Ringo Starr - "Day in the Life" Drum Sheet Music?

[delta]

Does anyone know where I can get ahold of some kind of notation of Ringo's drums for the Beatles "A Day in the Life"? It's a very popular song among drummers yet I can't find any kind of sheet music or tab for it. I could try and figure it out for myself but it's just less time consuming to have the music written, thanks!

[Class A Drummer]

Check musiciansfriend or music123 or somthing. You can find all kinds of drum books on these sites.

[Pete Stoltman]

Delta, I found your question very interesting and would like to comment.
First of all to answer your question I don't think I've ever seen a full transcription of the drum part to "A Day In The Life". I also found it interesting that you think it is a favorite of drummers. I guess I never thought of it as a particular drum showcase piece but a great song nonetheless.
More importantly I'd like to explore your reason for looking for a transcription. You state that it would be easier to read the music than to figure it out yourself. I'd like to commend you for having reading skills that will no doubt serve you well in your musical endeavors. However, I find this whole thing to be comparable to language skills. If you can read you should probably aspire to write as well. Most of the song in question is not particularly difficult to figure out the basic pattern. The verse (I read the news today oh boy) is pretty much a standard 4 rock ballad style. There are some interesting fills but nothing terribly tricky. The B section (woke up, got out of bed) is a shuffle variation. I think if you were to take a little time to work it out you would find it pretty rewarding and put you a step closer to enhancing your overall musical abilities.
That being said, from time to time I have seen some examples of various patterns or fills used in Beatles songs. Modern Drummer magazine had something during the past year I believe that gave some examples of Ringos style. Good luck.

[Flamacue]

Forgive me if I'm overstepping my bounds...but I never considered Ringo a renowned or sought after drummer. I may have been missing a few songs where he’s actually playing something intricate…or did he showcase during clinics, away from any of the work he did on albums? Not trying to flame him or anyone that likes him…I’m just confused where he showed world class drumming skills. Hands down, I will not dispute that he was a great performer, but not a great drummer.

[Pete Stoltman]

Perhaps not a great drummer in the sense of being a blazing technician but it begs the question of what constitutes a great drummer? He certainly played appropriately within the context of the music the group performed. Several tunes incorporated patterns that were well outside the box of typical rock and roll drumming of the time. A very early example would be the beat he plays on "Anna". This same pattern later appears on "In My Life". A song that often gets cited as a creative gem is the pattern on "Come Together". There are a bunch of other examples of things that Ringo played that helped give the Beatles their unique sound. So while I may agree that in comparison to some monster players like Billy Cobham or Bozzio, Ringo fits in way down the list but as a musician I have to give him credit for doing the right thing for the group he was playing with. A lot of guys would do well to listen to stuff like that and pay attention to how a drummer plays within a small group setting.

[delta]

Maybe I spoke to soon saying that it was a favorite among all drummers. At least with my teacher and me, we both really like Ringo. The fills on "A Day In the Life" are really neat and are partly due to Ringo's leading with his left. And no he's not the most technically proficient drummer like Cobham or Gadd, but in the word's of another Beatle (I don't remember), Ringo just knew "where to go" with a song. He played exactly what was needed.

Another excerpt I read somewhere on the net from an interview with another Beatle bandmember (I think McCartney) was that he was asked out of all the great drummers he had worked with in his career (including Steve Gadd), who would he choose among them all. He said Ringo every time.

[Pete Stoltman]

There's a long thread debating the merits of Ringo and his playing on the Drummer forum. Any luck finding the transcription? How about my suggestion of trying to write it up yourself? What is your teachers opinion of doing something like that? He should be able to help you fill in any blanks or things that stump you.

[delta]

No, no luck in finding a quality transcription. I'll just bite down and try it myself. I realize that yeah it's better if you do it that way, but I look at it like this: those hours I spend trying to figure it out could have been spent in more valuable things like actually playing and rudiments etc. To me it's all about using the time I have efficiently, I don't have hours a day to practice. I don't want to spend valuable lesson money either getting my teacher to transcribe it, but he of course will help me when I'm completely stumped.

[Pete Stoltman]

Delta, you have raised some very interesting points. I have to admit that your thread here has got me thinking a bit and as a long time drummer former teacher and interested old guy I'd like to pursue this discussion. Please don't think I'm harassing you or giving you a hard time. I'm trying to understand where you're coming from and just maybe throw a bit of insight that I've picked up in nearly forty years of drumming. You may or may not choose to respond but at least I hope you'll give some thought to the questions or responses I may pose.

