Learn to playDo They Know It's Christmas?as made famous by Band Aidon drums
The drum beat on Do They Know It's Christmas? has a steady, understated groove with soft snares and light toms that support the song's warm, communal feel.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Do They Know It's Christmas?. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Do They Know It's Christmas?
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Intro
Play a syncopated tom riff across all three toms for the first part of the song.
Verse
Enter the main groove, playing a 1-&-a pattern on the hi-hat. At the end of the section, build up on the snare, then play a syncopated tom fill using alternating hands.
Chorus
Continue the groove. Watch for the open hi-hats throughout this section, and finish with a fill around the kit.
Bridge
Move to the keyboard riff for 2 bars, before heading into half time for the bridge. At the end of the bridge, fill back to regular time, and continue the groove, with fills.
Outro
Groove out with the riff for the outro, and watch for the fill variations. Finish on a crash.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Do They Know It's Christmas?
with Melodics
Behind the track
Do They Know It's Christmas?
by Band Aid
The musical composition of Do They Know It's Christmas? blends a gentle pop arrangement with bright synths, chiming bells, and a steady mid-tempo rhythm that creates an uplifting, seasonal atmosphere. The vocal performance is defined by its rotating cast of singers, each delivering short lines with distinct tone and emotion, building into powerful group harmonies that emphasize the song’s collective, charitable message.
Tips for learning Do They Know It's Christmas? on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Do They Know It's Christmas? individually for precision mastery. With Melodics, you can slow the pace of the song and work up to full speed.
Tip 2: Review your performance
Identify growth areas: Listen to playback of your performance to learn where you need to develop your timing, technique & rhythm. Melodics provides instant feedback on your performance.
Tip 3: Practice makes perfect
Stay consistent: With regular, focused practice you'll see rapid progress when learning the song. Even a short session each day will make a huge difference.
- Get access to 100s of interactive lessons and popular songs
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FAQs
- Do They Know It's Christmas? is an advanced level song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- You will need the ability to play fast 1/16 notes on the hi-hat, and command of syncopation.
- 115 bpm.
- 4/4.
- New songs are released every week on Melodics! And we love to take requests - the best place for this is within our Discord community where you can also connect with other music learners around the world. Check out https://melodics.com/info/community.