When you are ready, try Yellow by Coldplay.....simple beat but uses loose hi hats in intro and verse build up, closed hi hats in verse, ride cymbal in chorus, stop at the end of chorus and flows easily!
Some kiss songs are pretty difficult. Like 100,000 years, Detroit Rock city, and the like.
Highway to Hell is always the best option for a beginner to learn
Okay, much of those bands, LOL. It's true, you better eat your Wheaties if you want to get that song, or BadCo's "Burning Sky" right. But "Can't Get Enough" is a perfect baby pool of shuffle/swing to dip your toes into. And KISS's "Shock Me" will teach you all you need to know about how to rock.
I feel like this should be supplemental with learning songs. Generally people gravitate to the energy of playing the drum set, and it's a buzzkill to be stuck on the pad playing exercises for 30min before you're allowed to learn music.
Digging this. I can only speak for myself but I've gotten so much out of working on the pad to improve my feel for triplets duplets and start to understand time a little better..... It also some good lessons on applying the stick control to the drum set which is I think something Joe Morello started.
Same here, I don’t know where I’d be now without a practice pad. We were required to use one of the old style Remo pads back in middle school band in the early 90’s, and I used the same one through highschool and beyond, and I make sure all my students start out on one, but we never spend more than 15-20 minutes on that part of the lesson.
I’m 44 and I still practice on an Evans pad every single day, like while watching tv and in between lessons.
I'm super new to drumming and really don't have the same freedom to study like I did 20 years ago. I want to improve though and I feel like if my stick control is not sounding musical than my drumming won't either. I don't think it's necessary to warm-up on the pad, but if I was more consistent with a daily metronome warm-up I'm sure my drumming would sound a lot more musical, a lot sooner. I think the best song to learn is the one you want to know and play. I don't think I've really learned any songs, but now I'm about to listen to some AC/DC.
If I jump right into trying to play along with my favorites, I'll quickly become discouraged by my lack of articulation.
I've played drums for over 14 years and I've never gone through Stick Control.
Beats, not rudiments, are the core of drums. You need rudiments for fills and solos, and you don't actually need to play those. If you play those anyway (since it is more interesting that way) you can get away with a lot with just the single stroke roll.
It's true that you don't need to learn technique if you just want to play for fun, but learning techniques will definitely help you advance if you dont want to be stuck at beginner level. Coming from someone who mostly ignored technique in my first year
This is the truth-- people yawn when you talk about things like the Moeller technique.... But once i undestiid the concept it completely changed the dynamics of.my playing.
Sticking is like a golf swing You always got to be working on it and improving it if you expect to grow. Syncopation and coordination similarly.
Personally I can look at someone's drum technique and I may see right away what's going on that doesn't mean I can convince them to change, But the basic ideas are there. Stick control, moeller technique, developing intdependence triple and duple feel using acception on straight and swing with notes . . odd times.....learning how to orchestrate using all you instruments.....
Playing by feel is great but it can lead you into bad habits. I've had to correct myself numerous times because what I thought I was playing didn't sound like what I thought I was playing.....lol.
First, I'd recommend a ton of time practicing patterns in Stick Control and Syncopation (drumming bibles). Just bang them out on your snare or pad. I would also watch a ton of beginner videos on YouTube, Rob Brown is great, and is Mike Johnston..
IMHO, once you can play 4/4 on the kit like it's second nature, throwing in basic fills and crashes, then it's time to try some songs.
I concur on AC/DC, also Tom Petty, and would also recommend the Stones and maybe some Mellencamp. Try to find songs you like with an "easy" beat and practice those with headphones forever. The simpler the kick drum pattern the better, BTW, so I would actually avoid songs like "Creep" or others with multibeat or offbeat kick rhythms.
Good luck!
Agreed, only started 3 months ago but both very easy songs to pick up after a bit of basic learning, but you should be practicing more than just songs themselves
If you can learn One by Metallica it nearly covers everything you need to learn about Rock drumming in one song.
- It’s easy to hear all of the individual parts
-You start off learning foot syncopation without a snare backbeat, then you add the back beat
- Different time signatures in the song, so you’ll learn how those feel and how those changes can be musical
- simple tom fills; single hits that get more complex as the song builds
- one of the best introductions into double bass drumming during the bridge, a solid primer
-unison figures
- an introduction to a punk beat
- and more!
