Where Can I Get Broadway Drum Charts?
What to Know and What to Do Instead.
A colleague who has a Broadway drum chair mentioned to me a while ago that people often ask for a copy of his drum book "just to learn it." One person specifically wanted it to "work on the songs and post drum cover videos." He felt rude saying no, but weird saying yes. Here's what I told him.
This isn't a casual method book. It's the drum book for a Broadway show. That book's copyrighted and owned by the production. It isn't ours to hand out, even if we wanted to. When someone says they "just want to learn it" or "do drum covers," they're essentially asking you to share bootlegs, whether they realize it or not. Saying no isn't being a jerk. It's protecting material that doesn't belong to you.
People sometimes push back with, "Why do subs get a copy and not me?" Simple. Subs are hired by the production. The book serves as a tool for doing paid work at a professional level, provided that it's protected. If you're not part of the team, you don't get the book. Productions don't hand out scripts or orchestrations to anyone who's curious. They go to people who are officially on the job.
Now to the bigger point. Musicians live in an audio world. We make sound, react to sound, and create with other people in real time. Yes, you need top-notch reading skills to survive in a Broadway pit, and you also need to know the roadmap, catch the vamps, and follow the conductor. Still, the better players I know listen more than they read. They use the page as a guide.
If you want to learn a show, sit with the recording and figure it out. Learn the arc, the feel, and where the part sits with the vocal and choreography. Hear how the groove breathes when the singer phrases. Write your own roadmap if you need one. The page will never tell the whole story the way your ears will. Listening glues the band together. Reading keeps you from getting lost. You need both, but I lead with my ears.
About drum cover videos. I'm older, so the whole thing still feels odd to me. Sitting in a booth, playing along to someone else's part, and then posting it on the internet isn't how I learned or how I spend my time. I get the appeal. People want likes and comments. I've never needed that kind of validation. I want people to like what I do, but my goal's always been to make music with humans in the room.
Can covers be useful? Sometimes. If you truly understand a part and are teaching how and why it works, I can respect that. If you're breaking down something that's genuinely complex, like Tool's "Forty Six & 2," Rush's "Tom Sawyer," or a Snarky Puppy tune, and you add insight that helps others play it, those kinds of things can serve the drumming community. Broadway books are different. They live inside a script, staging, dance, scenery, and a very specific show flow. The book isn't a general method. It's a blueprint tied to a production.
If you're serious about learning a show, here's what I suggest. Listen first. Study the cast album, a clean reference mix if you're authorized to hear one, or official rehearsal tracks. Transcribe. Write your own chart. Learn the cues. Watch the show if you can. Build your reading, your ears, and your instincts. That's the work that prepares you to create with others at a high level.
Again, the score isn't something chair holders can hand out. It isn't ours to give.
Maybe I'm wrong about drum cover videos. Tell me what you get from Broadway drum covers in particular. Do they help you understand the show, or are they mostly content for clicks? If they help, how? If they don't, what would be more useful?
Drop your thoughts in the comments.
Thank you for raising this important topic, Clayton.
I feel like this is something I’ve been struggling with quite a lot lately—on one hand the ethical side of it, and on the other hand how much it actually helps me move forward in my journey.
At the end of the day, drum covers of Broadway songs are a way to showcase your abilities, to demonstrate that you’re aiming for this field, and to show that you’re genuinely interested and invested in it. Getting official charts is almost impossible, and we all understand the reasons why. Of course, there are occasional “leaks” online and independent individuals sharing material, but like you said in your post, I don’t think it’s appropriate or respectful to distribute those.
That being said, I do think it’s legitimate for someone who wants to eventually play on Broadway to practice the kind of material they’re likely to encounter, so that when the opportunity comes, they already have the tools to handle it properly.
For example, I’ve written out my own charts for well-known Broadway numbers just for the sake of doing drum covers. One ten-minute piece took me about two months of work, including going through around ten different chart versions, learning the notation software, practicing it at the kit, and refining every single stroke. Honestly, it turned out to be one of the most educational processes I’ve ever done—it multiplied my listening skills many times over.
I even brought one of those charts to a lesson with a well-known local theatre drummer who plays in one of the leading theatre companies in my country. He gave me invaluable feedback about what a Broadway drummer would need to see on the page, and it turned out I was already on the right track. He helped me refine the level of detail and readability to match professional theatre standards (he had played in productions brought directly from Broadway). When I showed him my playing, I got even more guidance on dynamics, sound-shaping techniques, how to listen and react in the moment, and the crucial awareness that everything can change instantly at the conductor’s cue.
After that, it became much easier for me to wrap a cover to the level I was aiming for. The next one I worked on took me less than half the time with much greater accuracy, and by the third one, I was able to complete the whole process in about two weeks. You get the idea.
In short, drum covers can be an incredibly valuable developmental tool. It’s clear when someone has poured in the effort and attention to detail versus when they haven’t. Beyond being a way to showcase yourself, it’s a powerful means of personal growth. Since it’s not always easy to find other musicians to rehearse and perform Broadway material with, covers become another practice tool—an additional way to simulate the experience and prepare yourself for the real thing. And for me, it’s also part of my personal journey. I’m proud to put these covers out on the internet today, and I know I’ll still be proud of them ten years from now.