A note head is the blob that you find at the end of the stem of a note that tells you which part of the kit to play. In drum kit notation you will see a variety of shapes for note heads depending on which part of the kit is being notated and what 'family' this part of the kit falls into. On this page you will find an explanation of the different types of note head you will see in drumscore notation. Most of these are standard for drum kit notation but I use some extras that aren't so common to help cover the wide variety of instruments you find on the modern drum kit.
Blobs
This is the standard note head in music and in drum kit notation it is used for Drums.
Hollow Blobs
This note head is used for drums when they are played as either Minims or Semi Breves.
Blob With A Diagonal Line
This note head is used to indicate that the cross stick technique is used on the snare.
'X's
This note head is used for Cymbals.
Circled 'X's
This note head is used for cymbals when they are played as either minims or semi breves.
Bold 'X's
With a cymbal you can make several different sounds. We already have a note head for the bell so this note head is the 'alternate voice' for a cymbal. For example when seen on the line for the ride, it means hit that ride on the edge like a crash. When seen on a crash cymbal it means hit the body like a ride.
Bracketed Small Note Heads
A small note head with a bracket around it is a Ghost Note. These are notes that are played quieter than other notes.
Small Note Heads
This note head is the same as the previous, it's a Ghost Note. The bracket is sometimes removed to prevent a transcription getting too cluttered.
Triangle
This note head is used for percussion, most commonly the cow bell.
Hollow Diamonds
This note head is used to indicate the 'bell' of a cymbal. It will be written on the same line as the cymbal it is intended to be the bell of but this is most commonly the ride cymbal.
Filled In Diamonds
This note head is used for percussive sounds. It is most commonly seen as the rim of a drum.
Hollow Blobs With A Dot
This note head serves a similar purpose to the 'bold x' note head in that it is used as an alternate drum sound. It is most commonly seen on the snare line where it tells you to play a second snare. It is also often used when sampled sounds are used at the same time as a live kit.
Diagonal Slash
This note head serves is used when a rhythm is used that you don't need to play anything specific for. Two common uses of this are when the music uses an odd rhythm that you aren't playing over or when a rhythm is used as a basis for improvisation.