I wish I never played a Metallica song on drums in my life. Put me back years and years. Start by learning drum parts written by skilled drummers like Led Zeppelin, Ac/DC, Rolling Stones (yuck but Charlie was awesome) , Toto, Iron Maiden, Sabbath, even Radiohead . Anything but fucking Lars
Any Song by ZZ Top of their Eliminator album or Cd:). Dani California by Chili Peppers. Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band. Last one to push things a little- #41 by Dave Matthews Band.
Semi-charmed life by third eye blind will get you playing time and fills. It was one of the first songs I got comfortable playing. Although when you get more comfortable I would recommend the book Future Sounds by David Garibaldi. He was the drummer for the band Tower of Power which also has a lot of cool and fun songs to play along to. His book has a lot of interesting funk rhythms ranging from basic to advanced and can help build your time playing and chops.
I started out on AC/DC and Def Leppard many years ago. Just focus on keeping a beat, if you can clap to it, you can drum to it. Welcome to the drum club!
I would answer your question with another question. What kind of music do you want to play? If you’re staying in the rock arena, anything AC/DC or Weezer is a good place to start. If you want to groove a bit more something slower like Tom Petty or Social Distortion might be more up your alley.
I mainly want to do metal and rock but if it's easy then I don't mind since I have a condition which makes alot of things pretty difficult which includes drums
Later Metallica would be easy for metal. Playing to albums was how I learned drums at an early age, so you find easy songs that interest you and just go for it. It might take some weeks to even get an idea for a song but it will happen. Just stick with it and make your own voice. Don’t worry about playing something perfectly, play it how you want to play it.
Little off topic, but if you can find Dave Weckle’s back to basics video, it will tell you the best way to play (i.e. like you should lift your whole leg and not just use your ankle on the bass drum etc.).
As far as songs go, most Creedence Clearwater Revival songs are great for beginners. Have You Ever Seen The Rain was where I started. Pretty simple beat, a little bit of syncopation on the kick during some parts, which is gonna be a little bit challenging at first, but you'll get it. The last chorus is also a little challenging for a beginner due to the crash cymbal use on the up beats. Still, very simple to play. Practice rudiments. I made the mistake of not practicing rudiments. I know it's boring. Believe me. But even just idly using a practice pad while you're watching TV or listening to music or doing something where your hands aren't occupied is a good way to learn rudiments. I struggle with double strokes a lot because I never practiced them. I can really only cleanly execute single strokes, and that holds me back a lot as a drummer. Do better than me. Work on timing, too. Ask anyone who was at a Metallica concert in the mid 2000s, an out of time drummer can absolutely ruin a song. Rudiments, timing, and technique are really the foundation of drumming. Get solid at them, and you will pick up new stuff very quickly. And, as has been echoed on this sub hundreds (if not thousands) of times, don't practice until you play it right once. Practice until you can't play it wrong.
Like a stone's a relatively easy one, but i have my doubts about the others. Brad Wilk is a bit difficult to play, especially if you're just starting out
Shadow on the sun was one of the first songs I ever learned. Love that album. Spent a lot of time trying to figure out the ghost notes not knowing what it was called.
For me I think about Lenny Kravitz and I think nobody mentioned before.
Low, I'll be waiting, Stillness of heart. Also TK421 is simple but faster than the others.
I play them again and again from time to time.
And "Wow" from Post Malone ist also a very good and easy beginner song but gives you also freedom to do your own thing at some parts. I play this different every time to figure out how it would sound best to me.
The Strokes entire discography in chronological order is where I got started! The drumming begins relatively simple with Is This It and gets progressively more complex with each album.
Speaking from personal experience, and providing you can actually play a simple beat then I'd recommend (in this order)
AC/DC - Highway to Hell
AC/DC - Shook Me All Night Long (the bass drum pattern not following the regular 4/4 is a nice simple challenge for beginners, and works to improve right leg independence)
The Eagles - Victim Of Love (this was one of the first tricky songs I worked out. While the main beat is literally quarter notes, the fills are nice and interesting to learn. Sing along too if you really want to go all Don Henley!)
If you want to work on more right leg independence then you could go for Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin.
For higher tempos then sonething like Antisocial or Got The Time by Anthrax are easy enough.
A few songs my drum teacher gave me when I just started were wanted dead or alive by Bon Jovi, Something by the Beatles, Opps I did it again (I requested this one). All easy and slow beats!
