Zappa Drum Transcription Inventory

Apostrophe (’) · One Size Fits All · Joe’s Garage · built 2026-09-05

37songs inventoried

11AI drum tab of the album take

24any drum tab of the album take

5AI tab exists, live take only

22human drum tabs kept as reference

2drum presence unconfirmed

Main inventory, one row per song

Three albums, 37 tracks, taken in album order from the MusicBrainz release for each record. Both yes-or-no columns are scoped to the album take: a live performance never counts as coverage of the studio recording. The AI transcription is linked whenever one exists of the album take and carries a drum part. A human-made tab is linked only when no AI album-take transcription exists. Live tabs get their own column, and every human tab stays available in the reference table below.

How a "no" is earned here. A drum transcription counts only when a drum staff holds real notes, rests excluded. A tab whose drum staff exists and holds nothing but rests is recorded as an empty staff, never as a drum transcription. A tab that could not be read is recorded as unavailable in search gaps, never as a "no".

Apostrophe (’) comparison page

#	Song	Album length	AI drum transcription of the album take?	Any drum transcription of the album take?	Linked tab (album take)	Other drum tabs (live, suite, excerpt)	Drums on the recording
1	Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow	2:06	Yes	Yes	s1459839 AI 674 drum notes · album take (length matches) s2549677 AI 599 drum notes · album take (length matches) human album-take tab also exists, see the reference table	s6075883 excerpt, AI, 934 notes, +74% s35878 suite over 4 tracks, human, 4,059 notes, -2.5% vs the four-track total	n/a, a transcription exists
2	Nanook Rubs It	4:37	No	Yes	s35865 human-made 1,309 drum notes · album take (length matches)	s35878 suite over 4 tracks, human, 4,059 notes, -2.5% vs the four-track total	n/a, a transcription exists
3	St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast	1:52	No	Yes	s35892 human-made 851 drum notes · album take (length matches)	s35878 suite over 4 tracks, human, 4,059 notes, -2.5% vs the four-track total	n/a, a transcription exists
4	Father O’Blivion	2:18	No	Yes	s35864 human-made 1,339 drum notes · album take (length matches)	s35878 suite over 4 tracks, human, 4,059 notes, -2.5% vs the four-track total	n/a, a transcription exists
5	Cosmik Debris	4:10	No AI tab exists, live take only	Yes	s412177 human-made 1,581 drum notes · album take (length matches)	s1154774 live, AI, 3,135 notes, +84%	n/a, a transcription exists
6	Excentrifugal Forz	1:31	No	No	none found	s1014276 excerpt, human, 143 notes, -80%	n/a, a transcription exists
7	Apostrophe’	5:53	No AI tab exists, live take only	No	none found	s6035435 live, AI, 2,855 notes, +12%	n/a, a transcription exists
8	Uncle Remus	2:54	No	Yes	s35894 human-made 834 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
9	Stink‐foot	6:35	No AI tab exists, not the album take	Yes	s2382928 human-made 2,599 drum notes · album take (length matches) s6205368 human-made 2,524 drum notes · second upload	s4428902 excerpt, AI, 651 notes, -71%	n/a, a transcription exists

One Size Fits All comparison page

#	Song	Album length	AI drum transcription of the album take?	Any drum transcription of the album take?	Linked tab (album take)	Other drum tabs (live, suite, excerpt)	Drums on the recording
1	Inca Roads	8:45	No AI tab exists, live take only	Yes	s412178 human-made 3,373 drum notes · album take (length matches)	s2824983 live, AI, 5,016 notes, +12% s2824994 live, AI, 4,599 notes, +26%	n/a, a transcription exists
2	Can't Afford No Shoes	2:37	Yes	Yes	s2857465 AI 1,045 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
3	Sofa No. 1	2:38	No	No	none found	—	Yes evidence Chester Thompson credited on drums (drum set)
4	Po-Jama People	7:38	Yes	Yes	s5469788 AI 3,082 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
5	Florentine Pogen	5:23	Yes	Yes	s2891451 AI 1,628 drum notes · full-length upload human album-take tab also exists, see the reference table	—	n/a, a transcription exists
6	Evelyn, a Modified Dog	1:05	No	No	none found	—	Unconfirmed evidence Three performer credits, none naming drums. The published transcription of the opening on
7	San Ber'dino	5:51	No	No	none found	—	Yes evidence Chester Thompson credited on drums (drum set)
8	Andy	6:03	No	Yes	s21495 human-made 2,461 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
9	Sofa No. 2	2:38	No	No	none found	—	Yes evidence Chester Thompson credited on drums (drum set)

