Do Drummers NEED to Know how to Read Sheet Music?

Learning to play the drums, or any instrument, is a very subjective experience that requires many different portions of your brain to work together. In blog post about how drummers know what to play, I drew some parallels between how learning to play the drums is very similar to learning to speak a new language. To be considered literate, a person must have a solid enough grasp on a language to be able to read and write it, in addition to speaking and understanding it. But does the same definition extend to drumming and music?

Some of the most influential drummers of all time never took a single formal lesson in their life, and by extension, never learned to read sheet music. Despite that, their ability to “speak” the language is so developed that practically anyone can relate to it on a more primal level. Even then, the metrics of what makes a drummer or musician “good” are somewhat subjective and are largely related to an individual’s cultural upbringing and musical background. So is it totally necessary for drummers to know how to read sheet music?

. . . Sometimes. The short answer; it depends on what kind of music you primarily play or intend to play, and your preferred learning style. The long answer; see below.

How You Learn to play Drums Can Depend on Setting

In the US, if you take drum lessons or private music instruction from a drum teacher, you get exposed to everything through the lens of western music theory. Western music theory developed around the use of the 12-tone octave, which became popularized in Europe, and eventually became a sort of international standard. While that’s not inherently good or bad, it’s but only one way to learn about rhythms and musical concepts.

Learning to read music and understand music theory is very helpful in the sense that it provides a more universal way to communicate about the act of performing music. You can use such terms and notation to coordinate the form of a song, describe specific parts, and workshop new ideas. Being able to read sheet music simply provides a deeper understanding of music as a whole. And if you’re a visual learner, being able to write things out may really help with grasping new concepts.

However, the inability to read sheet music doesn’t automatically disqualify somebody from being an incredible drummer or musician. For example, Clyde Stubblefield never took drum lessons, but went on to become one of the most influential drummers in funk drumming ever because of his work with James Brown. Stubblefield was very observant of other drummers before his time. He was able to intuitively construct beats and grooves based around his observations. The fact that he didn’t know how to read music is irrelevant. He had fantastic musical sensibilities and strong technique that turned the drum sticks into an extension of himself. Those skills were more important for what was required of him as a band member in a funk and soul setting.

While a drummer may be able to skirt by without knowing how to read music in more of a rock, funk, or metal setting, the inability to read sheet music won’t fly in an orchestral or large ensemble setting. Some of my earliest experiences as a drummer took place in elementary school band. Luckily, those experiences were also my first exposure to reading rhythmic notation. The only way to coordinate 30 kids with 7 different types of instruments is with the structure of a score and sheet music. Playing in school band taught me to count time, play basic rhythms with dynamics, and listen to the parts of other ensemble members. To relate it back to learning a language, it was essentially like learning to speak and read basic phrases simultaneously.

School band scaled up in difficulty as I got older. By the time I was in high school, I was able to read and interpret complex sheet music in different settings, including symphonic band, pit orchestra, jazz band, and marching band. I believe that learning to read sheet music provided me with a much deeper understanding of music as a whole, and also provided a way for me to better visualize rhythms and patterns, which made it much easier to explore different ideas and concepts. It also made it possible for my private teacher to send me home with new materials to study and practice.

Again, my experience reflects only one way of becoming a skilled drummer or musician. From a relatively early age, I intended to pursue music professionally. To me, that also entailed knowing how to read music. Everyone’s path will be different! But depending where in the world you learn to play the drums, you may encounter traditional styles of music that have no written form whatsoever.

Traditional Drum Styles

Lots of musicians that play traditional styles of Caribbean, Afro-Cuban, South American, and African music typically don’t read sheet music. The music itself is so integrated into their respective culture that it becomes something learned and understood at a very young age. Once you learn the “rules” of the style, it’s up to the individual to add their own interpretations, as long as the foundation is retained.

In a more modern sense, many gospel musicians also learn primarily through consistent exposure beginning from a very young age. Modern gospel drummers especially have really pushed the extremes of drumming, which has had an undeniable influence on the drum community as a whole within the last 15 years or so. However, it’s common for musicians that come up in that setting to not read music. Techniques, grooves, and songs are mostly learned through observation and trial by fire: carefully watching how the drummer holds the sticks and moves, memorizing song forms through repeated listening, taking note of how band members communicate with one another while playing, and even sitting in on a couple of simpler tunes. The knowledge largely passes down without any written form. Should they want to learn some music theory later on, it’s mostly a matter of putting more concrete terms to things they already know.

During my time at Berklee, I met quite a few drummers that got started in a gospel setting. Some of them began playing the drums as young as 2 or 3 years old! Since their music skills began forming parallel to learning their first language, they developed an extremely intuitive sense of how to play the drums and function in a group performance setting. For some, despite their high level of ability, they didn’t learn to read music until starting college. Learning to read music simply provided them a more universal way to communicate about what exactly they play.

Ultimately, it’s possible to learn to play any style of music without knowing how to read music, but there are no detriments to learning the fundamentals of notation. If anything, it functions as a vehicle to a much deeper understanding of music that can lead to helpful processes for developing upon ideas. But if you’re a hobbyist simply looking to jam along to your favorite songs, reading music might not be super important. Again, some of the most influential musicians of all time never knew how to read music. And that certainly doesn’t make them any less legitimate!

Schedule Drum Lessons Near Cambridge, MA

Of course, if you’d like to learn more about how to play the drums through the guidance of a professional, we encourage you to book a trial lesson with Loudlands Music Lab. Our music school near Cambridge can teach you the tools of how to play by feel, but also give you the opportunity to explore musical theory.