Hello!
I’m writing a lead sheet in which I need to insert some kick overs in the drum solo section.
The Drum solo section is a new flow by itself.
I’d like to have the rhythm notation above the staff and a slash region underneath
any hints?
p.s.
I’m using Dorico Pro 5 on OSX Ventura
I’m having trouble understanding. If I’ve followed correctly, you have a project with 2+ flows, one of which is a drum solo section. Is the drum kit unaccompanied in that section? If so, what would appear in the rhythmic hits over the (slash-filled) staff?
the drum kit is the only instrument in this third flow
Since those hits are not reflecting other parts, and you obviously want the drummer to have choice how to realize the hits, why not just put the rhythmic notation in-staff? (Unless your rests really mean silences, which I doubt.)
sorry I didn’t make it clear
In the flow there is the drums only but I’ll add chord symbol so that the other instrument will follow the rhythm part and chords during the drum solo
I want the drummer know where the other instruments hit during his solo
by the way I solved it
1 - I had to add an other instrument in which I wrote the rhythm part
2 - I created a cue on the drum part referring to the other instrument
3 - I created a slash region in the drum part
4 - I’ve hidden the staff of the other instrument
5 - I’ve added the chord symbols in the drum part
I wish there was a faster and easier way though 
You can write it in the following way. Write continuous slashes, and at the beginning of the solo, you can write “Solo over Kicks”. Above the slashes, you can write the kicks that the drummer needs to play as cue notes. Use cue notes with regular note heads for this purpose. However, write these cue notes smaller than normal note heads so that they are clearly perceived as kicks to be played during the solo. By the way, this type of notation in a big band is called “Section Kicks”.
In contrast, there are also “Ensemble Kicks”. These are sections where the whole band plays these kicks together, as a tutti, so to speak. You can write these sections as rhythm notation in the system. The drummer interrupts the solo and plays these “Ensemble Kicks” directly. Here is an example for that.
In the drum chart, you don’t need to write the chord symbols, as it is not customary. It makes the drum chart more readable if they are not included.
Thanks for your reply, by the way it’s a lead sheet not a Drum Part, so that’s why I wanted to add chords =)
Oh, I apologize, I misinterpreted that. 
Your notation is perfect, and it can be easily interpreted by a drummer as you have written it. It’s also fun to play. 
1 - piano rhodes and el bass and el guitar
2 - both, I want the drummer to be aware of what the rhythmic section is doing and where so that during his solo he’s free to kick what’s written or play around with it
by the way we’re going to rehearse, so I’ll be able to make it clearer if needed
Just to keep things clear. So far I know you call this notation Kicks over time.
I also use normally Cue’s. I don’t understand why the drumpart is in a different flow?
Except that I think it’s not straight time, but a solo over the chordal hits, where the drummer may or may not choose to play some/all of the chordal hits. (Is that correct, @jackpiazza ?)
Yeah, I was also confused by the separate flow, @Maarten_Kruijswijk .
it’s a separate flow because the drum solo section follows the main theme and the guitar solo each with different structure in terms of harmonic settings and sections.
this is song is treated like a jazz standard
I hope this clarifies my intentions
That will definitely work as @jackpiazza has written it. The guitarist and pianist might need to coordinate their voicings a bit to avoid any collisions between the Rhodes and the guitar, especially because of potential optional notes, particularly if both are accompanying spontaneously. But that can be easily handled in rehearsal.
I think if the drummer has to play all the kicks constantly, it might restrict him a bit for the solo. The drummer could ease off the kicks during the solo and then play them more frequently afterward. This can be discussed in rehearsal, depending on what is desired. It’s good to keep it a bit open and improvised. I think that’s very cool.
Not completely but without doubt it is the right thing to do. I was just wondering.
@jackpiazza , I would highly recommend reserving separate flows for things like songs in a collection/musical, etc.; movements in a multi-movement piece; etc.
Since you’re making a lead sheet, I assume that in other sections there’s a written-out melody line. All of your other instruments are concert-pitch, but your bass player would probably want to read in bass clef instead of treble. If it were me, I imagine I might make a two-staff “score” layout with a treble-clef player labeled something like “Guitar/Keys” and a bass player. (Optional: add a third “Drum” part, but not sure it’s necessary.)
The upper part would show the rhythmic chordal hits during the drum solo as a rhythmic slash voice with stems (Edit > Notations > Voices > Rhythmic Slashes), while the bass part would just show standard notated sixteenth notes (presumably the chord roots…?). Maybe the drummer would benefit from having a dedicated part with slashes and the cues above, as discussed above, or maybe that player could just read off of the Gtr/Keys part.
Below is a little two-bar mock-up, which is a three-player version. I added “DRUM SOLO over ENS. hits” as system text (so it will automatically appear above each of the three individual parts). Have a look at the three individual layout views and see what you think.
JackPiazza.dorico (655.3 KB)
Actually, I like to write that way too, even if it is a small band. By doing this, you can predefine some structures more accurately for each instrument to avoid discussions during rehearsals. On the other hand, just a leadsheet is also good if you want to keep it more open and create music in the moment.
thanks for your contribute guys.
In this case I prefer going for a first flow that shows a lead sheet containing melody and chords only, a second flow with chords for the solo section and a third flow with the drum solo section, containing section kicks above the staff and chord symbols
The reason behind this choice is that on the main theme interplaying between me and the other musicians involved and freedom it’s a major factor. Same thing on the other sections that involve different harmonic structures.
The only exception is on the drum solo where I want musicians follow the section kicks and the drummer to be aware of that.
That’s it =)
