Most drummers might think that you only need to chart songs if you’re filling in or joining a new band AND that you need to know how to read music to do it. I have found that charting songs can be helpful in ANY context and you don’t have to know how to read music to do so.
Aside from the obvious uses, I have used song charts for writing music, learning or reworking cover songs, remembering new original material, helping new members learn songs, prepping for online drum sessions, or any type of song organization. Whether your writing music with other musicians in jam situations or all by yourself, it’s very helpful to write out song forms and audition different structures.
There are many types of ways to chart a song. There are tabs, transcriptions, and charts. Tabs and transcriptions are usually exact notation, or at least close depending on the author. They can be helpful if you would like to learn exactly what the original artist played on that song. They are also a good way to learn cool beats and fills from your favorite drummers that you can’t figure out by listening to the recordings. Then you can add these your arsenal.
Song charts are much more of an abbreviated version of a tab or transcription. They can sometimes be pretty long and specific depending on the author. However, they can also be short and simple without any notation at all. When you’re at a level where you need to learn a lot of songs in a short period of time, song charts are more than adequate. That’s because you probably already have a tool box of beats and feels to choose from to use in a song so you wouldn’t need any beats or fills written out exactly.
The point of a song chart is to remind you, in brief, of what the form of the song is and guide you in making decisions on what to play throughout the song.
As a drummer, I found a few key elements that can guide you, on the fly, to play what you intend to play for a song. My simple song chart can cover the grounds of being a “simple cheat sheet” all the way to having written out rhythms, beats, and fills. The key elements are: section name, amount of times, amount of bars or measures, what sound source to “ride” on, notes, and a staff with rhythms or beats.
Section
The section name is obvious, whether it be the verse, chorus, interlude or some section name you come up with. It will usually help remind you where the energy level is as well. Here are some basic suggestions that are commonly used when referring to different sections of a song.
- Intro: The beginning of a song which sometimes doesn't include drums.
- Verse: The verse is where the lyricist tells the story and the lyrics usually don't repeat in the song. Verses usually have a lower energy with quiet dynamics to build into the chorus.
- Pre-Chorus: Sometimes songs have a pre-chorus after the verse to "setup" the chorus. It can sometimes build into the chorus.
- Chorus: The chorus is the main "hook" of the song that usually gets stuck in your head. The chorus is usually pretty high energy, but not always.
- Post-Chorus or Turnaround: This section is usually directly after the chorus. It is used to transition back into another verse or connect to an interlude or bridge.
- Solo: The solo commonly comes after one or two choruses have happened in the song. A lot of times the solo is played over the verse and chorus sections without lyrics.
- Bridge or Interlude: This section usually changes the chords or feel of the song. It can sometimes be very different from the verse/chorus sections of the song.
- Transition: Any brief transition that connects two sections.
- Tag: A tag, is the last phrase or line of a section repeated before it resolves to the final note. It is pretty standard that when you tag a part of a song, that you play the tag 3 times before resolving the progression which leaves you hanging until after the 3rd repeat.
- Outro or Ending: The outro, of course, comes at the end of the song. It might tie into the intro or another part of the song but can usually be a little different from the rest of the song.
Amount of Times
This is where you specify how many times that particular section is repeated. If there is a 4-measure verse progression that is repeated, let’s say four times, sometimes it helps identifies the length easier than reading “16 bars”.
Amount of Measures
Knowing how many measures the section is can be helpful, especially if it’s an odd transition.
Sound Source
It’s helpful to know what the basis of the beat is when entering a new section. You could be riding the hi-hats, the ride cymbal, the toms for a jungle tom groove, or the snare drum some type of a second line groove. This can be telling of the energy level too. Just abbreviate the sound source (such as: RC, SD, HH, BD, etc.). This is the only element in this chart that is "drum-centric". If you are an instrumentalist looking to use this sheet, you could use this column for the key of the song or the chord progression.
Keyword Notes
The “keyword notes” are very helpful when you need to describe the beat a little bit in your own way. Sometimes I will use descriptions like, “half-time closed HH” or “SD build”. It could be anything that might remind you of the unique characteristic of the part.
Staff
The staff is useful if you need to write out a specific beat or rhythm to follow. It might be full ensemble hits, or a defining rhythm of the entire section that should be followed. This is your last resort when you just need to write out the part. This column can be omitted by those that don’t read music on a staff.
Remember, these charts are for you, so you can use whatever abbreviations and notes you like that will help you. These charts are simple enough that you can glance at them during a gig to give you a heads up about the next section.
If you print them out but want to be inconspicuous, just place them on the floor by your hi-hat or tape them to the top of your bass drum. If you put them on an iPad or tablet, you will be able to flip through as many songs as you need to get through the gig. Tablets mounted on kits are so common these days, you won’t look like you’re looking at a song chart during the gig.
Sometimes it's necessary to write out the parts a bit more for a drummer. Especially if you are a composer writing a part for a drummer. I really like how Goran broke down how to write drum charts in his article here. These charts would be more of a simplified but notated which would work great to communicate a drum part without over-complicating things for a competent drummer. Check that out here: Goran Grooves - How to Write an Efficient Drum Chart
Of course, I have provided my simple song chart for you to download and print for free. Grab it right here:
