Notes and the Drum Staff
Notes and the Drum Staff
Most MIDI devices reserve a single MIDI channel for their indefinite pitched percussion sounds (snares, kicks, toms, cymbals, ect). Each percussion instrument is then assigned to an individual pitch. For example, to get your GM device to play a Kick 2 sound, you would send it MIDI note number 35 (the B two octaves below middle C) on MIDI channel 10. To get the Snare 1 sound, you would send it MIDI note number 38 (the D two octaves below middle C) on MIDI channel 10. Below is an example of what a percussion part with snare, kick, and hi hat would look like on a regular staff:
However, when notating indefinite pitched instruments, a special staff, the Drum Staff, should be used instead of a regular staff. The Drum Staff allows you to assign any staff space to any indefinite pitched instrument. Below is the same percussion example notated on a Drum Staff:
Adding Notes on a Drum Staff using the Input Palette
When you add notes onto a drum staff using the mouse, the percussion instrument is determined by two things; where in the staff the note is dropped, and the note shape selected in the Input Palette. You may want to set the status bar to update using drum names instead of note names when entering onto a drum staff. You can do this by inspecting the performance of a note and right clicking on the Pitch control. Below are some common note shape/staff locations and their default mappings for percussion instruments:
For example, to add a Crash Cymbal you would select the notehead style X from the Input Palette and enter the note on the first line above the top line of the drum staff. To add a Kick Drum you would select the notehead style Normal form the Input Palette and enter the note on the first space above the bottom line of the drum staff.
Adding flams, ruffs, and rolls
Many special notational elements may be achieved by combining percussion notes with various articulation symbols. Click on an area of the score below to see what symbols are involved in notating flams, ruffs, and rolls.
