Drum transcriptions are sheet music replications of a drumming performance. These can be drum solos, drum beats and grooves, fills, or songs. Drum transcriptions are different from drum tabs, because they are written in standard music notation, rather than symbols representing the sounds a drummer played. Because drum transcriptions are written in standard music notation, they give a much more thorough representation of what the drummer actually played than drum tabs. They show the number of measures, time signatures, and the length of each note – how long each note sustains, exactly length of rests, etc.

The following drum transcriptions are free and are used with each authors’ permission.

Rock Drumming Transcriptions

The following rock drumming transcriptions were done by Robert Ferrell from Orange County, CA, USA. Robert is a professional drummer and teacher, and was a student of Roy Burns, Tony Pia, and Chuck Silverman. He has lots more transcriptions and lessons available on his site at www.robertferrell.com.

Kansas – Carry On My Wayward Son

Ozzy Osbourne – Crazy Train

Journey – Any Way You Want It

AC/DC – Back In Black

Green Day – Basket Case

The Police – Message In A Bottle

B.T.O. – Taking Care Of Business

Aerosmith – Walk This Way

Drum Transcriptions By Brad Allen

Def Leppard – Pour Some Sugar On Me

Jazz Drumming Transcriptions

The following jazz drumming transcriptions were done by Jeremy Jones from Seattle, WA, USA. Jeremy is a Grammy-nominated player and composer. He has performed with Billy Taylor, Winard Harper and more. He has more transcriptions available on his site at jeremyjonesmusic.com.

Countdown – Art Taylor drum solo – John Coltrane

Bu’s Delight – Art Blakey drum solo – Art Blakey And The Jazz Messengers

Some great books of drum transcriptions!

look inside Drum Techniques of Led Zeppelin Note for Note Transcriptions of 23 Classic John Bonham Drum Tracks. By Led Zeppelin. Edited by Joe Bergamini. This edition: Drum Transcriptions. Artist/Personality; Method/Instruction; Percussion – Drumset Personality Book; Technique Musicianship. Metal, Hard Rock and Instructional. Instructional book. 96 pages. Alfred Music #00-DF0013A. Published by Alfred Music (AP.DF0013A).

look inside Greatest Hits – Drum Recorded Versions Drum Recorded Versions. By The Red Hot Chili Peppers. Hal Leonard Drum Recorded Versions. Funk Rock, Alternative Rock and Hard Rock. Drum songbook. With drum notation. 112 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.690681).

look inside The Beatles – Complete Scores By The Beatles. Hal Leonard Transcribed Scores. Popular boxed gift set. Includes complete transcriptions of all instrumental and vocal parts. Classic Rock, Pop Rock and Psychedelic Rock. Complete score songbook. With vocal melody, lyrics, standard guitar notation, guitar tablature, standard bass notation, bass tablature, chord names and drum notation. 1136 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.673228).

look inside Metallica (Black) – Drums (Black) For Drums. By Metallica. Percussion. Metal and Hard Rock. Drum notation songbook. With drum notation, vocal melody, lyrics and drum notation legend. 76 pages. Cherry Lane Music #3509. Published by Cherry Lane Music (HL.2503509).

look inside Experience Hendrix By Jimi Hendrix. Hal Leonard Transcribed Scores. Psychedelic Rock, Hard Rock and Classic Rock. Complete score songbook. With guitar tablature, standard notation, vocal melody, lyrics, chord names, bass tablature, drum notation, guitar notation legend, bass notation legend, drum notation legend and performance notes. 368 pages. Published by Hal Leonard (HL.672397).

look inside Rush — 2112 Drum Transcriptions. Composed by Rush. This edition: Drum Transcriptions. Artist/Personality; Percussion – Drumset Personality Book. Alfred’s Classic Album Editions. Rock. Book. 32 pages. Alfred Music #00-31467. Published by Alfred Music (AP.31467).

look inside David Garibaldi — Off the Record 10 Authentic Drum Transcriptions by the Legendary Tower of Power Drummer. Composed by David Garibaldi. This edition: Drum Transcriptions. Artist/Personality; Percussion – Drumset Personality Book. Drum Anthology. Rock. Book. 76 pages. Alfred Music #00-41239. Published by Alfred Music (AP.41239).