# Musician dopers, I need help **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 12, 2006, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-dopers-i-need-help/348026 "2006-03-12T07:14:27Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 6\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 7:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-dopers-i-need-help/348026/1 "2006-03-12T07:14:27Z")
I’m trying to transcribe a 4 instrument (really simlpe) 4 beat measure. It consists of a constant 16th note cowbell (the source of my angst) a high hat , a snare, and a kick (bass drum). The cowbell is really making me mad, since it obscures other sounds, and my hearing ain’t so good. I need a chart of the pattern in the form of four groups of four (sixteenth notes separated into fours). I tried to map out the score, and it failed miserably, help? ---
**Author:** ![DfrntBreign](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/f6c823/32.png) [@DfrntBreign](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DfrntBreign)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 10:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-dopers-i-need-help/348026/2 "2006-03-12T10:17:36Z")
I don’t think I understand the question. I don’t write much (or very well), but I’ve read a lot of drum music (a long time ago) and all I can think is maybe you haven’t. If that’s the case, then maybe this will help. It is one bar (measure) of drum notation. The cowbell part (what I think you are asking about) is above the staff and in a pretty common form. The high-hat part is straight eighth notes, the bass drum and snare are “rock pattern #2” (I made that last part up). [sixteenth note cowbell part](http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cowbellpart4uw.jpg) ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 2:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-dopers-i-need-help/348026/3 "2006-03-12T14:03:09Z")
> [@DfrntBreign](#): > > I don’t think I understand the question. I don’t write much (or very well), but I’ve read a lot of drum music (a long time ago) and all I can think is maybe you haven’t. If that’s the case, then maybe this will help. It is one bar (measure) of drum notation. The cowbell part (what I think you are asking about) is above the staff and in a pretty common form. The high-hat part is straight eighth notes, the bass drum and snare are “rock pattern #2” (I made that last part up). > [sixteenth note cowbell part](http://img216.imageshack.us/my.php?image=cowbellpart4uw.jpg) You should use the drum clef for that, not a treble clef (since your instruments are not pitched and your notation does not correspond to pitches)-- [something that looks like this.](http://www.drummingweb.com/lessons/img/oddmeters2a.gif) Otherwise, I’m not exactly sure what the OP is asking. ---
**Author:** ![jimson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/ecccb3/32.png) [@jimson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/jimson)\ **Post date:** [March 12, 2006, 4:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-dopers-i-need-help/348026/4 "2006-03-12T16:10:14Z")
Wish I could help – I don’t really write drum parts, although I’m familiar with the manner in which they are scored. It sounds to me like you’re asking two things above, though: how to notate the rhythms accurately; and how to get around the masking effect of the cowbells. I’d use a good EQ to filter some of the sounds that get in your way, and I would personally (given that I’m not experienced with notating complex polyrhythms) slow down the track maybe by 50% using something like Transcribe! (which has a good EQ filter as well). ---
**Author:** ![dnooman](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/839c29/32.png) [@dnooman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dnooman)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 3:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-dopers-i-need-help/348026/5 "2006-03-13T03:24:44Z")
It probably would have helped if I had included a [link](http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=96991298-14f5-4e11-b04a-40073bd00504) to the page that plays the track in question. :smack: Sorry. Can anyone chart it? I think I hear the kick on the one, the e of the third beat, and the a of the fourth beat. I think the snare is on the 2, the a of 2, the 3, and the a of the third beat. All sixteen notes would be 1e&a 2e&a 3e&a 4e&a if counted aloud. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [March 13, 2006, 5:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/musician-dopers-i-need-help/348026/6 "2006-03-13T05:14:42Z")
> [@dnooman](#): > > It probably would have helped if I had included a [link](http://www.geocaching.com/seek/cache_details.aspx?guid=96991298-14f5-4e11-b04a-40073bd00504) to the page that plays the track in question. :smack: Sorry. > > Can anyone chart it? > > I think I hear the kick on the one, the e of the third beat, and the a of the fourth beat. I think the snare is on the 2, the a of 2, the 3, and the a of the third beat. > > All sixteen notes would be 1e&a 2e&a 3e&a 4e&a if counted aloud. ~60 bpm Cowbell on all 16ths Kick on 1, 3, 3a, 4a Snare on 2, 2a, 3e, 4 Hi-hat on 1&, 2&, 3&, 4&