Free Drum Charts (Sheet Music)
Often I'll find a song that would be great to teach but there are no existing charts for OR a student will want to learn a track that is a bit too niche for it to have had the parts transcribed. In this case, sometimes I’ll teach the song by ear (without a chart) or I’ll write up either the whole song or the main sections, especially if the student is particularly adept at reading charts. I don’t profess to be great at transcribing, but at the very least these should set you on the right path if you are a bit lost. These are some of the ones I have written up over the years, feel free to download them and give them a shot:
This is by far my favourite track to teach as a first song to my students. It’s got a chilled out tempo, basic groove and is an ideal example of standard song structure. This version of the chart is really simple, with all the trickier parts either simplified or removed entirely, making it perfect for novice players. If you are after the full version, an accurate transcription of the chart is available below.
This is full transcription of the track with all of the parts included. I like to start new students on the basic version as their first track, then when they have completed Book 1 and learnt all the concepts we go back and apply them to this track. So basically this version includes all the Open Hi-Hats, 16th Note Off beats on the Snare and Kick and extra Crashes.
A great track by a great band. A strong syncopated groove is the backbone of this song, dotted with some really tasty fills. This is the chart for the whole song as close to what I can hear happening in the track.
A really great track with a super useful 16th Note Hi-Hat groove. This version of the song is adapted to play on a kit as there are a lot of electronic elements in the track so feel free to supplement the parts if you hear something different! A lot of the fills are 16th notes as well so transition into them is pretty simple as you are already in a 16th note singles subdivision.
Solid chilled tempo in this late 90’s banger with heaps of tasty fills and locked down groove. Some simple fills executed in a few less traditional ways makes this a fun song to learn if you keep using the same fills all the time. There are a few things I omitted adding to the notation which I thought just make the track more difficult for little gain BUT it is pretty dang close. Have fun.
This is a no fuss version of the song I made after finding a bunch of strangely notated versions online that were confusing my students. So many great timeless fills that follow the lyrics make this a great track to learn - have fun and don’t overthink it!
I took some liberties with a few parts in this song as there are multiple electronic sounds in the track that an acoustic kit can not replicate perfectly. If you hear something different (especially in Verse 1), supplement the orchestration.
A really slow and basic 8th Note groove over a really well known song. This makes ‘Radioactive’ a great choice early on in your music reading journey. All the fills are flams as well so there is no pressure to have chops of any kind - have fun!
Pretty basic track with a strong syncopated rock grove in a two bar phrase. This is the whole chart from where the the drum kit comes in in Verse 1. I haven’t notated the electronic kick sounds before the final chorus so add them if it sounds empty without them.
Sunflower -
A heavily requested song from a lot of my younger students after “Into the Spiderverse” came out; I kept it simple for the younger kids but you can add as many extra Hi-Hats where you see fit or even take them out to more accurately represent the track.
This is a great example of 16th Note off beat Snares and Kicks in a track. It’s pretty repetitive with a few tricky fills but I took the hats down to an 8th Note subdivision so it was more achievable for younger players and simplified some of the fills that features drags and buzz rolls. Feel free to add them back in if you like - the choice is yours!
This one is pretty niche, but such a banger. 16th notes on the hats played with one hand makes it pretty fast but certainly not crazy, sprinkle in some open hats and aux snare hits and this track is SO much fun to play.
Killer Australian band and this pop banger is a great example of their work. Super lively track and pretty simple drum parts serve the song perfectly. Nothing flashy just well played and effective drumming. This is slightly simplified compared to the original for ease of reading so feel free to mix it up when you are playing along to the track but this should set you on the right path.
PS - the drummer for Ball Park Daniel Hanson teaches in Brisbane if you are looking for lessons on Northside!
A heavily swung 6/8 groove in an 8 bar phrase. At times there are hi-hats added ad-lib style throughout the track, so if you are wanting to play it perfectly then you may want to notate the whole track, but this will suffice for those just wanting to get the hang of it.
Another heavily swung groove, however this track is in 4/4. I’ve added a syncopated ghost note on the snare to add to the groove which you could potentially leave in or take out depending on what you think sounds solid. The chart is written straight, so make sure you add the swung feel.
This was a heavily requested track from many students, so it made sense to try and notate it. The track is all electronic so the chart is made for an acoustic set-up, and at times a few elements don’t cross over well. Feel free to ad-lib some parts if you think you hear something else in the song.
Pretty basic 8th note groove with a few fills. The track is all played on an electronic kit so you may hear something different to what I did in the fills, so just make them what you think sounds solid. The fade out at the end just loops so just keep jamming it until the songs finishes.
This track is mostly the same patterns looped so this chart just has those main sections. Listen to the track and add the patterns when you hear them in the song and you’ll be able to play the whole thing pretty easily.
This is the only chart I have written for a song I wrote myself. It was requested by one of my students that is quite young so I tried to keep it as simple as possible although it is still tricky with a lot of different subdivisions, linear grooves and dynamics.