Drum Sheet Music

This page provides links to FREE sheet music PDF files to download.

DOWNLOAD INSTRUCTIONS
PC Users
Right-click the download icon and
choose "Save Target As..."

MAC Users
Right-click or Control-click the
download icon and choose
"Save Link As..."

Drum Notation Key

The note positions on the staff for a 5-piece drum set is now largely standardized, but for clarity, and to aid students who may be new to reading sheet music for drums, this is the notation system I like to use:

Drum Notation Key

Songs

Transcriptions of drum parts from well-known recordings, for educational purposes. The song transcriptions may have been modified to fit a standard 5-piece drum set configuration.

AC/DC - Back In Black Beginner. A great choice as one of your first songs to learn. A basic, yet hard-hitting beat, but requires the drummer to stay focused to catch all the changes and fills.

AC/DC - Highway to Hell Beginner. One of the many songs in the AC/DC catalog that are an excellent starting point for new drummers!

The Arctic Monkeys - Do I Wanna Know Beginner. An excellent choice for one of your first drum songs! The beat is a simple quarter-note pattern at 85 BPM. Then, for the 2nd part of the chorus, the drums boost the intensity by adding crashes, and 8th-note rhythms with the kick.

Creedence Clearwater Revival - Down on the Corner Intermediate, because of the syncopated fills. Super groovy tune from the swamp rock group Creedence Clearwater Revival, AKA Creedence, AKA CCR. I challenge you to not nod your head while listening to this track!

Def Leppard - Photograph Intermediate. This hard rock tune from 1983 has a very active drum part with lots of fun off-beat syncopations, and features a sweet cowbell groove in the pre-chorus! Have fun with this one.

Faith No More - From out of Nowhere Advanced. This is the opening track from the 1989 album, The Real Thing by Faith No More. I love that each section of the song has a totally different groove. Not to mention the fills, transitions, and flams… so many flams! In fact this is a perfect example of what I call “drum set flams,” meaning that they are played with the grace note quite separate from the main note, and both notes involved are about the same volume: Loud!

Green Day - Boulevard of Broken Dreams Beginner. This modern pop-punk ballad is another great candidate for one of the first songs you learn. It’s quite slow and has easy-to-play 8th note patterns, but will still challenge you with the all the transitions and variations. Enjoy!

Imagine Dragons - Radioactive Beginner. Excellent tune for younger students. Easy to play, but challenging enough to not be boring!

Joan Jett and the Black Hearts - I Love Rock and Roll Beginner. This one has a simple patterns, but also features a challenging twist, since there’s a beat removed from the end of the phrase in the Chorus.

Kiss - Detroit Rock City Advanced. This song is a bombastic, up-tempo shuffle, so get ready to rock! Transcription is from the version on the 1996 Greatest Hits album, and is slightly different from the original, which appears on the 1976 album, Destroyer.

Metallica - Sad But True Intermediate. This classic tune appears on the 1991 self-titled “Black Album.” A slow groove, basic hard-hitting beat, with aggressive, unconventionally placed accents using the crashes, and also some wicked fills. Highly recommend!

My Chemical Romance - Welcome to the Black Parade Advanced. All kinds of challenges present here in this 2006 emo / pop-punk tune. Features a cool rudimental-flavored intro with the snares and toms, and punk rock beats at a brisk 194bpm. Have fun with this one!

Nirvana - In Bloom Intermediate. From the band that needs no introduction, off the legendary 1991 album Nevermind. I rate this one as intermediate because of the fast, accented 1-handed hi hat pattern in the verses.

Quake II Soundtrack - Operation Overlord Intermediate. Okay, so this drumset part may not have been performed by a real drummer, but man this track rocks! This video game soundtrack from the 90s Has a super heavy groove when the drums first come in, and then later goes into a challenging, twisting, syncopated grind.

Royal Blood - Ten Tonne Skeleton Intermediate. Great variety of beats here, and the verse pattern is especially fun to play!

