Making a cheat sheet is the easiest way to get the conversion process started. Using a ruler and a pen or pencil, draw a drum tab at the top of your blank sheet of paper that spans the paper's width. Draw as many lines as the drum tab you wish to copy uses; for example, if your drum tab has a line for bass drum, snare drum, hi-hat and ride cymbal, draw four lines. Mark which drum each line represents. Now draw a quarter note for each drum or cymbal on the appropriate line.
Use the same procedure to draw a traditional musical staff directly below the staff of drum tab. On a traditional staff used in sheet music, drums occupy a certain space or line. Let's explore this concept using the example drum set-up from Step 1: The bass drum occupies the second lowest space of the staff, the snare drum occupies the third lowest space on the staff, the hi-hat occupies the second highest space and the ride cymbal is placed on the top-most line. It's important to remember that drums are notated using the standard black oval with a stem; cymbals are notated with an "x" attached to a stem. On your traditional staff, draw each note of the drum set-up you are converting in quarter note form.
Place your sheet of drum tab music next to your blank sheet of music. Using your cheat sheet, begin copying one drum line at a time; for example, start by copying the notation for the bass drum. It's important to remember to use the rhythmic markings attached to quarter, eighth and sixteenth notes, as well as quarter, eighth and sixteenth note rests. Because these rhythmic markings are often written in a confusing manner on drum tabs, listening to the recorded piece of music your drum tab is derived from can be a big help. Continue copying the drum part line-by-line until finished.