Sight Reading

[CartersChops]

I have had no formal drum education up to this point. I understand music theory and notation, but I need to learn how to sight read. What is the absolute best book for sight reading?
Thanks

[jeffwj]

The best bet is to work with a teacher, so he or she can chart a course for your individual goals. If for some reason you cannot take lessons, here are two book and CD packages that I recommend.

Basics in Rhythm by Garwood Whaley
Primary Handbook by Garwood Whaley

The CDs will be a way of double checking yourself if you do not have a teacher available to you.

Hope this helps,
Jeff

[ajgdrums722]

Do you know how to read?

If so, and you just want to become a better sight reader...just read and play everything you can. Get random rudiment sheets or snare drum music and sight read it. When you're done, flip the page upside down and read it that way. If you just want to improve your sight-reading ability, just keep sight-reading.

[TheSteve]

The more you read, the more vocabulary you will build so when figures come up while sight reading you'll have a better handle on it since you've seen it in many other situations before.

[k3ng]

To learn to read is simple. I believe there are a ton of 'drum key's that you can search for on the net. Different symbols represent different things. And then it's all a matter of getting the hang of whole notes, half notes, quarter notes etc etc.

To get better at it however is to just get hold of any piece possible and run through it. It's the same for any instrument. You can tell yourself 'yes that note over there is a bass drum and a snare' but to read and play comes through practice. Get hold of any kind of drumset notations and run through them. Different ones everytime. Do not stop to go over if you've made a mistake. Just go through them, select another piece and again and again. Then you can take lets say a collection of 20 pieces, jumble them up and do it again.

[Tex12]

The Syncopation Book by Ted Reed is great to develop sight reading

[classic*beat]

I would also suggest Syncopation. That book starts you off at a good spot for sight reading. Also it supplies many ideas to develop what every skillful drummer has. Good old syncopation. Search for the forum that discusses the book Syncopation. You’ll see the large number of drummers that have used that book. I got a good number of books to play ideas from. That book is on my stand a good majority of the time. It keeps my playing fresh. I feel that using Syncopation was a traditional way for learning drums.

Keep in mind that learning to sight read in tonal systems is crucial. I was reading about Peter Erskine talking on having Alan Dawson as one of his instructors at a music camp when he was young. Alan was playing on the vibes and that was lesson number 1, drummers are musicians.

What –The Steve- said is also a great way for looking at it.

[Stormi]

If you search for "sight reading" on here you'll come on with a couple of older threads about the same thing, so you could read those suggestions too.

As the others said, just sight read EVERYTHING. I started playing a few months ago and had no background in music theory at all, so I had to start from the very beginning - not only drum notation but the basics of music theory - I thought I'd never get the hang of it, but I perservered and I think I picked it up quickly because I made myself sight read pretty much everything I played - even just practicing rudiments and other exercises, I read them as I played, even grooves I knew off by heart, I still sight read those as well, because I figure the more I do it, the quicker I'll learn, even if it's just basic music. The more complicated stuff I can't sight read, but I can at least read it and know what I'm supposed to be playing - I tried to talk my teacher into letting me learn to play by ear, he said that was the easy way out, and I'm glad I listened to him, I'd be absolutely stuck now if I didn't know how to read. It's so beneficial in that I can open my drum books and pick a page and read it and play it. It's also valuable if you start playing around on your kit and come up with some awesome groove of your own and want to write it down, to be able to do so.

[DrummerBen1]

How hard can sight reading get? Can someone provide an example, please?

BTW, I have the syncopation book by Ted Reed.

Thanks.

[LiveGoat]

Do a search for the drum chart for Steely Dan's "Aja". Actually reading it isn't really the hard part after a while so much as playing it.

--LG

Originally Posted by DrummerBen1

How hard can sight reading get? Can someone provide an example, please?

BTW, I have the syncopation book by Ted Reed.

Thanks.

[DrummerBen1]

Originally Posted by LiveGoat

Do a search for the drum chart for Steely Dan's "Aja". Actually reading it isn't really the hard part after a while so much as playing it.

--LG

Sorry LG, I searched Google and couldn't find it. Maybe you could direct me to it...?

[LiveGoat]

Here ya go. If you already know the note values and such getting a basic beat book can be a good way to practice reading charts. I started on the Carine Appice book "Realistic Rock". Somebody mentioned in another thread a book that Louie Bellson did. But the best way to learn is a teacher, especially if you're unfamiliar with dotted notes, tied notes, etc...

---LG

Originally Posted by DrummerBen1

Sorry LG, I searched Google and couldn't find it. Maybe you could direct me to it...?

[skinny]

I like writing out my own notes for sight reading
It's cheaper and I can write out endless patterns and sight read them right on the spot
Sometimes I sight read the notes to tempos on CDs I listen to