Basic Music Theory
Instruments, not Pitches
You might be wondering, “Why not always use just one line?”
Beginners often use one line when playing snare drum, or bass drum
because it’s easier to read. But soon one line isn’t enough. Percussionists
have dozens of instruments to learn, and there are usually many more
than two instruments used in a song, and they all need a place on the
staff.
Some Percussion Instruments
These are just a few percussion instruments which use the rhythm clef:
Crash cymbals Tambourine Triangle
Woodblocks Gong Bass Drum
Snare Drum Castanets
The 5-Line Staff with Rhythm Clef
The drum set has at least three instruments, and usually many more.
We’ll use the drum set as a focus to learn the 5-line staff with rhythm
clef.
Though many people play with less, the typical drum set has 8 or 9
instruments: snare drum, bass drum, hi-hat, suspended/crash cymbal(s),
ride cymbal, high tom-tom, middle tom-tom, and low tom-tom. Most
Suspended
Cymbal
