Max Roach Solo – What Is This Thing Called Love

What Is This Thing Called Love drum solo transcription – a note-for-note accurate transcription of Max Roach’s drum solo on “What Is This Thing Called Love”, from his classic recordings with Clifford Brown. Every phrase of the solo is written out in clean, print-ready drum sheet music.

About What Is This Thing Called Love drum sheet music

“What Is This Thing Called Love” is a Cole Porter standard from 1929 that became a favourite of bebop musicians. The Clifford Brown–Max Roach Quintet, one of the great hard-bop groups of the 1950s, recorded it with Roach taking a solo that drummers still study today.

Max Roach’s solo is a masterclass in melodic drumming. Instead of random chops, he builds his ideas from short motifs and develops them, using the whole kit to “play the tune” and phrasing across the form. Reading it note-for-note shows you how a great jazz drummer thinks – and gives you bebop vocabulary you can use in your own solos.

A drum transcription taken from the original recording

This What Is This Thing Called Love drum transcription was written bar by bar from Max Roach's studio recording and checked against the track. It is not a live take and nothing is simplified – these are the What Is This Thing Called Love drum notes exactly as they were played on the record.

The notation is clean and professionally engraved, with clearly marked sections and repeats, so it is quick to find your place when you jump to a fill or a chorus. Print it for your music stand or keep it on a tablet – both work well.

Song facts

• Artist: Max Roach
• Drummer: Max Roach
• Style: bebop jazz drum solo

What you get

When you buy What Is This Thing Called Love drum sheet music, you get:

• The full song, transcribed note-for-note from the original recording
• Clearly labelled song sections
• Professionally engraved, print-ready PDF
• Instant download after purchase

How to practise What Is This Thing Called Love on drums

A step-by-step way to learn What Is This Thing Called Love on drums with the sheet music:

1. Listen to the solo many times. Sing along with the phrases before you play them.
2. Learn it phrase by phrase. Take one or two bars at a time and play them slowly and evenly.
3. Notice the motifs. Mark where Roach repeats or develops an idea – it helps you remember the solo.
4. Keep the swing feel. Even at slow tempos, make the phrases swing, not sound straight.
5. Play along with the recording. Match his dynamics and phrasing, not just the notes.
6. Borrow the ideas. Take your favourite phrases and use them in your own trading and soloing.

Why note-for-note sheet music?

Most free What Is This Thing Called Love drum tabs are rough sketches – the main groove, maybe a fill or two, and rhythms that are hard to read. Note-for-note sheet music shows exactly what was played and when, so you learn the real part instead of an approximation, and you learn it faster.

Who is this sheet music for?

This transcription is for intermediate to advanced jazz drummers, students preparing for jazz auditions and teachers looking for classic bebop vocabulary. It is also ideal for any drummer who wants to learn how to solo more melodically.

About Max Roach

Max Roach was one of the founders of bebop drumming. He played with Charlie Parker, Dizzy Gillespie and Bud Powell, co-led the Clifford Brown–Max Roach Quintet and later recorded landmark albums such as We Insist! Freedom Now Suite. His melodic approach to the drum kit changed jazz drumming for ever.

More jazz drum sheet music

Want more than one song? The Max Roach Drum Solo Transcriptions Collection includes What Is This Thing Called Love together with other songs, at a lower price than buying them one by one. You can also get other jazz songs one by one: I’ll Remember April, Rhythm, Hard Wired and Jazz Crimes. See them all on the jazz drum sheet music page.

Frequently asked questions

Does the sheet music cover the whole of What Is This Thing Called Love?

Yes – every section from the first bar to the last, exactly as played on the original recording. It is not a shortened or simplified version.

Is it written as drum tabs or as drum notation?

As standard drum notation on a five-line staff. Tabs can show which drum to hit but not the exact rhythm – notation shows both.

How do I get the PDF after I buy?

The download link appears straight after checkout and is also sent to your email. You can print the PDF or read it on a tablet.

Is this the full Max Roach solo?

Yes. The whole solo is transcribed note-for-note from the recording, so you can learn it exactly as he played it.

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