The Scorpions - No One Like You Beginner. A heavy hitting, hard-rock classic from 1982 that’s super-fun to play, no matter your skill level!

Soundgarden - Black Hole Sun Advanced. A killer classic downtempo grunge tune from 1994, with a hard-hitting drum part, some heavy grooves, and a 9/8 Bridge section. This song is destined to become a mainstay in my teaching repertoire!

Tokyo Police Club - Tessellate Intermediate. Requires some previous experience and skills!

Tool - Sober Advanced. The main groove patterns could probably be played by an intermediate level drummer, but a couple of intense, note-ridden fills bump this tune into the ultra-advanced category!

Weezer - Buddy Holly Beginner. The beat patterns for this catchy song are fairly simple, but the upbeat tempo, changes, and transitions will challenge any beginner! A standard of my teaching repertoire.

The White Stripes - Seven Nation Army Beginner. Recommended as an excellent first song to learn on the drums!

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Gold Lion Beginner. A killer tune that is a great choice for your first song! Starts with a “We Will Rock You” type beat and then adds hi hats and variations on the rhythm later on. Highly recommended! As I sometimes do, I’ve modified this transcription slightly to better suit new drummers.

The Yeah Yeah Yeahs - Maps Beginner. I don’t recommend this as a first song to learn, especially if you want to take a crack at the improvised parts in the guitar solo, but this indie rock song has a wicked floor tom groove that just feels good to play! It’s been a popular staple among my drum students for years now.

Warm-ups, Beats, Fills, etc.

Here are some miscellaneous materials I like to use with my private students. At the moment, it is mostly geared towards beginners, but as this collection of sheet music grows, it will also incorporate more advanced materials.

Basic Strokes - Introductory Exercises Intended as a primer for those brand new to the concept of the basic strokes, such as downstrokes, upstrokes, taps, and rebound strokes. These are all to be played on a single drum, such as a snare drum, or a practice pad.

Basic Strokes - Additional Exercises A slightly more advanced set of exercises to familiarize the student with the basic strokes and their applications.

Basic Strokes - Groups of 4 Breakdowns Turns out that the “Groups of 4 - Adding the other Hand” drills (from “Basic Strokes - Additional Exercises”) are pretty tough! This breaks them down systematically so you can conquer those exercises in baby steps. I wonder how often “conquer” and “baby steps” has been used together in the same sentence?

Down the Drums 1 Introduces some basic rhythms, played in the pattern I call “down the drums.”

Down the Drums 2 Same basic rhythms as above, but keeping the beat with the kick drum.

Down the Drums 3 Adds two kick drum 8th notes in between the rhythms played with the hands.

Down the Drums 4 Adds one kick in between, and the orchestration of the rhythms around the kit begins to deviate from the previous “down the drums” pattern.

X on a Hand The classic warm-up, 8 on a hand, in all the variations I like to use with my students, orchestrated around the kit.

Eight on a Hand Splits 8 on a Hand variations that focus on mobility around the drums.

Slow - Fast A single stroke roll exercise with odd groups that focuses on mobility around the drums, featuring an “arbitrary” tempo change between repetitions. Recommended for intermediate and advanced level students.

Intro Beats 1 - Right Hand on Floor Tom Beginner level beats, where the lead hand is focused on the floor tom. Great for practicing your reading skills, if you are new to sheet music!

Intro Beats 2 - Lead Hand on Hi Hat More beginner level beats, where the lead hand is playing the hi hat. Some of the most ubiquitous drum patterns on Earth are contained here.

Three Note Fill Patterns 0.5 An Introduction to three note sticking patterns orchestrated around the kit.

Three Note Fill Patterns 1 Takes three note sticking patterns such as “right - left - kick” and orchestrates them around the kit to create fills.

Two-Handed Hi Hat Beats An introduction to beats where both hands are required to play 16th notes on the hi hats.