Does a Drummer Need to Know How to Read Music?
Will reading music make you a better player? Is your playing ability suffering right now because you can’t read music?
Maybe you’ve taken the time to learn, and you’ve been left wondering what all the fuss is about. It’s not like your groove and pocket became better after learning to read. So do we drummers really need to learn to read music? Is this important? Let’s unpack this a little.
Ringo Starr, John Bonham, Chad Smith, and Buddy Rich are just a few famous players who never took lessons - and who most likely never read a musical note. Legend has it Buddy Rich would listen to the band play the tune once, then he’d jump on the kit and play it. No chart, no notation. Each of these drummers were (and are) a force of compelling groove and musicality, and their inability to read sheet music or drum charts didn’t seem to hold them back in any way. What they may have lacked in the book-learning department they made up for with ear and taste.
On the flip side, players like Jeff Porcaro, Hal Blaine, and John Robinson studied music and drumming deeply throughout the early part of their lives. These three guys went on to become some of the most prolific session players, playing on many top-selling records from the 1950s onward. Like the players mentioned who never took lessons, these three guys certainly had fantastic ears as well. So is there a distinct difference between the players who didn’t formally study and those who did?
Yes.
The guys who didn’t officially “study” and yet are world class players are known primarily as “band guys.” In other words, we know them because of the band they spent the majority of their career playing with. Ringo is synonymous with The Beatles, we know Bonham from Led Zeppelin, we know Chad Smith from Red Hot Chili Peppers, and we know Buddy Rich as the face and driving force of the Buddy Rich Big Band.
Meanwhile, Porcaro, Blaine, and Robinson aren’t known for a specific group they played with. You could label Jeff Porcaro as “Toto’s drummer,” but he got his start playing on a Steely Dan record (not to mention all the other LA records he played on through the 70s and 80s). Hal Blaine was known for his work with the “Wrecking Crew,” which wasn’t so much a band as it was an elite group of session players whose work was featured on tons of records in the 60s and 70s. Robinson played on countless records as well, including top singles like “Rock With You” by Michael Jackson and “Higher Love” by Steve Winwood. He played on a lot of the Michael Jackson hits through the 80s and even played on the recent hit “Stupid Love” by Lady Gaga.
The players who DID study formally were in-demand session players who played a variety of music, recording their skills on countless artists’ records over the years. On the contrary, the guys who were self-taught spent their careers with a particular band, excelling as “band drummers.”
Now I know that this is a generalization and that there are exceptions to this rule. (Dave Grohl, another self-taught drummer famous for playing with Nirvana has also played on dozens of other popular records and projects like those guys who were formally educated.) You’ll find that many of the famous drummers who came up playing in a particular band weren’t formally educated on their instrument, while the majority of session players in LA, New York, or Nashville have been formally educated. So what does this have to do with our discussion and our question about the usefulness of reading music? Well, you have to ask yourself this question:
What do you want to do as a drummer?
Do you want to play with your band? Do you want to be able to play with other bands? Do you want to be a session player who primarily works in the studio? Or do you want to be proficient in playing covers with a wedding/event band or corporate band? What do you see yourself doing the most down the road as you envision your journey on the drums? Even if drums are a side hobby you can’t devote a lot of time to, think about what all you want to learn and what all you’d do if you had the time and freedom. What are your “drumming dreams”?
If you want to play in an original band and create music with friends, you probably don’t need to learn how to read notation. After all, Ringo and Bonham got along just fine. If you want to play in a cover band, learning 50-100 songs you might have to pull from at a moment’s notice, some basic reading skills may help so that you can form a charting system for keeping all the songs straight (more on this in a moment!). If you want to play jazz or Latin, you’ll definitely need to learn to read since most of what you’ll play will require you reading a chart placed in front of you. Sure, you could find a recording of the tune and ultimately learn it by ear. But you have to be able to sight read it first in rehearsal. If you’re interested in being a session drummer in the truest sense - playing commercials and film scores - you’ll definitely need to have your sight reading up to speed. Most studio drummers these days who play on records actually don’t have to read a chart, however, though many players choose to write a simple chart for themselves as they learn the tune.
It really all depends on what kind of music you want to play and who you want to play it with. If you’re a high school student and you’re thinking of majoring or minoring in music in college, you’ll definitely have to read well. But if you just want to play as a creative outlet, jamming with friends or playing with an original band, you may not ever feel the need to learn to read.
To sum this up, here’s a list of all the things I’d consider to be “pros” of learning to read music. (Btw, there aren’t any “cons” honestly.) :)
- You increase the methods by which you can learn. Instead of only learning by ear, you now have another tool in your arsenal, which can save you time.
- If you’re a visual person, you might benefit greatly from being able to read. This gives you a physical, visual way of quantifying what you hear in your head. This can help with fast memorization and retaining what you hear.
- You can learn complex styles of music like jazz or Latin much more quickly since you’ll be able to follow a chart without having to memorize intricate rhythms and sections.
- You can work through any drumming method book on your own and literally learn whatever you want to learn without a teacher!
That last point is worth expounding upon. Here’s the deal: You can be a self-taught drummer and go really, really far. After all, Ringo and Buddy and Bonham and Chad Smith did it. You can too! But here’s something that ALL of the drummers mentioned today have in common:
Every great drummer, self-taught or not, is self-motivated and curious about their instrument.
Every great player has put in the work to develop his or her ear, hone their technical skills, and grow tremendously on their instrument. Regardless of whether you take lessons or learn notation, only you can practice and grow. A teacher can certainly help you get there faster by pinpointing technical hiccups like grip issues, but only you can put things into practice and make the effort to practice a bunch and become a great player. NO ONE can do that for you. So in a way, every great player is "self taught." Some choose to learn faster and more thoroughly by welcoming the help of a teacher. Others aren’t able to do that, or they just choose to learn themselves. These days there are plenty of resources out there to help you learn things yourself. But if you think about, are you really self-taught if you’ve learned everything you know from YouTube and a few favorite drummers of your own? No! Those recourses and those musicians have helped teach you. These days no one is truly self taught. But that’s a discussion to dig into another day. :)
Learn to read music if you want to increase your versatility on the drums and your ability to be a self-learner. Learn to read music if you want to memorize grooves and kick patterns more quickly and develop better systems for learning songs. You have nothing to lose, and learning to read will only increase your creativity - not squelch it in any way!
At this point I can’t leave you hanging without some solid resources for teaching you how to read if you’re interested. So here are some of my favorite free resources I’ve put out.
“How to Read Drum Notation: Complete Workshop” - This half hour long YouTube video takes you in depth with learning note values and common rhythms. After watching this you’ll be ready to read and write drum grooves that you hear in all your favorite songs.
“How to Learn Any Song in Less Than 60 Minutes” - This popular, 23-page PDF guide is thorough, in-depth, and full of the practical information you need in order to learn songs fast and efficiently. This is a must-have if you’re playing with cover bands or desire to play with cover bands!
(Or check out the in-depth video workshop accompanying the song-learning guide, "5 Steps to Learn Any Song by Ear in 15 Minutes.")
Enjoy, stay motivated, and stay curious! Learn everything you can to become the best player you can become.
And don’t forget to stay non glamorous. :)
God Bless,
Stephen
P.S. - I'd be happy to personally teach you how to read and write notation and greatly speed up your ability to internalize and memorize songs! If you're interested in scheduling a one-on-one coaching session with me, just shoot me an email.
