Rudiments of Music
Music is written on a STAFF, which consists of 5 parallel lines between which there are 4 spaces.
All drum music begins with the BASS CLEF sign. This sign is also used for low pitched instruments such as the bass guitar and the bass line of a piano part.
BAR LINES are drawn across the staff, which divide the music into sections called BARS or MEASURES.
A DOUBLE BAR LINE signifies either the end of the music, or the end of an important section of it.
Two dots placed before a double bar line indicate that the music is to be repeated, from the beginning of the piece of music or from a previous set of repeat signs.
Time Signatures
At the beginning of each piece of music, after the bass clef, is the time signature. The time signature indicates the "feel" of the music, e.g., rock (*), waltz (^), etc.
Time Signature
The time signature indicates the number of beats per bar (the top number) and the type of note receiving one beat (the bottom number). For example:
4 - this indicates 4 beats per bar.
4 - this indicates that each beat is worth a quarter note (crotchet).
* is the most common time signature used in rock music and is sometimes represented by this symbol Q
called COMMON TIME.
Other time signatures used in this book are ^, ) and + time.
