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5 Double Kick Songs For Beginners

Aaron Edgar  /  UPDATED Aug 22, 2022

Did you recently treat yourself to a double kick pedal for the first time? Or have you had one on your kit for a while but the slave pedal has been gathering dust? Get your feet flying with these five songs even a beginner can learn!

All of these patterns are relatively straight forward while still sounding cool, and they’re fun to play, even if you’re starting at a slower tempo. And that’s the key: start slow. You’ll be able to improve your control and lock in the muscle memory you’ll need to play faster tempos.

1. “Red Hot” – Motley Crue


238 BPM sounds really fast, but it’s just 8th notes on the kick. If you start slow, you’ll be able to pull it off, no problem. It’s a simple right left on the feet with a basic rock backbeat on your hands.

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2. “The Four Horsemen” – Metallica


Imagine taking the famous double bass triplet pattern from “One” and cutting it in half. This gallop-style burst is an 8th note triplet on the kicks, followed by a snare hit.

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3. “Down With The Sickness” – Disturbed


This interesting syncopated double kick pattern has a cool offbeat snare drum shot at the end. Try it yourself!

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4. “Domination” – Pantera


With big open quarter notes on the hands, the double bass pattern consists of syncopated 16th notes. It’s a four bar phrase with a fun variation in the final bar. Learning this will help you work on endurance and nail those off-beat shots.

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5. “Under A Glass Moon” – Dream Theater


Here’s another cool syncopated 16th note rhythm. Your hands aren’t just doing a standard backbeat this time time; it’s got a little more creativity to it.

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What do you think of this list? Are there other beginner double bass songs you like to practice?


Aaron Edgar is a professional studio and touring musician with over 15 years of teaching experience. He couples his educational know-how with the ability to play various styles of music with ease. Aaron enjoys taking rhythmic concepts to a whole new level, which makes for yet another fantastic drummer to learn from and get inspired by on Drumeo.

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