11+ Easy Songs to Play on Drums for Beginners (For All Musical Tastes)

Your favorite songs might be too hard to play for you right now. However, this does not mean that you cannot play any other song. Truth is, there are lots of songs out there that have simple rhythm and are perfect for beginners.
We have compiled a list of these songs, so you can start learning right away and you can start adding songs to your repertoire! I will be rating each song’s difficulty and impressiveness, so you can pick and choose ones that will surely capture the crowd.
Additionally, I will be linking you to some videos that will help you learn them easier and quicker!
Slow-Tempo Easy Drum Songs
1. Imagine by John Lennon
This classic song from 1971 was the biggest hit-single by John Lennon. Co-written with his wife, Yoko Ono, the song encourages listeners to imagine a world of peace, one without violence or war, one where nationality and ethnicity do not set any boundaries, and one where brotherhood reigns over all material things.
It may be an old song but its message remains relevant and important today.
This song belongs to the soft-rock genre, bordering on pop. Its slow, melodic, and light drums will make for great beginner practice.
Difficulty: 2/10
Impressiveness: 5/10
2. Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day
Despite the music video for this song, Billie Joe Armstrong actually wrote it about his own feelings after his father passed away when he was just ten years old. Armstrong’s feelings of loss and sadness were very well expressed in the song. Because of this, it was used several times as a dedication to grave tragedies like Hurricane Katrina and the devastating events that happened on September 11, 2001.
This song is slow and emotional with the drum beats helping the heavy feeling throughout.
Difficulty: 3/10
Impressiveness: 7/10
3. Another One Bites The Dust by Queen
This song was one of the biggest disco hits in the 80s. Released by Queen as a single, the song talks about something dark as death while backed with rather upbeat music.
Many people suspect that because of Freddie Mercury’s health status, this song was made as a reference to AIDS. AIDS was a grave health problem during that time, claiming lives left and right. Going off on that medical tangent, this song is used to train medical professionals in giving CPR.
Despite being upbeat, the beat of the song is rather slow, measured, and repetitive. For this reason, it makes a great practice song for beginner drummers!
Difficulty: 3/10
Impressiveness: 6/10
4. She Will Be Loved by Maroon 5
This song sounds sweet and lovely at first glance, but the music video gives off some pretty controversial messages. Inspired by the movie The Graduate, this song has a lot of similar themes.
The classy rhythm of this song is still fairly slow. This is perfect if you want to learn how to play drums for beginners.
Difficulty: 3/10
Impressiveness: 6/10
5. Let It Be by The Beatles
The idea for this song came to Paul McCartney in a dream. He dreamt of his mother, Mary Patricia McCartney, who died of cancer when he was only fourteen. Hence, the lyric, “When I find myself in times of trouble, Mother Mary comes to me”.
Feeling thankful and comforted by the dream encounter, Paul McCartney wrote the lyrics to the song together with John Lennon.
This song is rather slow and comforting and the beats are light and repetitive, which makes it perfect for beginner practice.
Difficulty: 2/10
Impressiveness: 6/10
6. Yellow by Coldplay
Inspired by the stars in the sky, Yellow is one of the highest rating songs by Coldplay. The song was created during a break after a long recording session. Ken Nelson told the band to look at the night sky and inspired by the sight, lead vocalist Chris Martin began coining a melody.
According to the band, yellow, a color representing brightness, hope, and devotion is the mood of their band. Hence, the title of the track.
The song is soft and hopeful with some rock elements to it. This is what makes it perfect as a practice piece.
Difficulty: 3/10
Impressiveness: 8/10
Moderate-Tempo Easy Drum Songs
7. What I’ve Done by Linkin Park
The essence of this song, along with the whole album Minutes to Midnight was the band’s way of saying goodbye to their old music and welcoming the new one. Since its release, it has been one of the band’s top singles and has been nominated for several awards.
If you recognize it, it is also the theme song of the movie Transformers.
The drumline of this song is more hip-hop based, therefore it is a little bit faster than the other songs we have but still very rhythmic and repetitive.
Difficulty: 5/10
Impressiveness: 9/10
8. When The Levee Breaks by Led Zeppelin
This song was originally a country blues song. However, the more well-known version of this song is Led Zeppelin’s rock cover. Led Zeppelin’s cover completely redressed the song to fit a rock motif, with lots of tricks and effects added to its music production.
Despite following some of the beat, most of it was rewritten to fit their own style and then slowed down post-recording to produce a more droning, sludgy sound.
Difficulty: 6/10
Impressiveness: 9/10
9. Back In Black by AC/DC
After the death of their first vocalist Bon Scott, AC/DC took a short break from the industry.
When they came back, they had a new vocalist, Brian Johnson, and released the album Back In Black in memoriam of Scott. The album was a huge success selling over 50 million copies worldwide and is known to be one of the best-selling albums in history.
Their title track, Back In Black is upbeat and moderately-fast. However, there are plenty of simplified versions of the song that allows it to be used by beginners for daily practice.
Difficulty: 6/10
Impressiveness: 9/10
10. Seven Nation Army by The White Stripes
Despite being a rock song, Seven Nation Army surprisingly became a sports chant. The events unfolded when a group of football fans was drinking in a pub. Seven Nation Army came on the radio and the fans began to chant the song to the stadium. Since then, it has been used as a sports chant as well as used as a chant in several political events throughout the United Kingdom.
Difficulty: 5/10
Impressiveness: 9/10
11. Starlight by Muse
This song was created by Muse’s lead vocalist, Matt Bellamy while he was out in the sea on a boat during bad weather. The song is considered to belong in the alternative rock genre and is all about missing and longing for someone you love.
The tempo of the song is moderately fast at 121.1BPM which makes it an ideal song to use for beginner practice.
Difficulty: 4/10
Impressiveness: 8/10
12. Run To The Hills by Iron Maiden
This song is considered to be on the top 40 best metal songs of all time. It sings about the true American history of how in return for their help, the pilgrims betrayed the natives by stealing their land, driving them to poverty, and forcing them into labor.
The song has been controversial since its release and despite its truth, is still considered to be controversial today.
Difficulty: 5/10
Impressiveness: 9/10
So, what do you think of our top songs? Want to learn more? Check out the songs with amazing drum solos.
If you would like to learn more about reading drum sheet music, you can check out this article. Additionally, if you would like to have some more guidance while you are learning how to play the drums, consider taking online drum lessons for beginners! We have a handy list curated just for you.
11+ Easy Songs to Play on Drums for Beginners (For All Musical Tastes)