Free Drum Sheet Music for Beginners
Drum sheet music is written on a five-line staff with a neutral clef, and each line or space stands for a drum or cymbal. In the most common key the bass drum is in the bottom space, the snare in the third space and the hi-hat is an x above the staff. Below are eight free beginner pieces by Classfern to play, hear and print.
Works in the UK and the US. This version uses US music words (measure, quarter note, eighth note, staff); the UK version uses bar, crotchet, quaver and stave. · UK version of this page
Updated · By the Classfern Music Department
Key facts
- Neutral (percussion) clef: two short upright lines. The lines and spaces stand for instruments, not pitches.
- Common drum key: bass drum bottom space, floor tom 2nd space, snare 3rd space, high tom top space, ride top line, hi-hat above the staff, crash on a ledger line above.
- Round noteheads are drums; x noteheads are cymbals.
- Stems up are played with the hands; stems down with the feet (bass drum, hi-hat pedal).
- Keys vary between publishers: always read the drum key at the start of a chart.
- The 8 pieces here are Classfern’s own, free to print and copy for lessons.
- Recommendations for standard drum notation are collected in Norman Weinberg’s Guide to Standardized Drumset Notation (2002), based on Percussive Arts Society advice.
Eight beginner pieces to play and print
Read each piece, then press Play to hear it after a one-measure count-in; the counts light up as it plays. Set a slower tempo first if you like. Judged by a teacher or parent (rubric) Rubric for each piece: 1 = with stops; 2 = steady but with a slip; 3 = steady, every note in the right place.
1. Quarter notes on the snare
2. Eighth notes on the hi-hat
3. Bass drum and snare
4. Rock beat with quarter-note hi-hat
5. Basic rock beat
6. Rock beat with extra bass drum notes
7. Four on the floor
8. Crash, beat and a tom fill
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How do you read drum sheet music?
First read the drum key to see which line or space is which drum, then the time signature to see how many beats are in each measure. Read from left to right, and play every note stacked in one column at the same time.
- Find the key: snare in the middle space, bass drum at the bottom, cymbals (x) at the top.
- Read the time signature: 4/4 means four quarter notes in each measure.
- Count out loud: “1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &” for eighth notes.
- Play the hands part (stems up) alone, then the feet part (stems down) alone.
- Put them together slowly, a column at a time.
What do the lines and spaces mean in drum notation?
Each line and space is a different part of the kit. In the most common key, low drums are low on the staff (bass drum at the bottom, floor tom just above), the snare is in the middle, and the cymbals are written with x noteheads at the top.
| Instrument | Where it is written | Notehead | Stem |
|---|---|---|---|
| Crash cymbal | Ledger line above the staff | × | Up |
| Hi-hat (played with a stick) | Space above the top line | × | Up |
| Ride cymbal | Top line | × | Up |
| High tom | Top space | ● | Up |
| Mid tom | 4th line | ● | Up |
| Snare drum | 3rd space (middle) | ● | Up |
| Floor tom | 2nd space | ● | Up |
| Bass drum (kick) | Bottom space | ● | Down |
| Hi-hat (played with the foot) | Space below the staff | × | Down |
What does an x mean in drum music?
An x notehead means a cymbal: the hi-hat above the staff, the ride on the top line or the crash on a ledger line. A small o above a hi-hat note means open the hi-hat; an x below the staff is the hi-hat pedal played with the foot.
Some charts also use an x on the snare space for a cross-stick (the stick laid across the drum, clicking the rim). Check the key – it should say.
How do you count rhythms in drum sheet music?
Count the beats of each measure and give each note its length: a quarter note is one beat, an eighth note half a beat and a 16th note a quarter of a beat. Eighth notes are joined by a beam in pairs, one pair per beat.
| Note | Beats | How many fill a measure | Count |
|---|---|---|---|
| Whole note | 4 | 1 | 1 – – – |
| Half note | 2 | 2 | 1 – 3 – |
| Quarter note | 1 | 4 | 1 2 3 4 |
| Eighth note | ½ | 8 | 1 & 2 & 3 & 4 & |
| 16th note | ¼ | 16 | 1 e & a 2 e & a… |
Rests work the same way: a quarter rest is a silent beat. In the pieces above, a rest in the hands part means the hands wait while the feet carry on.
Where can I find free drum sheet music for beginners?
The eight pieces on this page are free to play, print and copy for lessons. They are Classfern’s own, and each one comes with a player, the counts and the notes in words. For grooves you can change, use the basic drum beats player.
On lessonplanner.info, Classfern’s basic drum beats page turns every groove into a grid you can edit, and the drum rudiments page has the sticking patterns behind fills. When you are ready for songs, play these beats along with the backing tracks.
Quick quiz: reading drum music
Six questions on the drum key, noteheads and counting. Marked by Classfern Your score stays in this browser.
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