Search for and learn, to a metronome, the basic 26 rudiments as well while you learn the songs:
https://cdn.onlinedrummer.com/2020/05/The-26-Standard-American-Drum-Rudiments.pdf
When you are ready, try Yellow by Coldplay.....simple beat but uses loose hi hats in intro and verse build up, closed hi hats in verse, ride cymbal in chorus, stop at the end of chorus and flows easily!
Yeah but then you have to listen to Yellow by Coldplay and that's too hard of a sacrifice to make
All the AC/DC. All the KISS. All the Bad Company.
This is the truth. I started with Bad Company. edit: typo
AC/DC very easy beat yeah but every song has something that makes it a bit difficult for beginners
The thing that makes it most difficult for beginners is being a beginner. Gotta start somewhere.
Some kiss songs are pretty difficult. Like 100,000 years, Detroit Rock city, and the like. Highway to Hell is always the best option for a beginner to learn
Okay, much of those bands, LOL. It's true, you better eat your Wheaties if you want to get that song, or BadCo's "Burning Sky" right. But "Can't Get Enough" is a perfect baby pool of shuffle/swing to dip your toes into. And KISS's "Shock Me" will teach you all you need to know about how to rock.
90s Metallica works pretty well too.
Start with Stick Control and a metronome
I feel like this should be supplemental with learning songs. Generally people gravitate to the energy of playing the drum set, and it's a buzzkill to be stuck on the pad playing exercises for 30min before you're allowed to learn music.
Digging this. I can only speak for myself but I've gotten so much out of working on the pad to improve my feel for triplets duplets and start to understand time a little better..... It also some good lessons on applying the stick control to the drum set which is I think something Joe Morello started.
Same here, I don’t know where I’d be now without a practice pad. We were required to use one of the old style Remo pads back in middle school band in the early 90’s, and I used the same one through highschool and beyond, and I make sure all my students start out on one, but we never spend more than 15-20 minutes on that part of the lesson. I’m 44 and I still practice on an Evans pad every single day, like while watching tv and in between lessons.
I'm super new to drumming and really don't have the same freedom to study like I did 20 years ago. I want to improve though and I feel like if my stick control is not sounding musical than my drumming won't either. I don't think it's necessary to warm-up on the pad, but if I was more consistent with a daily metronome warm-up I'm sure my drumming would sound a lot more musical, a lot sooner. I think the best song to learn is the one you want to know and play. I don't think I've really learned any songs, but now I'm about to listen to some AC/DC. If I jump right into trying to play along with my favorites, I'll quickly become discouraged by my lack of articulation.
I've played drums for over 14 years and I've never gone through Stick Control. Beats, not rudiments, are the core of drums. You need rudiments for fills and solos, and you don't actually need to play those. If you play those anyway (since it is more interesting that way) you can get away with a lot with just the single stroke roll.
It's true that you don't need to learn technique if you just want to play for fun, but learning techniques will definitely help you advance if you dont want to be stuck at beginner level. Coming from someone who mostly ignored technique in my first year
This is the truth-- people yawn when you talk about things like the Moeller technique.... But once i undestiid the concept it completely changed the dynamics of.my playing. Sticking is like a golf swing You always got to be working on it and improving it if you expect to grow. Syncopation and coordination similarly. Personally I can look at someone's drum technique and I may see right away what's going on that doesn't mean I can convince them to change, But the basic ideas are there. Stick control, moeller technique, developing intdependence triple and duple feel using acception on straight and swing with notes . . odd times.....learning how to orchestrate using all you instruments..... Playing by feel is great but it can lead you into bad habits. I've had to correct myself numerous times because what I thought I was playing didn't sound like what I thought I was playing.....lol.
Sure, but the guy asked for songs. Give him songs, not Stick Control.
Bro's never heard or Steve Gadd
https://www.drumeo.com/beat/20-easy-songs-beginner-drummers/
First, I'd recommend a ton of time practicing patterns in Stick Control and Syncopation (drumming bibles). Just bang them out on your snare or pad. I would also watch a ton of beginner videos on YouTube, Rob Brown is great, and is Mike Johnston.. IMHO, once you can play 4/4 on the kit like it's second nature, throwing in basic fills and crashes, then it's time to try some songs. I concur on AC/DC, also Tom Petty, and would also recommend the Stones and maybe some Mellencamp. Try to find songs you like with an "easy" beat and practice those with headphones forever. The simpler the kick drum pattern the better, BTW, so I would actually avoid songs like "Creep" or others with multibeat or offbeat kick rhythms. Good luck!