So here's what I'm thinking. First of all, why do you want/need a transcription of this song in the first place? Is this just something that interests you or do you have to perform it with a band? If you're performing it, does it need to be a spot on copy of the original drum part or is there latitude for improvisation? Unless you have to perform the exact parts that were played on the recording then a written chart is going to serve primarily as a "road map" to get you from one point to another in the song. I assume you have the ability to play the essential patterns in the song. This brings up the somewhat obvious question of do you need a transcription at all? If you know the song, can play the patterns, and have a feel for where the fills should go then what's the point? Now maybe you just dig the tune and that's cool so you're wanting to really dig into it and see exactly how the drums fit into the rest of the band. In that case writing or for that matter reading a transcription while listening will be helpful to you. If that's the case I think you will find that taking the time to write the transcription will be meaningful to you and will help advance your reading/writing skills which will serve you well in the future. It may take you a couple hours to figure out this tune but the next one will be easier and the one after that and so on.

Now let's talk about the time priority thing. Believe me I know about time constraints. You only have so much time per day to practice and you want to make that count. Good, that's the idea. However, I've found that the best way to progress is with a balanced approach. You have to not only work on technique but also feed your brain. While writing and reading may seem tedious I assure you that in the long run if you are proficient in that area of drumming you will more than likely be drumming more in the future than a guy with equal or even better technical skills but inadequate reading ability. I'm not saying to neglect working on rudiments or other technical excercises but you may be able to afford to put some time into this writing thing without letting your progress suffer. I encourage you to read "Effortless Mastery" by Kenny Werner. He has an excellent take on the importance of time spent practicing and how your time is spent. Here is something I've observed and Kenny makes some points about this in his seminars. Often guys are so wrapped up in the concept that they have to get real good fast. You start thinking "hey I'm already 18 years old and I can't play like ......yet." so the tendency is to rush on to "learn" a whole lot of new things. In the excitement of doing this you push to get to some level of adequacy but never truly master that technique, song, beat, etc. because you're so worried about getting good you move on to something new too soon. The end result is that you get to be a very adequate musician. That is a guy who can kind of get things done but never become a monster at it because you just learned enough to get by. My point in this is: don't think you're wasting time whenever you're not playing. There are a lot of valuable things you can do even outside the context of practicing ON the instrument. Expanding reading/writing skills is one of them. Listening (not just hearing) to music with a critical and analytic ear is another valuable experience. Learn to get value from every musical experience and it will help you become a better musician and after all isn't that the goal? Think of it this way: anybody who spends enough time with a paint brush in their hand can become a painter but only someone who also spends time with their creative and expressive side becomes an artist. So think about if you want to be a darn good house painter or do you want to be the next Picasso.

I know this was a bit long winded but I hope you understand I'd love to see more Picassos in the world and less house painters. Good luck to you and keep up the work.

[Flamacue]

Pete...great reply. Very inspiring...I bet you were great when you were teaching. I need to meet someone like you in my part of town!

[delta]

Pete, thanks for the tips and information. No I'm not performing it with a band, it's for my own personal knowledge. My ear is ok at this point, so yes I believe I could get a passable transcription together. It's just that I'll find myself playing over a part that I know the way I'm playing it isn't "quite" right and it annoys me. I like to be spot on mostly. I dunno, just my nature, note for note. I started out my musical endeavors as a guitarist about 7 years ago, only switched to drums recently. Way I played my acoustic so percussively got me thinkin...

I will definitely take your words to heart as I continue drumming, thanks again.

[Pete Stoltman]

It's my pleasure. Glad you didn't take it as personal criticism. My goal in a post like this is just to get people thinking. I certainly don't know you or your goals but the sincerity of your questions and responses lead me to believe that you have it in you to be more than a "house painter". Good luck. BELIEVE.

[Pete Stoltman]

Here's a little example. I had to drive to a town about 20 miles away today. Spent the drive both ways listening to "Try A Little Tenderness" by Otis Redding over and over. Nobody in that band plays anything difficult at all but all fit together so nicely to build and push the tune to make it an absolute masterpiece of soul music. It blows me away. Al Jackson Jr. on drums with Booker T, Steve Cropper, Duck Dunn, and the Memphis horns. This was the best "practice time" I spent all week.