Joe’s Garage comparison page

#	Song	Album length	AI drum transcription of the album take?	Any drum transcription of the album take?	Linked tab (album take)	Other drum tabs (live, suite, excerpt)	Drums on the recording
1	The Central Scrutinizer	3:23	No	Yes	s3554079 human-made 1,465 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
2	Joe’s Garage	6:15	Yes	Yes	s615252 AI 1,949 drum notes · album take (length matches) human album-take tab also exists, see the reference table	—	n/a, a transcription exists
3	Catholic Girls	4:26	Yes	Yes	s187085 AI 172 drum notes · album take (length matches) human album-take tab also exists, see the reference table	—	n/a, a transcription exists
4	Crew Slut	6:32	Yes	Yes	s4982983 AI 2,723 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
5	Fembot in a Wet T‐Shirt	4:45	No	No	none found	s748459 excerpt, human, 1,197 notes, -44%	n/a, a transcription exists
6	On the Bus	4:18	No	No	none found	—	Yes evidence Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion
7	Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?	2:36	No	Yes	s3098900 human-made 527 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
8	Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up	5:43	Yes	Yes	s187088 AI 1,049 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
9	Scrutinizer Postlude	1:35	No	No	none found	—	Unconfirmed evidence One performer credit, none naming drums. Reference sources describe the track as the Centr
10	A Token of My Extreme	5:30	No	No	none found	s817574 excerpt, human, 66 notes, -95%	n/a, a transcription exists
11	Stick It Out	4:34	No	No	none found	—	Yes evidence Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion
12	Sy Borg	8:56	Yes	Yes	s3362954 AI 2,376 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
13	Dong Work for Yuda	5:03	Yes	Yes	s768189 AI 1,606 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
14	Keep It Greasey	8:22	No AI tab exists, not the album take	Yes	s604777 human-made 4,948 drum notes · album take (length matches)	s2832032 excerpt, AI, 1,863 notes, -65%	n/a, a transcription exists
15	Outside Now	5:50	Yes	Yes	s1200335 AI 1,537 drum notes · solo excerpt human album-take tab also exists, see the reference table	—	n/a, a transcription exists
16	He Used to Cut the Grass	8:35	No	No	none found	—	Yes evidence Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion
17	Packard Goose	11:34	No	Yes	s35875 human-made 4,768 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
18	Watermelon in Easter Hay	9:09	No	Yes	s35881 human-made 2,091 drum notes · album take (length matches)	—	n/a, a transcription exists
19	A Little Green Rosetta	8:15	No	No	none found	—	Yes evidence Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion

Suite tabs cover several tracks at once. Apostrophe (’) segues its first four tracks, and s35878 Nanook Suite transcribes the run as one tab. Measured against the four-track total of 10:53 it lands at −2.5 percent, against +130 percent for Nanook Rubs It alone, so it is attached to each of the four tracks it covers rather than being scored as one song.

A live take is not coverage of the album take. Both yes-or-no columns are scoped to the album performance. A tab that titles itself a live take is never counted there, whatever its duration, and a studio-titled tab whose length sits outside the plus or minus 20 percent band is recorded as unmatched rather than as album coverage. Live tabs keep their own column so the material stays findable.

Human-made drum transcriptions, kept as reference

These stay listed whether or not the song also has an AI transcription, because they are the material for checking and improving the AI versions. 22 human-made tabs across the three records carry a drum staff with real notes.

