Difficulty: Beginner Drum Lessons

This lesson is going to introduce you to every drummers best friend, the ghost note. These little notes add so much and ask for so little!

By the end of the lesson you’ll understand what ghost notes are, where they can be placed and hopefully just how effective they are at creating great and dynamic sounding grooves.

What Are Ghost Notes

Essentially they are just like any other note but played as quietly as possible, they should be “felt” rather than heard. What this means is that they help to fill out drum beats and fills without drawing the listeners attention away from the main focus of the rhythm.

When you first start to play the drums all of the notes played tend to be the same volume. Eventually you would learn about accents (loud notes) and then ghost notes (quiet notes) giving the drummer the ability to add dynamics to their playing. Dynamic drumming is really where all drummers should be heading in their journey to greatness.

The ghost note helps to add another volume level to the drummers arsenal. Ghost notes fill out rhythms in order to help them to sound funkier and more groovy. Words can’t really explain the affect ghost notes have on a groove/fill, its simply easier to try them out for yourself so that you can hear the difference.

How Do You Play Ghost Notes

Ghost notes can be used anywhere in your playing but this lesson will focus purely on their application within drum beats as this is where most drummers recognise their use.

In order for a ghost note to be played correctly is has to be played quietly. The stick needs to be no more than a couple of inches above the drum being hit in order for the volume to be correct. A gentle tap on the drum is all that’s required for ghost note to sound correct.

At this point you might be thinking well, what’s the point if you can’t hear them. Well, during a loud passage within a song the ghost notes might not be heard but the listener is certainly going to “feel” their use even if they can’t quite hear what exactly is being played. As soon as there’s a break in the volume the ghost notes are going to jump out at the listener and it is then that they will be heard. Their use within quieter songs or drum solos are certainly going to be noticed and they lend themselves to all kinds of cool applications not discussed in this lesson.

Tasteful use of ghost notes is going to not only make a groove/fill sound more interesting and slinkier but will also make you a better and more dynamic drummer. The reason that some of the top drummers in the world can all play them are for these reasons.

OK, that’s enough convincing, lets move on to the beats themselves.

Basic Practice Template

Before we move onto the more common ghost note patterns you need to be able to feel confident in your ability to play quiet and controlled ghost notes.

The following four grooves use a simple technique of playing single stroke sixteenth notes (RLRL) between the Hi-Hat and the Snare drum. The right hand plays on the Hi-Hat and moves to the Snare drum on Beats 2 and 4 for an accented backbeat (loud note). The left hand remains on the Snare drum at all times and plays as quietly as possible, the stick is only raised an inch or two above the Snare.

This is harder than it might sound. The right hand needs to play at a normal volume with the accented Snare notes on Beats and 2 and 4 while the left hand needs to play much quieter. What tends to happen is that as the right hand moves to the Snare drum while the left hand increases in volume to compensate. You must try to resist the natural tendency for the left hand to match the volume of the right.

Eventually, with a little practice, you will find it quite easy for both hands to play at different volumes. Just take your time and really focus on the sound of the beats you’re playing, if the left hand starts to creep up in volume then bring it back down again, both in height and volume.

All ghost notes are marked with brackets around them, this is how all drum music is notated. The following grooves all contain the same hand pattern (RLRL) but with four different and common Bass drum patterns to try out. These ideas although very useful for learning how to play ghost notes are in fact legitimate and great sounding drum beats in their own right.

Ghost Note Groove 1

Ghost Note Ghosted Groove Ideas

Ghost Note Groove 2

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 3

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 4

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Common Ghost Note Patterns Within Grooves

Our next step in learning about ghost notes is finding out where they can be strategically placed for best results. The previous ideas filled all the spaces left by the Hi-Hat with ghost notes and although this can sound great, you’ll want to be able choose where to place them to help create original and specific sounding grooves.

A very common technique used by the drummer, continuing on from the previous section, is to place individual ghost notes in between Hi-Hat notes. This fills out a groove with subtle texture that wouldn’t be possible without ghost notes.

All of the drum beats in this lesson will focus on placing ghost notes between Hi-Hats, although this is isn’t the only way they can be used, it is a great place to start when first learning.

The following drum beats all use a basic Bass drum pattern so that you are able to focus on the ghost notes. Eventually you would want to be able to change the Bass drum pattern to suit your rhythmic needs.

