Easy Drum Songs For Beginners

As a beginner drummer, it can be hard to find songs to learn. Many songs you consider may sound too fast or complicated for your level. Fret not, there are lots that you can master!

Some of the biggest hits actually fit very well for beginners. They often feature the same four-on-the-floor pattern (a rhythm in 4/4 time where the bass drum is played on every beat), and a backbeat on the snare (beats two and four) – one of the first grooves you learn when you’re starting out. Because of that, beginner drummers can play numerous popular songs.

Below you can find a list of the best drum songs for beginners with BPM information, sheet music, and video tutorials.

🥁AC/DC – Highway to Hell

BPM: 118

Sheet: click here

Almost all AC/DC songs are a good fit for beginners but let’s go with their biggest hit. It's not at all a highway to hell to play!

There is a simple rock beat during the verses with one variation in the kick. Following into the chorus is a simple build with the floor tom and snare. The chorus itself features that same rock beat with a few hits in unison with the guitar. The second verse has a couple of open hi-hats.

Some more strikes with the guitar are brought into the guitar solo that blends into another chorus which ends the song. In the end, there is a large cymbal roll – be sure to build the dynamic level as the roll continues.

🥁Nirvana – Come As You Are

BPM: 120

Sheet: click here

This classic song showcases Dave Grohl at his best – lots of power and rebellion in the sound, it’s a joy to play it for drummers of all levels.

A small tom fill at the beginning goes into a groove that perfectly matches the guitar riff. As you get to the pre-chorus, the snare drum fills happen every other measure. The chorus includes a simple rock beat. It’s followed by the guitar solo in which you should play the same groove as the verse, only with quarter notes on the crash instead of the ride.

The tune builds in intensity as it goes along, so you need to come with a lot of energy to nail the song. Catch the small snare/kick fill at the end for the big finish.

🥁Queen – Another One Bites The Dust

BPM: 110

Sheet: click here

This is one of the easiest (and most fun) songs to play on drums. It features the infamous money beat (kick drum is on beat 1 and 3, while the snare drum is on beat 2 and 4) the whole way through. The key here is to keep a steady backbeat throughout the entire tune. The verses and the choruses have the same pattern, so you won’t be left in the dust on this song for sure!

🥁Coldplay – Yellow

BPM: 87

Sheet: click here

This is a chill song with quite simple rock beats everywhere except the chorus that has some off-beat kicks. Don’t let its overall loose feel trick you into thinking that you can slow down the beat or play it sloppy.

Notice how the intro groove has the same rhythm as the verse groove. The difference is that the intro is played with loose hi-hats, whereas the verse is played with the hi-hats closed. The chorus has a more sparse bass drum pattern, make sure to make the transitions into and out of it as smooth as you can.

🥁The White Stripes – Seven Nation Army

BPM: 124

Sheet: click here

The patterns in this song are as simplistic as they are effective, so it’s perfect for beginners. ‘Seven Nation Army’ has a strong contrast between the verses and the choruses which are a great opportunity for you to practice dynamic drumming – make the quiet parts super quiet so that the loud parts seem even louder than they actually are.

What makes it special is that it’s one of the very few songs that includes left-foot hi-hat work. The quarter notes on the kick and floor tom come with hi-hat splashes. In order to get this sound, press down the hi-hat pedal until the cymbals collide, then quickly release the pedal – this will make the cymbals ring.

Apart from this detail, the drumming is pretty simple with a standard rock beat you can pick up from the get go.

🥁Metallica – Enter Sandman

BPM: 124

Sheet: click here

While the majority of Metallica songs are a bit too difficult for beginner drummers, ‘Enter Sandman’ is pretty accessible especially if you master separate parts first and then combine them together.

The song starts with simple quarter note hi-hats and builds into a groove that includes the four-on-the-floor pattern and work on all toms. As it progresses, the snare is cracking in with cymbal hits.

Although throughout the verse there is a simple rock beat, it has a tricky part – on the “and” of four you have to add the kick. The bridge also has some kicks on the “and”-s. It can be challenging for beginners to accurately place them at first, but it’s a good opportunity to learn to count and subdivide – this will serve you for the entirety of your career.

Once you pinpoint where the big accents should be on the “and”-s of the beats, you will be able to play the song with no problem.

🥁Michael Jackson – Billie Jean

BPM: 117

Sheet: click here

This song features all-time classic drum grooves. The drumbeats are pretty simple and can easily be played by beginners. The key is to keep it plain and steady without adding too much extra stuff. The entire song is the basic rock beat with eights on the hats, a backbeat on the snare, and one and three kick.

🥁Bee Gees – Stayin’ Alive

BPM: 104

Sheet: click here

This funky banger is another one of the easiest songs to play on drums ever. Basically, you need to do the money beat throughout the entire track. If you want to make it sound more alive, throw some extra open hats where and if you can. Other than that, there is not much to it, and because of that ‘Stayin’ Alive’ is bound to be one of the first songs beginner drummers learn how to play.

Once you get the basics down, you may want to make a drum cover of one of the songs above or some other tracks. LALAL.AI is going to be your helping hand.

Use it to remove drums from a song for your cover, or isolate drums to train your ear. You get both a separate drum track and a track with the rest of the music at the same time — just upload the song and get two stems in a matter of seconds.

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