Recommended practice songs for intermediate drummers: a collection of tracks to develop expressiveness and performance skills
Playing the drums gets really fun once you can hit a certain level, doesn’t it? Still, many people probably struggle—tripping up on songs with difficult phrases, or finding it hard to express groove and match the feel of the song even with simple patterns.
In this article, we’ll introduce recommended practice songs for those who’ve just moved beyond the beginner stage or are aiming to level up further.
We’ve picked plenty of recent popular tracks too, so feel free to use this as a guide when choosing your practice songs.
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Recommended practice songs for intermediate drummers: A collection to build expression and performance skills (11–20)
magnet04 Limited Sazabys
The song opens with a stylish phrase using closed rimshots, expanding into an intro marked by a heavy, impactful beat.
After the intro it jumps straight into the chorus, exploding with an aggressive two-beat typical of melodious hardcore.
This two-beat is a standard groove that intermediate players should be able to play comfortably up to a certain tempo.
However, this track exceeds BPM 200, so keeping your right hand going in steady eighth notes might be tough.
As a workaround, if you skip the hi-hat on the downbeats of beats 2 and 4, the two-beat becomes much easier to play.
The song also features multiple fills that leverage hand-foot combinations, so practice them carefully to play those phrases cleanly without losing their shape.
The Zero Sense10-FEET
10-FEET is a three-piece rock band that whips fans into a frenzy with a loud sound incorporating metal, reggae, hip-hop, and guitar pop.
Their 22nd single, Zero-Kan (The First Sense), released exclusively via streaming, was written as the ending theme song for the film THE FIRST SLAM DUNK.
While there aren’t any particularly difficult parts to play, you need to maintain tight performance discipline; otherwise, the band’s sound won’t coalesce into a thrilling ensemble.
Be mindful in your practice so you can play basic techniques quickly and accurately.
protagonistSUPER BEAVER
At around BPM 130, this mid-tempo track looks straightforward at first glance, but it’s a song where your skills are tested in the finer details.
In particular, the beat in the latter half of the first verse’s A section is something you might not encounter even if you regularly play drums.
It’s built on offbeat eighth notes, with sixteenth-note hi-hat fills on beats 3 and 4, which can feel awkward to play until the flow settles into your body.
The latter half of the following B section also features irregular phrases, making it a perfect spot to show whether you can really lock in the groove.
Aside from that, there aren’t any sections that should be too difficult for intermediate players, but right before the final chorus there’s a break where your phrase lines up with the other instruments.
Be sure to practice thoroughly so you don’t drift out of sync!
It’s myselfshaitoopu
While the chorus features a refreshingly open, laid-back beat, the fills introduce phrases like sixteenth-note tom runs and hand-foot combinations, creating a striking contrast in the arrangement.
Songs with this kind of open groove tend to speed up, so be mindful of keeping a steady tempo as you play.
Also, at the beginning of the final chorus, there are several breaks that make use of cymbal chokes.
Be careful not to fall out of sync with the other instruments, and note that getting a clean-sounding choke is trickier than it seems.
Practice repeatedly to achieve the ideal note length and tone.
At KoenjiPEOPLE 1
A track that kicks off right from the intro with an exhilarating two-beat.
At BPM 138, the two-beat won’t be too taxing for intermediate players, letting you enjoy a perfectly satisfying sense of speed as you play.
Overall, it’s built with rock-style beats and phrases, so if you like rock band tunes, you’ll have a lot of fun drumming along.
One point to watch out for is the beat in the B section that uses sixteenth notes.
The feel there is slightly different from the other beats in the song, so try to play it without losing the groove.
Also, right before the drop chorus in the latter half, there’s a fill that uses triplets, so make sure you nail that cleanly too!
SunburstShingāzuhai
The heavy beat that matches the thick, layered guitar sound in this track is really cool, isn’t it? The intro features a flashy, fast-paced beat with crash cymbals, then shifts to a lighter groove using the ride cymbal in the first verse (A-melo).
In the pre-chorus (B-melo), the groove is expressed through skillful open and closed hi-hat work.
The feel changes again in the chorus, and even just in the first half of the song, the dynamic, ebb-and-flow drumming leaves a strong impression.
Make sure you fully understand the song and perform in a way that brings out the appropriate groove for each section of the arrangement.
Recommended practice songs for intermediate drummers: A collection of tracks to develop expressiveness and performance skills (21–30)
Mela!Ryokushokushakai
Ryokuoushoku Shakai is a four-member mixed-gender pop-rock band expanding their fan base with a refreshing high-tone vocal style and band sound.
Their song “Mela!”, included on their second full-length album SINGALONG, was featured in a commercial for Dariya’s “Palty Coloring Milk.” While the drums are laid-back compared to the brisk pace of the melody and ensemble, making it easier to sync as a band, the accents and off-beat playing create the song’s sense of speed.
Be careful not to fall out of sync with the other parts when performing.