Remember to play the Snare notes on Beats 2 and 4 as accents (Loud notes) while the bracketed ghost notes are played as quietly as possible. The Hi-Hat should remain at the same volume all the way through but don’t worry too much when you first start about the Hi-Hat being loud on Beats 2 and 4. You can correct this later if desired.

Ghost Note Groove 5

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 6

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 7

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 8

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 9

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 10

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Ghost Note Groove 11

Ghost Note Groove Drum Beat Idea

Conclusion

Being able to use ghost notes within your groove playing is going to give you a far deeper “pocket” (term used for a great sounding groove). Its a technique that many great drummers utilise and to great effect.

The drum beats given in this lesson are just the beginning, we haven’t even looked at placing accents in more varied places or indeed their use within drum fills and solo playing.

If you can get these basic patterns mastered and sounding correct then the next lesson is going to be far easier for you. You’ll find that by learning these ideas ghost notes will begin to sneak into your playing in many exciting and interesting ways.

To take this lesson further, I suggest you try changing and creating your own Bass drum patterns to go with each ghost note pattern. You can even try placing Bass drum notes with ghost notes for an extra challenge, just make sure that the ghost note doesn’t change its volume/dynamic as a consequence.

You can also try playing these ideas with all of the Snare drum notes at the same volume to find out just how different the ghost notes make the groove sound. Try replacing some of the ghost notes with accents to create brand new and unique sounding groove ideas.

Once the technique of “ghosting” has been learnt you’ll find that it becomes a permanent and satisfying part of your playing!

Once you have the basics then please move onto Ghost Notes Lesson 2.

You can also watch a full free video drum lesson teaching how to play ghost notes by clicking here.

Also, another free video drum lesson teaching how to play ghost notes within a shuffle drum beat is available to view here.

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Full Song Video Drum Lessons

Full Song Video Drum Lessons

Over 700+ full song video drum lessons teaching 100s of famous and popular songs from start to finish.

PDF Drum Charts & Sheet Music

PDF Drum Charts

All full song video drum lessons come with a fully transcribed PDF drum chart, also detailing sticking's, tempo and dynamics. Every. Single. Note.

Bonus Videos, Charts & eBooks

Bonus Videos, Charts & eBooks

Three massive ebooks, 100s more mini video drum lessons and many transcriptions, teaching you a ton more famous drum beats, fills and solos.

Full Online Access

Online Access

Easily access video lessons and PDF drum charts from any computer, tablet or smart phone.

Expert Tuition

Expert Tuition

With over 20 years experience teaching drums online and one-to-one; Rob will be able to help you play your favourite songs in no time. Let Rob take you through each song both slowly and up to speed.

Massive Content - 100s of videos, charts & ebooks

MASSIVE Content

In total, you gain access to over 1000+ hours of video drum lessons, including 1000s of PDF drum charts, mini drum lessons, ebooks and bonus material.

Beginner Drum Lesson
Intermediate Drum Lesson
Heroes

(David Bowie)

Brown Sugar

(The Rolling Stones)

Hysteria

(Def Leppard)

The Chain

(Fleetwood Mac)

Brick House

(The Commodores)

Dreams

(The Cranberries)

Fortunate Son

(Creedence Clearwater Revival)

Don't Cry

(Guns N' Roses)

Little Sister

(Queens Of The Stone Age)

Man In A Box

(Alice In Chains)

Slither

(Velvet Revolver)

Rain

(The Beatles)

Advanced Drum Lesson
Tonight, Tonight

(Smashing Pumpkins)

Jump

(Van Halen)

Faith

(George Michael)

Breakout

(Foo Fighters)

Crazy Train

(Ozzy Osbourne)

100 Mile High City

(Ocean Colour Scene)

Riverboat Song

(Ocean Colour Scene)

Sir Duke

(Stevie Wonder)

Them Bones

(Alice In Chains)

Once

(Pearl Jam)

Plush

(Stone Temple Pilots)

Rio

(Duran Duran)

Suck My Kiss

(Red Hot Chili Peppers)

And 700+ MORE full song video drum lessons.

Each lesson teaches you the song in full and includes the fully transcribed sheet music...

100 Mile High City (Ocean Colour Scene), 20th Century Boy (T.Rex), 21 Guns (Green Day), 50 Ways To Leave Your Lover (Paul Simon), 6 Underground (Sneaker Pimps), 74-75 (The Connells), Ace Of Spades (Motorhead), Adams Song (Blink 182), A Day In The Life (The Beatles), Addicted To Love (Robert Plant), Africa (Toto), Alive And Kicking (Simple Minds), All Day And All Of The Night (The Kinks), A Message To You, Rudy (The Specials), And She Was (Talking Heads), Ain't No Sunshine (Bill Withers), All Apologies (Nirvana), All I Want For Christmas (Mariah Carey), All My Life (The Foo Fighters), All Night Long (Rainbow), All Right Now (Free), All These Things That I've Done (The Killers), All The Small Things (Blink 182), All The Young Dudes (Mott The Hoople), All You Ever Wanted (Rag'n'Bone Man), Alternative Ulster (Stiff Little Fingers), Always (Blink 182), Always (Bon Jovi), Always On My Mind (Elvis Presley), American Idiot (Green Day), Anarchy In The UK (Sex Pistols), Angel Of Harlem (U2), Angie (The Rolling Stones), Animal (Def Leppard), Another One Bites The Dust (Queen), Anna Molly (Incubus), Aneurysm (Nirvana), Apocalypse Please (Muse), Are You Gonna Be My Girl (Jet), Are You Gonna Go My Way (Lenny Kravitz), Around The World (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Ashes To Ashes (David Bowie), Assassin (Muse), Atomic (Blondie), Awake (Godsmack), Back In Black (AC/DC), Back In Time (Huey Lewis & The News), Back In The U.S.S.R. (The Beatles), Bad Moon Rising (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Ballroom Blitz (The Sweet), Banquet (Bloc Party), Basket Case (Green Day), Beautiful Ones (Suede), Beautiful Things (Benson Boone), Because The Night (Patti Smith), Beds Are Burning (Midnight Oil), Believer (Imagine Dragons), Birds Of A Feather (Billie Eilish), Black Betty (Ram Jam), Black Dog (Led Zeppelin), Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden), Black Velvet (Alannah Myles), Blaze Of Glory (Bon Jovi), Bliss (Muse), Blow (Ed Sheeran), Bohemian Like You (The Dandy Warhols), Bohemian Rhapsody (Queen), Born In The U.S.A. (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band), Born To Be Wild (Steppenwolf), Born To Run (Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band), Boulevard Of Broken Dreams (Green Day), Boys Are Back In Town (Thin Lizzy), Brass In Pocket (The Pretenders), Break On Through (The Doors), Breakout (Foo Fighters), Breakout (Swing Out Sisters), Break Stuff (Limp Bizkit), Breed (Nirvana), Brianstorm (Arctic Monkeys), Brick House (The Commodores), Bring Me To Life (Evanescence), Brown Eyed Girl (Van Morrison), Brown Sugar (The Rolling Stones), Bubbles (Biffy Clyro), Buck Rogers (Feeder), Buddy Holly (Weezer), Bulls On Parade (Rage Against The Machine), Butterflies And Hurricanes (Muse), B.Y.O.B. (System Of A Down) By The Way (Red Hot Chili Peppers), California Dreamin' (The Mamas & The Papas), Californication (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Call Me (Blondie), Cannonball (The Breeders), Can't Explain (The Who), Can't Get Enough Of Your Love (Bad Company), Can't Stand Losing You (The Police), Can You Dig It (The Mock Turtles), Careless Whisper (George Michael), Caroline (Status Quo), Cars (Gary Numan), Cars And Girls (Prefab Sprout), Cath... (Death Cab For Cutie), Celebrity Skin (Hole), Changes (David Bowie), Chelsea Dagger (The Fratellis), Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins), Children Of The Revolution (T. Rex), China Girl (David Bowie), Chop Suey (System Of A Down), Christmas (Baby, Please Come Home) U2, Christmas Time (The Darkness), Christmas Wrapping (The Waitresses), Cigarettes And Alcohol (Oasis), Cissy Strut (The Meters), Cochise (Audioslave), Cold As Ice (Foreigner), Come As You Are (Nirvana), Come Together (The Beatles), Comfortably Numb (Pink Floyd), Complexity (Eagles Of Death Metal), Connection (Elastica), Cool For Cats (Squeeze), Corduroy (Pearl Jam), Cowboys From Hell (Pantera), Crawling (Linkin Park), Crazy Crazy Nights (Kiss), Crazy Little Thing Called Love (Queen), Crazy Train (Ozzy Osbourne), Creep (Radiohead), crushcrushcrush (Paramore), Cryin' (Aerosmith), Cult Of Personality (Living Colour), Daddy Cool (Boney M.), Dakota (Stereophonics), Dance, Dance (Fall Out Boy), Dancer (Idles), Dance With Me (Blink 182), Dancing In The Dark (Bruce Springsteen), Dancing In The Moonlight (Thin Lizzy), Dani California (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Daughter (Pearl Jam), Days (Kirsty MacColl), Day Tripper (The Beatles), Debaser (The Pixies), Decode (Paramore), Denis (Blondie), Design For Life (Manic Street Preachers), Desire (U2), Diamond And Pearls (Prince), Diamond Eyes (Deftones), Disorder (Joy Division), Dive (Nirvana), Doesn't Remind Me (Audioslave), Don't Cry (Guns N' Roses), Don't Dream It's Over (Crowded House), (Don't Fear) The Reaper (Blue Oyster Cult), Don’t Look Back In Anger (Oasis), Don't Look Back Into The Sun (The Libertines), Don't Speak (No Doubt), Don't Stop (Fleetwood Mac), Don’t Stop Believin’ (Journey), Don't Stop Me Now (Queen), Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds), Do They Know It's Christmas (Band Aid), Down Under (Men At Work), Down With The Sickness (Disturbed), Do Your Worst (Rival Sons), Drain You (Nirvana), Dreaming (Blondie), Dream On (Aerosmith), Dreams (Fleetwood Mac), Dreams (The Cranberries), Dr. Feelgood (Mötley Crüe), Dude Looks Like A Lady (Aerosmith), Earth Song (Michael Jackson), Easy (Like Sunday Morning) (The Commodores), Easy Lover (Phil Collins), Edge Of Seventeen (Stevie Nicks), Embarrassment (Madness), Enter Sandman (Metallica), Epic (Faith o More), Even Better Than The Real Thing (U2), Even Flow (Pearl Jam), Ever Fallen In Love (Buzzcocks), Everlong (The Foo Fighters), Everybody Wants To Rule The World (Tears For Fears), Every Breath You Take (The Police), Everyday I Love You Less And Less (Kaiser Chiefs), Everything Now (Arcade Fire), Every You Every Me (Placebo), Eye Of The Tiger (Survivor), Fairytale Of New York (The Pogues), Faith (George Michael), Falling To Pieces (Faith no More), Fame (David Bowie), Faster (Within Temptation), Fat Lip (Sum 41), Feel Good Hit Of The Summer (Queens Of The Stone Age), Feel Like Making Love (Bad Company), Feels Like Heaven (Fiction Factory), Feeling Good (Muse), Fell On Black Days (Soundgarden), Fight For Your Right To Party (Beastie Boys), Figure It Out (Royal Blood), Fire Woman (The Cult), First It Giveth (Queens Of The Stone Age), Fisherman's Blues (The Waterboys), Fix You (Coldplay), Float On (Modest Mouse), Floaty (Foo Fighters), Fluorescent Adolescent (Arctic Monkeys), For Reasons Unknown (The Killers), Fortunate Son (Creedence Clearwater Revival), Fox On The Run (Sweet), Freak (Silverchair), Free Fallin' (Tom Petty), Friday I'm In Love (The Cure), Gasoline (Audioslave), Get Back (The Beatles), Get It On (T. Rex), Gigantic (The Pixies), Gimme All Your Lovin’ (ZZ Top), Gimme Shelter (The Rolling Stones), Girls On Film (Duran Duran), Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Give It Up (KC & The Sunshine Band), Gloria (Laura Branigan), God Save The Queen (The Sex Pistols), Good 4 U (Olivia Rodrigo), Go With The Flow (Queens Of The Stone Age), Go Your Own Way (Fleetwood Mac)...

Plus 100s MORE videos, charts and ebooks featuring these songs...

1979 (Smashing Pumpkins), 2000 Miles (Pretenders), 6:00 (Dream Theater), 99 Red Balloons (Nena), Aces High (Iron Maiden), Achilles Last Stand (Led Zeppelin), A Day In The Life (The Beatles), Aenema (Tool), Ain't Nobody (Rufus & Chaka Khan), Aja (Steely Dan), A Little Less Conversation (Elvis Presley), Alive (Pearl Jam), All Too Well (Taylor Swift), Amen Brother (The Winstons), Angels Of Death (Slayer), Another Brick In The Wall (Pink Floyd), Alright (Supergrass), Apocalypse Please (Muse), Around The Fur (Deftones), Avon (Queens Of The Stone Age), Baba O'Riley (The Who), Babylon Sisters (Steely Dan), Back In The USSR (The Beatles), Bad (Michael Jackson), Ball Room Blitz (The Sweet), Bandoliers (Them Crooked Vultures), Bang Bang (Green Day), Bargain (The Who), Barracuda (Heart), Bat Country (Avenged Sevenfold), Beat It (Michael Jackson), Been Caught Stealing (Jane's Addiction), Behind Blue Eyes (The Who), Be Quiet And Drive (Far Away) (Deftones), Best Of You (Foo Fighters), Bet You Look Good On The Dance Floor (Arctic Monkeys), Bicycle Race (Queen), Billie Jean (Michael Jackson), Bitter Sweet Symphony (The Verve), Black Hole Sun (Soundgarden), Black Night (Deep Purple), Black Smoke Rising (Greta Van Fleet), Blaze Of Glory (Bon Jovi), Blinded in Chains (Avenged Sevenfold), Blood On The Ground (Incubus), Blue Monday (New Order), Bonnie The Cat (Porcupine Tree), Bored To Death (Blink 182), Breakeven (The Script), Breaking The Girl (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Breathe (The Prodigy), Bullet In Your Head Rage (Against The Machine), Bullet The Blue Sky (U2), Bullet With Butterfly Wings (Smashing Pumpkins), Burnout (Green Day), Candy's Room (Bruce Springsteen), Can I Play With Madness (Iron Maiden), Car Radio (Twenty One Pilots), Carry On Wayward Son (Kansas), Cars (Gary Numan), Caught Up (Death From Above 1979), Chameleon (Herbie Hancock), Champagne Supernova (Oasis), Change (In The House Of Flies) (Deftones), Cherub Rock (Smashing Pumpkins), Chi Mai (Ennio Morricone), Chocolate (The 1975), Chop Suey (System Of A Down), Chuck E's In Love (Rickie Lee Jones), City Of Delusion (Muse), Closer (Kings Of Leon), Closer To The Edge (30 Seconds To Mars), Cocaine (Eric Clapton), Cold Sweat (James Brown), Constant Motion (Dream Theater), Could You Be Loved (Bob Marley), Crazy (Seal), Crockets Theme (Jan Hammer), Crunge, The (Led Zeppelin), D'yer Mak'er (Led Zeppelin), Da Doo Ron Ron (The Crystals), Dance Of Eternity (Dream Theater), Dance With The Devil (Cozy Powell), Dancing Queen (ABBA), Dani California (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Dark Eternal Night, The (Dream Theater), Dark Necessities (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Dark Side (Muse), Davidian (Machine Head), Day In The Life, A (The Beatles), Days Are Forgotten (Kasabian), Dazed And Confused (Led Zeppelin), Deep Kick (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Detroit Rock City (Kiss), Dig Down (Muse), Digging The Grave (Faith No More), Digital Bath (Deftones), Digital Man (Rush), Don't Ask Me Why (Nik Kershaw), Don't Look Back In Anger (Oasis), Don't Stand So Close To Me (The Police), Don't You Forget About Me (Simple Minds), Down (Blink 182), Do You Want To Rock (Danko Jones), Dr Feelgood (Motley Crue), Drive In Drive Out (The Dave Matthews Band), Drop Dead Legs (Van Halen), Drum Also Waltzes, The (Max Roach), Drumming Song (Florence And The Machine), Duality (Slipknot), Elephant (Tame Impala), Elephant (Them Crooked Vultures), Elephant Stone (The Stone Roses), Emit Remmus (Red Hot Chili Peppers) Englishman In New York (Sting), Eulogy (Tool), Every Breath You Take (The Police), Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic (The Police), Execute (Slipknot), Exit Music For A Film (Radiohead), Fat Bottom Girls (Queen), Fear Of A Blank Planet (Porcupine Tree), Fear Of The Dark (Iron Maiden), Feeling This (Blink 182), Fell In Love With A Girl (The White Stripes), Fergus Sings The Blues (Deacon Blue), Fields Of Gold (Sting), Figure It Out (Royal Blood), Fire (Jimi Hendrix), Fire (Kasabian), Fireball (Deep Purple), First Date (Blink 182), Firth Of Fifth (Genesis), Flight Of Icarus (Iron Maiden), Fool In The Rain (Led Zeppelin), Fools Gold (The Stone Roses), For Whom The Bell Tolls (Metallica), Forgotten (Lamb Of God), Forty Six & Two (Tool), Free Flight (Whitesnake), Funky Drummer (James Brown), Get Lucky (Daft Punk) Get Off My Cloud (The Rolling Stones), Get Up (I Feel Like Being A Sex Machine) (James Brown), Ghost Town (The Specials), Gimme Chocolate (Babymetal), Give It Away (Red Hot Chili Peppers), Give Me One Reason (Tracy Chapman), Gives You Hell (All American Rejects), God Save The Queen (The Sex Pistols), Going Under (Evanescence), Good Old Music (Funkadelic), Good Times, Bad Times (Led Zeppelin), Goodbye (Army Of Anyone), Gotta Be Somebody (Nickelback), Got The Life (Korn), Grace (Jeff Buckley), Green Onions (Booker T and the MG's), Grudge, The (Tool), Head Over Heels (Tears For Fears), Heart Of The Sunrise (Yes), Heartbeat Song (The Futureheads), Hearts All Gone (Blink 182), Heathen (Twenty One Pilots), Heir Apparent (Opeth), Helicopter (Bloc Party), Hella Good (No Doubt), Hellcat Spangled Shalala (Arctic Monkeys), Here Comes The Sun (The Beatles), Hey Joe (Jimi Hendrix), Hey Jude (The Beatles), Higher Love (Steve Winwood), Highway Star (Deep Purple), Hocus Pocus (Focus), Hollywood Nights (Bob Seger), Honour Thy Father (Dream Theater), Hot For Teacher (Van Halen), Hot Fun In The Summertime (Sly & The Family Stone), House Of The Rising Sun (The Animals), How To Save A Life (The Fray), I Am The Resurrection (Stone Roses), I Don't Care (Fall Out Boy), I Feel Fine (The Beatles), I Keep Forgettin' (Michael McDonald), I Like Dirt (Red Hot Chili Peppers), I'm Coming Out (Diana Ross), I Miss You (Blink 182), Immigrant Song (Led Zeppelin), Inertiatic ESP (The Mars Volta), In My Life (The Beatles), Interstate Love Song (Stone Temple Pilots), In The Air Tonight (Phil Collins), Instant Karma (John Lennon), In My Life (The Beatles), Invisible Man, The (Queen), Ironic (Alanis Morissette), Iron Man (Black Sabbath), It's The End Of The World (REM), It's The Same Old Song (The Four Tops), I Want To Break Free (Queen), I Want It All (Queen), Jack & Diane (John Mellencamp), Jamie's Cryin' (Van Halen), Jamming (Bob Marley) Jesus Christ Pose (Soundgarden), Jesus Of Suburbia (Green Day), Johnny B. Goode (Chuck Berry)...

Extensive Back Catalogue

For the most popular bands, artists and drummers in the world, we feature all of the greatest hits…and some of the more obscure hidden gems as well. Covering all genres of music from Rock, Metal, Jazz and pop – there is a song for all tastes and styles!

Not only that, we have multiple song lessons for the biggest bands/artists as well. Dive into the back catalogue of your favourite groups…

Massive Song/Band Catalogue
Red Hot Chili Peppers

14 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Kings Of Leon

7 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Queens Of The Stone Age

14 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Beatles

16 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Blink 182

16 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Tom Petty

4 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Led Zeppelin

22 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Radiohead

8 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Iron Maiden

10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Faith No More

5 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Oasis

10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Blondie

10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Killers

8 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Kinks

4 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Guns N' Roses

10 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Bon Jovi

4 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Aerosmith

7 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Pixies

4 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Who

7 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Metallica

7 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

U2

14 Video Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Duran Duran

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Nirvana

19 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Police

8 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Deftones

8 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Smashing Pumpkins

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Queen

10 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Pink Floyd

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Arctic Monkeys

15 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Clash

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Muse

26 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Madness

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Rolling Stones

7 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Fleetwood Mac

8 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Simple Minds

5 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Alice In Chains

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Bruce Springsteen

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Thin Lizzy

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Dire Straits

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Audioslave

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

ZZ Top

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Rage Against The Machine

5 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Green Day

20 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Rush

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Incubus

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Deep Purple

2 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Paramore

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

The Cure

3 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Michael Jackson

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Soundgarden

6 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Tool

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Foo Fighters

22 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

Linkin Park

4 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

AC/DC

5 Drum Lessons & PDF Charts.

100s of Songs, Beats, Fills & Solos

All full song video drum lessons include the fully transcribed sheet music. As well as this, you also get access to 100s of mini transcriptions plus those within the ebooks.

IMPORTANT: Even though each song lesson does come with a fully transcribed PDF drum chart, there is no need to be able to read it. In fact, this is what makes DrumsTheWord so unique – the video lessons SHOW you how to play the drum parts, both slowly and up to speed.

Drum Sheet Music Preview
"Love Is A Long Road" - (Tom Petty & Jim Keltner) Full Song Video Drum Lesson Notation Chart Transcription Sheet Music
Drum Sheet Music Preview
"Now And Then" - (The Beatles & Ringo Starr) Full Song Video Drum Lesson Notation Chart Transcription Sheet Music
"Top 14 Essential Chad Smith Drum Beats" - Video Drum Lesson Notation Chart Transcription Sheet Music
"Hanging On The Telephone" - (Blondie & Clem Burke) Full Song Lesson Video Drum Lesson Notation Chart Transcription Sheet Music Drum Lesson

Frequently Asked Questions

What is DrumsTheWord?

DrumsTheWord is an online subscription platform focusing purely on teaching famous and popular songs, note-for-note. An online membership offers instant access to over 700+ FULL song video drum lessons including the fully transcribed drum charts. Plus access to three massive ebooks, bonus sheet music and 100s more video drum lessons. That's over 1000 hours of video lessons teaching famous songs, beats, fills and even drum solos!

Why not choose other websites?

Unlike other online drum lesson platforms, we focus purely on teaching you real music. Each song is taught through a video drum lesson demonstrating how to perform the parts - both slowly and up to speed. Simply watch, listen and copy! DrumsTheWord shows you how WITHOUT the need to read music. Although as a bonus, all full song video drum lessons comes with the fully transcribed PDF sheet music.

Is DrumsTheWord good for beginners?

Yes! You’ll be able to start playing along to over 100+ easy songs for beginners right away. And these are just the full song video drum lessons, there is also a ton of other material aimed specifically for new drummers. All lessons are categorised by level of difficulty, so you can always find the right song for you.

Am I too old to learn the drums?

Absolutely not. You are never too old to learn the drums. DrumsTheWord has a community of drummers of all ages, and from all over the world. And with lessons covering classic songs starting from the 50s, there is something for all ages and musical tastes.

Does DrumsTheWord have anything for advanced drummers?

For the more skilled tub-thumpers, DrumsTheWord shows you how to play songs from some of the most skilled and technically talented drummers on the planet. What better way to continue to improve your drumming than learning from the best. You’ll never be short of inspiration or practice ideas ever again.

Who is Robert Litten?

Rob has been drumming for over 30 years and teaching for over 20. He also studied drumming at degree level at the Academy of Contemporary Music in Guildford, England. Through the years he has taught 100s of pupils one-to-one as well running drum courses at local music academies. For the last 15 years, Rob has focused purely on creating content for DrumsTheWord. With a wealth of experience playing live with multiple bands, teaching and working online, Rob will be able to help you reach your drumming goals.

Do I need to read music?

No. Even though all full song video drum lessons come with a fully transcribed PDF drum chart, there is no need to be able to read it. In fact, this is what makes DrumsTheWord so unique – the video lessons SHOW you how to play the drum parts, both slowly and up to speed. As a bonus, you might even learn how to read music along the way thanks to the fact you get both mediums together.

DrumsTheWord 30 Day Money Back Guarantee

Happy drumming guarantee.

Start learning your favourite songs for 30 days. Zero risk.

We know that there are many online lessons out there to choose from. Maybe you’re wondering if the song lessons will work, if you’ll use them enough – or if you’ll even enjoy the experience. So to help put your mind at ease, if within the first 30 days of purchase you are not completely satisfied with the content and service, then you can ask for a full 100% refund, no questions asked.

You even get to keep the free bonus material, so you really have nothing to lose!

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