10 Basic Songs to Start With..

DrumEatDrum said:
I don't understand the question.

Why wouldn't anyone just start with the music that made them WANT to play drums in the first place?
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This, YES! If you don't like your what your playing...no matter the skill level it's probably not going to keep you interested in learning more. You may not start out being able to play the whole song but if you like the song than at least it won't drive you crazy while you're listening to it over and over again and trying to learn it...lol.

Play what you like...the details will come in time.
 
When I first started playing in the early 80s, I played along to two songs for weeks on end until I got the hang of a simple beat:

Hey 19 by Steely Dan

My Lips Are Sealed by The Go Gos.

Then I branched off into some of the bands I really loved like Boston and Kansas.
 
If you're going to be playing in a cover band:

Brown Eyed Girl
Sweet Home Alabama
Satisfaction
Gloria
Rockin' in the Free World
Mustang Sally
What I like about you
Born to be Wild
Play That Funky Music
Brown Sugar

Bonus: YYZ :)
 
lsits said:
If you're going to be playing in a cover band:

Brown Eyed Girl
Sweet Home Alabama
Satisfaction
Gloria
Rockin' in the Free World
Mustang Sally
What I like about you
Born to be Wild
Play That Funky Music
Brown Sugar

Bonus: YYZ :)
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I think alot of these are good choices. YYZ is anything but basic however. Definitley not the hardest song but its no standard unless you have a great deal of experience under your belt.

Honestly any ACDC song i'd add to the list
 
Haha YYZ... Neil Peart is what I call a category 3 drummer. I would not even get the idea of trying to play that, it's so far out of my league, even though I've listened to Rush for over 25 years and I know all the fills by heart.

Category 2 is I try but I get frustrated because I can't get it right not even from a distance. Cat 2 for me is Stewart Copeland. It sounds deceptively simple which only makes it worse. Mitch Mitchell is in my cat 2 as well.

Category 1 is I try and I actually have fun while I'm trying to be say Chad Smith for 5 minutes even though I can't do it right. Like Suck my kiss or Crosstown traffic, which they played live I believe on the Mother's milk CD. It goes at the speed of light and I can nail only 10% of it but I laugh my @$$ off while doing it.

Category 0 is basic songs to start with. I mentioned Purple rain -- anything that's very slow is great. Other Prince songs are all over the other categories, like Sexy MF is hard, btw I think that song points out there's a difference between just muscle memory and true independence.
I also love playing old Queen songs like Save me or (a bit harder) Crazy little thing called love.
Abacab from Genesis, nice exercise of being in the pocket. Certain other Genesis songs like No son of mine.
I love to play Mean and One foot wrong (Pink).
Man there are so many great songs to start with...
 
picodon said:
Abacab from Genesis, nice exercise of being in the pocket.
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I love the version from Three Sides Live album, where Phil and Chester perform a drum duet during the middle.
 
maulikplays said:
What songs do you guys think are good to begin with, on the drums?
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It's not about songs, it's about stamina and beat.

What I would do is find a song with a straightforward 4/4 beat such as Touch Too Much by AC/DC and play the rhythm as much and for as long as you can.
Keep this up to build stamina for rock rhythms and when you can keep that up for long periods of time, try to vary your bass notes and/or fill ins, then you can "upgrade" to harder songs.
 
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Class A Drummer said:
I think alot of these are good choices. YYZ is anything but basic however. Definitley not the hardest song but its no standard unless you have a great deal of experience under your belt.

Honestly any ACDC song i'd add to the list
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My tongue was planted firmly in my cheek on that one.
 
paistemage said:
Stinkfist by TOOL? I think as a beginner that would get him frustrated , and in the beginning it is a lot of frustration over not knowing HOW to play.
"In Bloom" is an easy yet fun song.
Temptations or Motown songs are pretty straightforward and easy.
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I think it depends on the drummers own ability. Stinkfist is one of the easiest Tool songs because there's nothing too crazy in it and there's a groove to feel. Prison Sex might be a little easier. I thought they weren't to bad when I was still a beginner. I still messed up a bit but I could follow fairly well. My 2 cents.
 
Tool are more intermediate than beginner, Danny Carey is hardly a simple drummer with his strangley-structured rhythms.
 
Class A Drummer said:
Originally Posted by lsits
If you're going to be playing in a cover band:

Brown Eyed Girl
Sweet Home Alabama
Satisfaction
Gloria
Rockin' in the Free World
Mustang Sally
What I like about you
Born to be Wild
Play That Funky Music
Brown Sugar

Bonus: YYZ :)



I think alot of these are good choices. YYZ is anything but basic however. Definitley not the hardest song but its no standard unless you have a great deal of experience under your belt.

Honestly any ACDC song i'd add to the list
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I'm in a cover band and we only play Sweet Home Alabama from that list- The others make us want to jump off a bridge!
 
bigiainw said:
I'm in a cover band and we only play Sweet Home Alabama from that list- The others make us want to jump off a bridge!
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Lol, out of that list, Sweet Home Alabama is the only one that makes me want to jump off a bridge! Just played it (and had it requested) too many times I suppose.
 
When we first got our band together back when we were 16 yrs old (now 35), at our first show we had the obligatory, "Play some Skynyrd!!!" from a lovely drunk in the audience. We knew the first main riff to Sweet Home Alabama.

Fast forward 20 yrs....now our response is Simple Man. We used to play it as a regular song in our set....now it's become the response to the age old drunken request mentioned above...."PLAY SOME SKYNRYD!!
 
Hi,
My first song was Black in Black by AC/DC then my first with a band is live after midnight by Judas Priest. I just played the groove at first for that. Then added crash and fills after.
Can you read music? I transcribe the song out and still do.

Paul
 
paistemage said:
Stinkfist by TOOL? I think as a beginner that would get him frustrated , and in the beginning it is a lot of frustration over not knowing HOW to play.
"In Bloom" is an easy yet fun song.
Temptations or Motown songs are pretty straightforward and easy.
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What is a "stinkfist"?

+1 for Love Hurts
+2 for Love Stinks
+3 for Love Rollercoaster

-1,000 for Stinkfist :)
 
I'm a big drum song guy,
10 that I would choose are:
1.Paranoid-Black Sabbath (a simple beat, and will get you moving with creative cymbal hits)
2.My Name is Jonas-Weezer (gets you going on dynamics, and song structure)
3.Breaking The Law- Judas Priest (fun song, and a bridge that even advanced drummers like)
4.Seven Nation Army- White Stripes (really easy, and has a nice "build-up")
5.Creep- Radiohead (gets you going on that sixteenth note bass and a cool new beat)
6. When The Levee Breaks- Led Zep. (teaches a beat that has been copied many times)
7.Back in Black- AC/DC (simple beat and short fills that are very easy)
8. Beverly Hills- Weezer (one beat the entire song and a simple 5 stroke fill)
9.Smells Like Teen Spirit- Nirvana (nice beat, and the sixteenth-note fills on the snare shouldn't be too hard)
10.Lithium-Nirvana (just one beat, and good for dynamics)
 
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