How to Read Drum Tabs Quick Start Tutorial

Drum Notation (or Tabs) are represented in lines that are called measure lines or bar lines, and the space between any two of these vertical lines is called a measure or a bar. The notes and rests will now be seen within a measure, like words in a sentence. A drum part (or pattern, as you’ll sometimes hear it called by drummers) is made up of a measure or a group of measures, like sentences in a paragraph.

Working with measures in drum tabs is very important when discussing specific parts of songs. You can count measures in a pattern or song and name them according to their corresponding numbers. For example, you can now refer to “the third measure’ or “measure 312,” and so on. Measures themselves vary in length according to rules that are set down at the beginning of a piece of music, called a time signature. A time signature looks like a fraction. Let’s look at a time signature: