Learn to playFast Caras made famous by Tracy Chapmanon drums
Start with the offbeat eighth notes locked to the guitar riff. Open the hi-hats, then work through Fongheiser’s variations to find your own space in the groove.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Fast Car. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Fast Car
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Verse
Pick up on beat 3 with a hi-hat fill. Play the main groove, with 1/4 notes on the snare. Watch for the kick, open hi-hat, and 1/16 note hi-hat variations throughout.
Verse 2
Continue the verse groove with variations through the second verse.
Chorus
Continue the verse groove for 8 bars, then move into the chorus, playing a backbeat groove with hits around the guitar rhythm.
Verse 3
Now combine another verse section with variations followed by a chorus.
Verse 4
Continue with the verse groove for 16 grooves, followed by a chorus section, with variations throughout.
Outro
Groove out on the verse, and play hits between the crash and snare to finish.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Fast Car
with Melodics
Behind the track
Fast Car
by Tracy Chapman
"Fast Car" came out of the working-class world Chapman grew up around in Cleveland - a getaway song where nobody quite gets away. The guitar riff carries that tension on its own, which made the production a puzzle: producer David Kershenbaum brought in five different drummers and five different bass players, had each of them play along to Chapman's guitar, then mixed and matched until something fit. The pairing that stuck was drummer Denny Fongheiser and bassist Larry Klein. That cover by Luke Combs, released in 2023, won Single of the Year at the CMA Awards - the first time a song originally recorded by a Black artist won that category.
Tips for learning Fast Car on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Fast Car 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.
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FAQs
- Fast Car 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 hold a groove and play 1/8 and 1/16 note variations on kick and hi-hat.
- 104 bpm
- 4/4
- A major
- 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.