Recommended Listening
It is common for a drum set player to specialize in one style of music – a style they enjoy playing the most. Often, a drummer specializes in a style because they play for a certain band. However, being a diverse drummer is considered desirable and is not difficult to achieve once a drummer has a solid foundation.
While some music styles require specific drum patterns and techniques, others are open to the interpretation of the drummer. Below are good examples of common musical styles with appropriate drum beats. Drummers should eventually be able to play the beats or similar beats in the appropriate setting.
| Style | Band | Song | Drummer |
|---|---|---|---|
| Progressive Pop | Anika Nilles | Queenz | Anika Nilles |
| Progressive Metal | Dream Theater | Learning to Live | Mike Portnoy |
| Punk Pop | Blink 182 | What's My Age Again? | Travis Barker |
| Pop | R.E.M. | Losing My Religion | Bill Berry |
| Country Rock | Joe Diffie | Third Rock From the Sun | Lonnie Wilson |
| Funk Rock | Red Hot Chili Peppers | Can't Stop | Chad Smith |
| Contemporary Jazz | Chick Corea Electric Band | Got A Match? | Dave Weckl |
| Rock | AC/DC | Back In Black | Phil Rudd |
| Progressive Rock | Rush | Tom Sawyer | Neil Peart |
| Blues | Stevie Ray Vaughan | The Sky Is Crying | Chris Layton |
| Funk | Tower of Power | Give Me Your Love | David Garibaldi |
| Bigband Jazz | Lalo Schifrin & BBC Bigband | Street Lights | Ignacio Berroa |
| Latin | Warner Bros. (DVD) | Latin Drumming | Horacio Hernandez |
| Instrumental Progressive Metal | Animals as Leaders | CAFO | Misha Mansoor (programmer) |
| Drum Solo | The Marco Show (DVD) | Marco Minnemann | |
| Drum Solo | Concert for the Americas | Buddy Rich | |
| Drum Solo | Montreal Drumfest 2012 | Dave Weckl |