Transcribing African Drum Rhythms

The act of musical transcription involves attempting to capture sounds onto paper so that they can be reproduced with accuracy. There are several systems in use by ethnomusicologists and performers wishing to recreate the original pattern.

TUBS (Time Unit Box System)

The notation consists of one or more rows of boxes; each box represents a fixed unit of time (pulse). Blank boxes indicate that silence, while a mark in a box indicates that a sound occurs at the start of that time interval.TUBS is perhaps most useful for showing relationships between complex rhythms, such as polyrhythms, that would be difficult to see in traditional musical notation.

X / X / X / X / X
X / X / X / X / X / X / X

Adaptations of TAB NOTATION (DRUM TABS) are often found for performance situations.

bell:

| GO * GO * GO GO * GO * GO * GO |

Transcription Project

For general performance purposes the primary goal of any transcription project, in addition to total accuracy, should be ease of performance. While maintaining a simple note to sound relationship with usually work, there are usually techniques for making the final notation example more logical and readable. For purposes of this assignment, we will be transcribing drum notation from TUBS to some form of traditional notation.

Example A

X / X / X / X / X / X / X
  1. The best starting point, before you start the actual notation process, is to listen and/or tap the pattern until you have a good sense of the sound. This can help in making transcription definitions later.
  2. Next, based on visual representation and the sound, choose a meter appropriate to the example. As a starting point you can base the meter on the TUBS representation. In this example, the TUBS representation is a 12-pulse system, so I would suggest using a 12-beat meter with an eighth note of the basic unit, 12/8.
  3. Next, simply use an X-to-Note system resulting in:

Although this does accurately represent the recorded bell pattern, this is somewhat uncanny to decipher quickly due to the consistent eighths. Our goal is to simplify it as much as possible. There is one advantage here since this is percussion notation, without regard to duration. Therefore an eighth note or quarter note might both work.

This transcription represents the same sound but eliminates the bothersome eighths:

Example B:

X / X / X / X / X / X

After listening and clapping/tapping this pattern as suggested above, this begins to sound like a march-like 6/8 lilting rhythm. However maintaining the suggested approach, we first simply use the indicated 12/8 meter:

Once again, the succession of eighth notes and rests, although accurate, makes this less than simple to read. Thus, this simplification:

Always remember than duration is not usually an issue with drum/bell parts.

Example C:

X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X / X

After listening and rationalizing the sound, you note there are 16 boxes that can be reduced to 4/4 meter (often the case with 16-box TUBS examples) with each box then representing one sixteenth note:

Using a one to one relationship yields:

This definitely needs simplified, if possible. Thus, buy combining note values:

ASSIGNMENT:

Transcribe the following patterns from the text:

  1. PAGE A-27: Patterns B through G

Use the procedure detailed above, resulting in the most “readable” transcription. For each of these use 12/8 meter.

  1. PAGE A-32: Highlife

-Use 4/4/ meter and enhanced notation for ease of reading (manipulate note values where call for).

-Transcribe as a “score”aligning each part underneath the next very neatly and accurately.