drumming was not up to standards. That's what practice is for. We all have our weak links in our drumming, and like Mike Johnston says it, when we find these weak links, we know the weak points which are slowing our drumming progress down. Therefore you practice to get those weak links out, til you are "perfect".

On topic, to me I think that scores are important mostly if you aim to be a professional session drummer, or an orchestral/big band kind of drummer.

Do you know another reason why scores are important? Because if you know how to read them, it means you understand the value or meaning of the notes. It's like speaking a language. Would we be able to speak as well if we didn't know how to read, recognize, and write the alphabets and words? I suppose not. Because we can recognize and read words/alphabets (notes), we learn speaking (playing) them MUCH easier.

So learn some music theory! Lucky for us drummers, drummer music theory is just the basics; note values, which are like 16th notes, 8th note triplets, 32nd notes, etc, and time signatures like common time (4/4), odd times (7/8, etc etc). You get my gist.

Sorry if I'm a little 'harsh-sounding'. It's not like I can use smileys on every line to brighten up my tone! :P

Goodluck.
 
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in response to TS:

it is possible to play the drums without using scores/ tabs. in fact i can't sight read to save my life. but it depends on the kind of music you're playing. most genres don't require you to use sheets at all, unless you're talking concert bands or jazz big bands. where you have to play precise and specific parts in order not to throw off the rest of the musicians. but in a small combo band, where there are usually only 3-5 people, you should not be using tabs.

one thing i disagree is that you shouldn't memorize the sheet music or anything. you should feel and remember the music in your heart not your head and let your natural groove guide what you play. every drummer has a different style and sense of groove. the original drummer for any particular rock song probably didn't have any score or tabs too. they just play what they feel is right, and as a musician (yes, drummers are musicians too) you should develop that sense of musicality too. it might not be exactly the same as that on the record, but it's alright. different people have different levels of skill, you've only played for 2 years, professional drummers out there have been playing for at least 8-10 years. so trying to play what they play might not be the way to go.

it'll be like asking a 5 year old child to read shakespeare literature. even if he can read the words, he will not be able to read it smoothly and coherently. and most importantly, in all forms of arts, he will not be able to bring out the emotions and the meaning of the literature.

so instead of focusing on what to play, focus on how YOU can bring out the emotions of the particular song, injecting YOUR own musicality and rhythming emotions into it with the limited skill you have. when you play much longer and go into deeper understanding of music as a whole, then you'll realize that you'll be able to "channel" the "spirit" of the other drummers when you play their songs. i'm not talking about spirit possession, but you'll understand when you get to that level and listen a lot, you'll actually be able to understand what other drummers are feeling, thinking, and how they interpret a certain song, and you can apply it to your own playing. this is what people mean when they ask you who your influences are. they aren't asking you what bands or drummers you like, they're asking you "who are the drummers you incorporate into your drumming, so to speak."

i hope you keep trying and don't be afraid to express yourself. this is what music is after all: expression, not imitation.

edit:

just want to add on using the analogy that Mr. Mouse used above.

music IS a language. i'll explain briefly to tie in to what i say. language is an expression. if you're hungry and you want to eat, you say the words "i'm hungry, and i want to eat". so just like in music, each note should reflect what you want to say and how you feel. hence, musical dialogue. and just like in every language, you have to understand how to read, write AND speak the language.

as mentioned, the notes are the words, musical phrases are the sentences, and the whole song is what you want to say. everybody says different things in different ways. so if one drummer is hungry, he'll say "hey let's go eat, i'm starving." another will say "i'm hungry". there is no universal sentence to express a particular emotion.

so likewise, if YOU are hungry. you won't take out a cheat sheet and read off the paper just to let others know you're hungry. you will say it YOUR way and how YOU normally say it. so as in every language, understanding the alphabets is important, but you also have to ultimately use it to express yourself.

so unless you're doing a recital, or are required to particularly play specific parts and rhythms. you should work to develop your own musical vocabulary and sentences.
 
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