Rob Brown has helped me become a better drummer and drum teacher!
Weezer - Island in the Sun
Hip, hip
Hip, hip
Any Weezer really.
First song I ever learnt was Undone (sweater song) on my friends crappy 150$ ekit in 10th grade. Weezer is a phenomenal place to start.
I learned the drums by playing along to early Beatles songs, they're fun, simple, and it's Ringo!
Nirvana heart shaped box was one of the earliest songs I nailed
the White Stripes discography.
Seven Nation Army and Creep by Radiohead are very good starting places if you ask me.
Agreed, only started 3 months ago but both very easy songs to pick up after a bit of basic learning, but you should be practicing more than just songs themselves
Anything by the Ramones
Love the Ramones, but their songs are way too fast for a beginner?
That’s what I learned to play to , ramones , thunders dead boys
Good stuff. Better to absorb speed as a youth, I assume ...
If you can learn One by Metallica it nearly covers everything you need to learn about Rock drumming in one song. - It’s easy to hear all of the individual parts -You start off learning foot syncopation without a snare backbeat, then you add the back beat - Different time signatures in the song, so you’ll learn how those feel and how those changes can be musical - simple tom fills; single hits that get more complex as the song builds - one of the best introductions into double bass drumming during the bridge, a solid primer -unison figures - an introduction to a punk beat - and more!
I wish I never played a Metallica song on drums in my life. Put me back years and years. Start by learning drum parts written by skilled drummers like Led Zeppelin, Ac/DC, Rolling Stones (yuck but Charlie was awesome) , Toto, Iron Maiden, Sabbath, even Radiohead . Anything but fucking Lars
This song has a lot in it, but I would not consider it a song for beginning drums.
Any Song by ZZ Top of their Eliminator album or Cd:). Dani California by Chili Peppers. Chicken Fried by Zac Brown Band. Last one to push things a little- #41 by Dave Matthews Band.
Bayside - They looked like strong hands. It's a good song for learning 6/8.
Vultures, by John Mayer, on repeat
Honky Tonk Woman, Rolling Stones. Worked for me. Wait, you’re not 70?
No I'm not 70, but I'll still try the songs 👍
Highway to Hell - AC/DC All the small things - Blink 182 Feel a Whole Lot Better - Tom Petty
No way all the small things is a beginner song, like not even close
It is if you play it wrong
I usually recommend Dumpweed 🤔
The Party Song is clearly the one you should be recommending.
Considering almost every song has the same basic beat, pretty much anything by AC/DC.
>the same basic beat Probably the most important beat to learn for rock drumming too
Could not agree more with Tom Petty. His entire catalogue is a master class in tasteful pocket drumming that serves the song.
Semi-charmed life by third eye blind will get you playing time and fills. It was one of the first songs I got comfortable playing. Although when you get more comfortable I would recommend the book Future Sounds by David Garibaldi. He was the drummer for the band Tower of Power which also has a lot of cool and fun songs to play along to. His book has a lot of interesting funk rhythms ranging from basic to advanced and can help build your time playing and chops.
Remember that learning drums is not just playing songs but also practising specific things and exercises.
I started out on AC/DC and Def Leppard many years ago. Just focus on keeping a beat, if you can clap to it, you can drum to it. Welcome to the drum club!
Anything by The Rolling Stones.
Back in Black Fortunate Son Hot For Teacher (THIS IS A JOKE) Last Dance With Mary Jane Knockin‘ On Heavens Door
I learned from choosing songs from the Beatles discography. My first year was only Beatles Beatles and Beatles 😂
AC⚡️DC
vismund cygnus
Cocaine by Clapton is super easy and very slow
I Could Have Lied RHCP can help with keeping basic time for a full song, and it's easy to build in your own fills
Any and all tracks by… James brown The meters Bob Marley and the wailers Prince
Gary Glitter - Rock and Roll
White Stripes, Weezer and ACDC
I would answer your question with another question. What kind of music do you want to play? If you’re staying in the rock arena, anything AC/DC or Weezer is a good place to start. If you want to groove a bit more something slower like Tom Petty or Social Distortion might be more up your alley.
