Learning to Sight Read.

By Jeff T. Patterson

Like many drummers, I didn't start to read drum music until after I'd played for years and years and developed lots of bad habits. First I had to break some of these habits, things like closing my eyes to concentrate on what I was playing, or playing by what "felt" right to me rather than what was written on the page. It's called sight reading after all, so I had to keep my eyes open and really concentrate on the notes on the page.

Learning to sight read is not easy. It took me several years of work to become good at it. So don't be too hard on yourself if it seems to be a struggle at first. It will come with time and practice.

If I were just beginning to learn to read music there are several things I would begin doing on a regular basis.

1. Pay more attention to counting measures, counting beats etc. Counting is so important, because this is how you keep track of where you are in the music. Think of sheet music like your road map that you use to get you where you want to go.

2. Go to some local music store and pick up some good drum books. Look through all of them, but buy the ones that look like they are going to make some sense to you. Also buy some that seem like they might be way over your head. In time you'll understand them and be able to master just about anything.

3. Begin with the most basic, simple beginners book. Get a good understanding of what the notes mean, what the values of the notes are. Each note has a time value to it.

4. Learn the basic sounds and syllables used to help you count the notes. Such as 1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and, or 1 and uh 2 and uh 3 and uh 4 and uh, or 1 e an uh 2 e an uh . . . etc. Getting comfortable with counting these things out loud will help you understand the notes on the page.

5. And this is very important, get involved with other people who are also trying to learn to read music. I learned a lot by playing with some groups that were nothing but amateurs, but really wanted to be able to read music. If you get a chance to work with a good conductor or band leader, they can really help you tremendously.

6. Don't limit yourself to just trying to read drum charts. Read the piano music, or the horn music, or any of the other instruments and try and understand how to make your parts fit with theirs.

7. Last, but not least, probably one of the best and most productive things you can do is get involved in a music program of some sort at your local Community College or University. They generally have some kind of music classes for people at all different levels of knowledge and experience. Get in there and get involved and you'll be reading, even writing sheet music in no time.

If you've played a lot of music, you probably know more than you think you do about reading it. It's like learning a new language. I remember looking at sheet music and running into notes and things that I didn't understand. It was like running into a brick wall, but then, when you start to understand it, all of a sudden it becomes very easy. You'll eventually find you can play things with multiple time changes with ease. Realize it is difficult, but you can do it.