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 expressiveness and performance skills (1–10)
50%Ofisharu Higedan Dism
This song is characterized by its complex structure, and on top of that, the drum beat shifts dramatically in each section, making it a fairly challenging track.
There are two key points you’ll want to focus on.
The first is the chorus beats.
Even within the same chorus, there are three beat patterns used: the first chorus, and the front and back halves of the second chorus.
What’s more, the first chorus uses a 4-beat feel, while the second chorus switches to 8-beat and 16-beat, each with a different groove.
Be careful to maintain a steady tempo on the 4-beat, and to bring out the groove on the 8-beat and 16-beat respectively.
The second key point is the rap section that appears after the first chorus.
Here, the beat is produced using a drum pad with programmed sounds.
If you don’t have a drum pad, recreating this part on an acoustic kit as-is can give your performance a distinct appeal different from the original.
Practice with your band repeatedly so you can lock in drum parts that match each section of the song perfectly.
Blue HabitatKitanitatsuya
The sense of speed and sharp guitar riffs really stand out, and the drum fill that seems to sync with the opening guitar riff is super cool.
The driving four-on-the-floor beat in the chorus that uses sixteenth notes also feels amazing when it locks in with the other members’ parts.
It’s a very compelling track to listen to, but when performing it live, you need to think about how to handle the programmed sounds in the song.
In the band’s own shows, they use a drum pad for parts like the first verse (A-melo) and the interlude, but if you’re covering it, you could faithfully recreate those programmed elements—or skip the drum pad and figure out how to express them on an acoustic drum kit, which can be fun too.
Decide what kind of vibe you want to go for, make it your own, and give it a try.
OutPorukadotto Sutingurei
Despite its uptempo pace around BPM 190 and the rapid shifts between phrases and flashy fills, this track offers plenty of spotlight moments for a drummer.
That said, most of the beats used are simple, so you’ll want to focus on each individual fill and how to connect them smoothly.
It’s also crucial, when playing with a band, to lock in tightly on sections where you follow the same rhythm as the other instruments or hit the breaks together.
If you nail those parts precisely, your performance will have greater impact and a stronger sense of unity.
exceed; surpass; go beyond; cross (over)[Alexandros]
![exceed; surpass; go beyond; cross (over)[Alexandros]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WsEhSXH497I/sddefault.jpg)
Characterized by a signature [Alexandros]-style sense of speed, this track is an uptempo rock tune at BPM 200.
To keep a steady 8-beat at this tempo and play clean fills using 16th notes and triplets, you’ll need solid, versatile stick control.
The challenge here isn’t just speed—there are also technical phrases, notably in the interlude before the chorus.
By making good use of the ride cymbal bell and splash cymbals, the phrases are crafted to be stylish and musical.
Unlike songs that are just fast or merely complex, this is a piece that demands a wide range of skills.
RewriteASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION
Many of ASIAN KUNG-FU GENERATION’s early songs feature simple, appealing guitar and bass parts that are great for beginners, but the drums are a different story, with plenty of high-difficulty passages.
That said, drummers can really expand their toolkit by tackling them.
In Rewrite, the use of the ride cymbal is brilliant and serves as a major weapon in the overall sound.
If you can also nail the finer techniques perfectly, there’s no doubt you’ll level up!
lilacMrs. GREEN APPLE
Released in 2024 and chosen as the theme song for the anime “Oblivion Battery,” this is a track many of you may already know.
Its uptempo feel and rapidly shifting phrases make it moderately challenging.
The key features include groovy lines with ghost notes, phrases interwoven with sixteenth notes and sixteenth rests, and a variety of rhythms such as triplets and sextuplets in the fills.
Simply playing it exactly like the recording requires practice, so it’s an ideal pick for intermediate players.
migratory bird[Alexandros]
![migratory bird[Alexandros]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/O_DLtVuiqhI/sddefault.jpg)
Despite being released in 2015, this remains one of [Alexandros]’s most popular signature songs.
The track has a refreshing vibe throughout, and the drums are characterized by phrases that incorporate soca rhythms.
First, get used to this rhythm, and pay special attention to the crash cymbals that appear repeatedly within the phrase.
Because the crashes are embedded in the pattern, whether you can play them without sounding too loud will likely be the dividing line between beginner and intermediate players.
After the guitar solo, you’ll encounter phrases that use accents and crescendos, so be mindful of expressing them in a way that matches the song.
The biggest challenge of this track is the outro.
Surprisingly, there’s an odd meter used near the end of the song, so those who tried to learn it by ear may have found themselves thinking, “Huh? The beats aren’t lining up…” Start by studying the notation or watching performance videos to understand the phrases!