Song	Album	Tab	Latest revision route	Author	Recording version	Drum notes	Bars	Tab length	vs album	AI version also exists?
Cosmik Debris	Apostrophe (’)	s412177	AI latest revision submitted via AI	femboy.gardevoir	album take (length matches)	1,581	80	4:19	+3.8%	yes
Don’t Eat the Yellow Snow	Apostrophe (’)	s35866	Editor	MarkDubya	album take (length matches)	560	38	1:50	-12.4%	yes
Excentrifugal Forz	Apostrophe (’)	s1014276	GP	Kevin Sheppard	unidentified, -80% vs album	143	9	0:18	-79.9%	no
Father O’Blivion	Apostrophe (’)	s35864	Editor	femboy.gardevoir	album take (length matches)	1,339	83	2:16	-1.2%	no
Nanook Rubs It	Apostrophe (’)	s35865	GP	Brandon chavez	album take (length matches)	1,309	109	4:46	+3.6%	no
St. Alfonzo’s Pancake Breakfast	Apostrophe (’)	s35892	Editor	femboy.gardevoir	album take (length matches)	851	63	1:51	-0.5%	no
Stink‐foot	Apostrophe (’)	s2382928	Editor	mariedront	album take (length matches)	2,599	226	6:57	+5.6%	yes
Stink‐foot	Apostrophe (’)	s6205368	Editor	femboy.gardevoir	second upload	2,524	114	6:50	+3.9%	yes
Uncle Remus	Apostrophe (’)	s35894	Editor	femboy.gardevoir	album take (length matches)	834	57	2:55	+0.8%	no
A Token of My Extreme	Joe’s Garage	s817574	GP	Kevin Sheppard	unidentified, -95% vs album	66	5	0:15	-95.5%	no
Catholic Girls	Joe’s Garage	s749523	GP	Brandon chavez	album take (length matches)	1,847	127	4:03	-8.5%	yes
Fembot in a Wet T‐Shirt	Joe’s Garage	s748459	Editor	Brandon chavez	unidentified, -44% vs album	1,197	84	2:40	-43.7%	no
Joe’s Garage	Joe’s Garage	s187096	Editor	Plonker	album take (length matches)	2,027	137	6:24	+2.6%	yes
Keep It Greasey	Joe’s Garage	s604777	Editor	Ben Dibden1	album take (length matches)	4,948	248	8:18	-0.7%	yes
Outside Now	Joe’s Garage	s4552353	Editor	Ben Dibden1	album take (length matches)	567	75	5:57	+2.1%	yes
Packard Goose	Joe’s Garage	s35875	Editor	Kevin Sheppard	album take (length matches)	4,768	512	11:54	+2.9%	no
The Central Scrutinizer	Joe’s Garage	s3554079	Editor	femboy.gardevoir	album take (length matches)	1,465	92	3:30	+3.6%	no
Watermelon in Easter Hay	Joe’s Garage	s35881	GP	Brandon chavez	album take (length matches)	2,091	105	8:25	-7.9%	no
Why Does It Hurt When I Pee?	Joe’s Garage	s3098900	GP	Kevin Sheppard	album take (length matches)	527	46	2:19	-10.4%	no
Andy	One Size Fits All	s21495	n/a	Leonard	album take (length matches)	2,461	176	5:29	-9.3%	no
Florentine Pogen	One Size Fits All	s2024455	Editor	Shaia	album take (length matches)	112	132	5:31	+2.6%	yes
Inca Roads	One Size Fits All	s412178	GP	Brandon chavez	album take (length matches)	3,373	322	8:53	+1.7%	yes

Correction, 5 September. A first version of this page counted a tab as AI when aiGenerated OR createdVia said so. Across 49 tabs that union changed exactly one row, and it changed it on the weaker signal. s412177 Cosmik Debris reads aiGenerated=false with createdVia=AI, and it carries prevRevisionId 2010328 and 9,376 views, so it is a long-standing tab whose latest revision was submitted through the AI route. The two fields answer different questions: whether the tab originated as AI, and how its current revision was produced. aiGenerated is now the authority for this column, and the revision route is carried beside it. The effect was that a 1,581-note album-take drum tab was scored as AI and never reached this reference table.

Why the version column matters. A human tab of a live take is not a check on an AI tab of the studio take. Where the tab titles itself as a live or excerpt upload, that is recorded. Where nothing in the tab identifies the take, the column says so rather than assuming the album version.

Drum-presence research, songs with no drum transcription

For every song where no drum transcription was found, the question becomes whether the recording itself has drums. Per-track performer credits were read from MusicBrainz, which links to the exact recording rather than the album.

