Best Easy Songs to Play on Drums
Have you finally picked up your first set of drums? Are you looking for interesting songs to get you started? If you are then you are in the right place. It could be scary or intimidating to figure out which song to learn first, you might get confused with the many songs available. So, we made this list so you could choose and get started already. So since you’re already choosing a song, we guess you already know the different parts of the drum, right? You can also check this out if you’re looking for Pelican Case Alternatives.
Let’s Get Started
Most songs here uses a minimal set up because we want to make sure you have all the parts needed to play it. when doing a song, get familiar with counting together with the song “1, 2, 3, 4”, it means that each bar will have a count of 4 pulses.
List of Songs
1. We Will Rock You by Queen
Queen is a British rock band. Their song is one of the easiest to learn in the world. The beat of this song is made up of a snare hit and 2 bass drum strokes as well as a lot of hand claps. To get started play two hits on your bass with the bass pedal. Make sure it lands on the first word “we”. Then you play the snare on the “will”. This beat goes on and on till the song ends, just make sure to keep it steady so it sounds like 3 powerful beats.
2. Ticket to Ride by The Beatles
For this song the beat starts on the bass drum and uses the tom and snare to bring more color. To make the sound crisp, use two hands on the tom and snare on each stroke. The pattern is: bass, snare, bass, bass, snare, tom. And that’s basically the bulk of the song.
There’s more to the way Ringo plays but this is the simple patter. When you get used to the simple pattern, you can then add the frills such as the crash hits and tom rolls.
3. Rocks by Primal Scream
The beat they use is very common and used widely. With some concentration and time it’s an easy beat to master. The main idea here is to play the snare in every beat. So when you count the “ 1,2,3,4” you play the snare on each count. Then you add the HiHat with each snare beat. Now when you get to play the snare and HiHat comfortably, you can try adding in the bass to each count as well. That’s all, and when you play it, it would compliment the other instruments in your band.
4. Teenage Dream by Katy Perry
This is another one that’s really easy. All you hit is the bass drum and the snare. Just listen closely to the beat and repeat it over and over again.
5. Gimme all Your Lovin by Top
Frank beard, the drummer of this track is the only member that doesn’t have a beard. The beat of this song is usually called four to the floor. It has a consistent HiHat sound, to get a more harsh cutting sound you could hit the HiHat closer to the cymbals. Don’t forget to keep the bass drum pulse in all four counts.
6. Live Forever by Oasis
This song has an iconic drum intro, the beat is centered around the ride cymbal that plays 1/8th notes. The concept is the same as the others mentioned above except this one plays the ride cymbal and not the HiHat. And you also play the floor tom on count 2. For the bass drum you play it on 1, then two bass drums on 3.
7. Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
This song has 3 main sections, the first one is the verse and this is where the bass come in with a simple pulse, it’s played on every count. The second section uses the bass drum, floor tom, and tom. The rhythm of this would be 1/8th. For the 3rd, the drums play a basic beat and a snare on 2 and 4 while a bass drum on 1 and 3. Then there’s a rhythmic pattern of 2 bass and a snare ant the end of every riff.
Conclusion
Every instrument would need time, patience and perseverance to learn, including the drums. But many say, learning the drums is way more fun. Eventually, you won’t have to worry about the coordination because it would become second nature to you. Learn about something on Best Bass Songs. Starting young would definitely make a difference, if you have kids, it would be a good idea to check out some best drum set for kids.