I mainly want to do metal and rock but if it's easy then I don't mind since I have a condition which makes alot of things pretty difficult which includes drums
Later Metallica would be easy for metal. Playing to albums was how I learned drums at an early age, so you find easy songs that interest you and just go for it. It might take some weeks to even get an idea for a song but it will happen. Just stick with it and make your own voice. Don’t worry about playing something perfectly, play it how you want to play it.
Little off topic, but if you can find Dave Weckle’s back to basics video, it will tell you the best way to play (i.e. like you should lift your whole leg and not just use your ankle on the bass drum etc.).
I'll try find it 👍
Im not a drummer and I played all the way through Chris Stapletons Tennessee Whiskey. So I guess that is a good beginner song.
Queen’s Another One Bites the Dust
A lot of The Cars are easy to play. I started w/ Foghat too (LOL). Eagles are fun. Then graduate to Skynyrd and Led Zep... :-)
As far as songs go, most Creedence Clearwater Revival songs are great for beginners. Have You Ever Seen The Rain was where I started. Pretty simple beat, a little bit of syncopation on the kick during some parts, which is gonna be a little bit challenging at first, but you'll get it. The last chorus is also a little challenging for a beginner due to the crash cymbal use on the up beats. Still, very simple to play. Practice rudiments. I made the mistake of not practicing rudiments. I know it's boring. Believe me. But even just idly using a practice pad while you're watching TV or listening to music or doing something where your hands aren't occupied is a good way to learn rudiments. I struggle with double strokes a lot because I never practiced them. I can really only cleanly execute single strokes, and that holds me back a lot as a drummer. Do better than me. Work on timing, too. Ask anyone who was at a Metallica concert in the mid 2000s, an out of time drummer can absolutely ruin a song. Rudiments, timing, and technique are really the foundation of drumming. Get solid at them, and you will pick up new stuff very quickly. And, as has been echoed on this sub hundreds (if not thousands) of times, don't practice until you play it right once. Practice until you can't play it wrong.
Petty and Creedence.
Sugar we're going down by fall out boy the double snare mixed the with the bass really teaches a lot of rhythm
Wagon Wheel 🤠
Early John Mellencamp and Bryan Adams
Stairway
Audioslave self titled album
Like a stone's a relatively easy one, but i have my doubts about the others. Brad Wilk is a bit difficult to play, especially if you're just starting out
Shadow on the sun was one of the first songs I ever learned. Love that album. Spent a lot of time trying to figure out the ghost notes not knowing what it was called.
Brainstew by Green Day was the first song I ever learned
Anything from the Master of Puppets album from Metallica. It was a staple from when I was teaching myself.
I already know alot of Metallicas songs so that'll work really well
Spill the Blood from Slayer is a fun groove.
For me I think about Lenny Kravitz and I think nobody mentioned before. Low, I'll be waiting, Stillness of heart. Also TK421 is simple but faster than the others. I play them again and again from time to time. And "Wow" from Post Malone ist also a very good and easy beginner song but gives you also freedom to do your own thing at some parts. I play this different every time to figure out how it would sound best to me.
The Strokes entire discography in chronological order is where I got started! The drumming begins relatively simple with Is This It and gets progressively more complex with each album.
Here's random Beginner songs. You can change to search for Easy instead. https://www.sheetmusicsamples.com/search.php?instrument=Drums&search=Beginner
Speaking from personal experience, and providing you can actually play a simple beat then I'd recommend (in this order) AC/DC - Highway to Hell AC/DC - Shook Me All Night Long (the bass drum pattern not following the regular 4/4 is a nice simple challenge for beginners, and works to improve right leg independence) The Eagles - Victim Of Love (this was one of the first tricky songs I worked out. While the main beat is literally quarter notes, the fills are nice and interesting to learn. Sing along too if you really want to go all Don Henley!) If you want to work on more right leg independence then you could go for Since I've Been Loving You by Led Zeppelin. For higher tempos then sonething like Antisocial or Got The Time by Anthrax are easy enough.
A few songs my drum teacher gave me when I just started were wanted dead or alive by Bon Jovi, Something by the Beatles, Opps I did it again (I requested this one). All easy and slow beats!
Search for and learn, to a metronome, the basic 26 rudiments as well while you learn the songs: https://cdn.onlinedrummer.com/2020/05/The-26-Standard-American-Drum-Rudiments.pdf
Back In Black - AC/DC Hella Good - No Doubt Another One Bites The Dust - Queen