Song	Album	Drums on the recording	Credited players	Evidence	Reading
Sofa No. 1	One Size Fits All	Yes	Chester Thompson (drums (drum set))	MusicBrainz recording 4 performer credits	Chester Thompson credited on drums (drum set)
Evelyn, a Modified Dog	One Size Fits All	Unconfirmed	none	MusicBrainz recording 3 performer credits	Three performer credits, none naming drums. The published transcription of the opening on zappa-analysis.com notates melody, harmony and rhythm with no drum staff. Neither source states that the recording has no drums.
San Ber'dino	One Size Fits All	Yes	Chester Thompson (drums (drum set))	MusicBrainz recording 6 performer credits	Chester Thompson credited on drums (drum set)
Sofa No. 2	One Size Fits All	Yes	Chester Thompson (drums (drum set))	MusicBrainz recording 6 performer credits	Chester Thompson credited on drums (drum set)
On the Bus	Joe’s Garage	Yes	Vinnie Colaiuta (drums (drum set)), Ed Mann (percussion)	MusicBrainz recording 16 performer credits	Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion
Scrutinizer Postlude	Joe’s Garage	Unconfirmed	none	MusicBrainz recording 1 performer credits	One performer credit, none naming drums. Reference sources describe the track as the Central Scrutinizer character speaking. No source consulted states drum presence either way.
Stick It Out	Joe’s Garage	Yes	Vinnie Colaiuta (drums (drum set)), Ed Mann (percussion)	MusicBrainz recording 10 performer credits	Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion
He Used to Cut the Grass	Joe’s Garage	Yes	Vinnie Colaiuta (drums (drum set)), Ed Mann (percussion)	MusicBrainz recording 10 performer credits	Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion
A Little Green Rosetta	Joe’s Garage	Yes	Vinnie Colaiuta (drums (drum set)), Ed Mann (percussion)	MusicBrainz recording 10 performer credits	Vinnie Colaiuta on drums, Ed Mann on percussion

Unconfirmed is not a quiet no. Two tracks carry performer credits that name no drummer. A missing credit is not a statement that the recording has no drums, so both stay marked unconfirmed rather than being scored as drumless. Settling either one needs the audio or a source that addresses the track directly.

Search gaps, so an access failure cannot become a false no

Item	What happened	How it is recorded
4 songs with no Songsterr tab Sofa No. 1, Scrutinizer Postlude, He Used to Cut the Grass, A Little Green Rosetta	Six search patterns were run against the Songsterr search API for these titles, including partial-title and single-keyword forms. Every one returned zero results on the Frank Zappa artist profile.	Recorded as no tab found, with the drum question answered from recording credits instead.
1 tab id returns http 404 s187106, listed under Sofa No. 2	The Songsterr search API lists this song id, and the meta API returns 404 ERR_NOT_FOUND for it. Its notation was never readable.	Recorded as unavailable. It is not counted as a tab without drums, because nothing about its contents was ever read.
2 tabs first read as empty, then recovered s2440098 Inca Roads HL, s4430002 Evelyn, A Modified Dog	Both returned an empty meta response inside a rate-limited batch. Re-fetched on their own, both returned http 200 with full data. s4430002 is an AI tab, which the failed first read would have hidden.	Both re-measured from the recovered data. Neither carries a drum staff, and that is now a read result rather than a fetch failure.
0 drum staves holding only rests	none found on these records	Counted as no drum transcription, and named here so the distinction from a missing staff stays visible.

The recovery above is the reason this section exists. An empty API response and a tab with no drums look identical in a results table. One of the two recovered tabs turned out to be an AI transcription. Any inventory that treats a failed fetch as a finding will publish that kind of miss without noticing.

Method

Tab data comes from Songsterr's own JSON with no browser and no login: the meta API for provenance and revision, and the CloudFront notation path for the notes themselves. Note counts exclude rests, since Songsterr emits a {"rest": true} object inside each beat's note list. A song counts as having a drum transcription only when a drum staff holds real notes.

Album track order, titles and lengths come from the MusicBrainz release for each record. Per-track drum credits come from MusicBrainz recording-level artist relationships, which is why the evidence links point at a recording rather than at an album page.

The duration arithmetic behind the version column was validated against two published tabs and reproduced their figures to the hundredth of a second. Details are on the per-album comparison pages.