Favorite Pop Punk Drums

Drums might be the most fun instrument to play, there's nothing more fun than rocking out. I like playing all sorts of styles of drums, but one of my favorites is Pop Punk. Pop Punk requires you to play hard and fast, while maintaining a steady pace in fills. Drum rhythms that can be technically difficult while offering a challenge in endurance. These are 3 of my favorite Pop Punk songs to play drums to.

Blink 182 - First Date

Travis Barker is undeniably the greatest pop punk drummer. What sets him apart from other drummers is his ability to add phrases in his drum rhythms that elevate the song. First Date has a lot of examples of this. You can hear it in the intro of the song, with one of the most iconic drum fills of all time. The rhythm that follows has a really cool accent added with the crash cymbals, and two tom hits to circle back to the start of the loop. The drums during the verse have the open hi hats, which add so much flavor to the rhythm. The chorus has an iconic first few bars with the drum fills that play along with the melody. I never got the bridge down, but it is such a technically impressive drum piece nonetheless an amazing part of the song. When I would play this song I'd have a lot of fun trying to keep up.

The Story So Far - States and Minds & Roam

The Story So Far have my second favorite drums in Pop Punk. Ryan Torf does an amazing job at writing creative drums that are both challenging and fun to play. The intro to their first album, Under Dirt and Soil, is a ton of fun to play. The first song, States and Minds, starts with a rhythm on the closed hi hat with two open hi hat hits that make it bounce. I love how the fill at 0:11. At 0:20 the song begins to transition to the part it's been building up to. I like the hi hat foot taps and snare hit that leads into it at 0:22. The part that comes after is fun to play especially the open hi hat hits and the way the snare goes from landing on 3 to landing on 2 and 4. As States and Minds ends it immediately goes into Roam, which is why I included both songs. I broke so many sticks with the fill that comes in on 0:06. The drums after are awesome in the way that the kick drum lines up with the guitar while the right hand plays quarter notes on the crash. I love the fill at the end before the verse at 0:19. The drums during the verse are unique in where the snare and kick drum lands, but are so much fun to play. The breakdown at 1:26 on the snare, and then the transition to the hi hat with the open hi hat, is amazing. It switches at 1:57 into a great rhythm.

Modern Baseball - Wedding Singer

I never really felt like Modern Baseball was Pop Punk, but this song definitely gets close to it. This song is similar to States and Minds/Roam in that the song before it builds up into it. Wedding Singer is much more explosive because the song prior is an acoustic piece. The drums that play during the guitar riff are a catchy, bouncy rhythm. They cut out while the vocals are sung, and I always loved the way the drums come back in at 0:25. They play a simple rhythm for the verse, but it's a lot of fun. The fill at 0:39 falls into a really interesting flam, as the tom and kick drum grow further apart as the break builds. The drums come back in for a simple rhythm with the organ The main riff comes back and then in goes into the second verse. What makes the second verse so fun is the relationship between the kick drum and bass. At 1:11 listen to the way they line up, and how it switches at 1:19. The bass line with the kick and snare at 1:19 is my favorite moment of the song. There's one more small break before the final chorus of the song, and I love the snare fills at 1:37. The final fill at 1:45 is so much fun to switch to, coming from the drums prior.

Those are some of my favorite Pop Punk songs to play drums to. There are tons more by these three bands, I learned how to play drums playing along to my favorite bands. There's a lot more too, and I'll definitely take the time to write about more of the songs and bands I like to play drums along with, whether Pop Punk or different genres.

Thank you for reading!