Learn to playLet It Beas made famous by The Beatleson drums
Start with the steady groove, then build toward Ringo's part - laid-back, slightly swung, and filled with "falling down the stairs" fills.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Let It Be. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Let It Be
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Verse
Come in with hi-hat on 2 and 4, and play a fill around the kit to head into the chorus.
Chorus
Lay down a basic groove, with kick variations, and add a 1/16 note on the snare on beats 2-a and 4-a.
Break
Play the hits on the ride, filling the gaps with low tom. Then move to a 1/16 note groove for the guitar solo.
Chorus 2
Move to the ride for chorus 2, and play through the next verse.
Outro
Repeat the chorus to end, and play the hits once more, filling on the low tom.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Let It Be
with Melodics
Behind the track
Let It Be
by The Beatles
McCartney wrote "Let It Be" in 1969 after a dream about his mother Mary, who died of cancer when he was fourteen. He woke up with the melody already in his head. By the time recording wrapped, Lennon had announced he was leaving and McCartney followed in April 1970. The song actually exists in two distinct versions: George Martin produced the single, then Phil Spector was brought in later and added orchestration to the album cut. And there's a sharp bit of history underneath all of it: back in 1962, when the Beatles recorded "Love Me Do," producer George Martin wasn't convinced Ringo was up to it and brought in session drummer Andy White for the single release. Ringo spent that session standing next to the kit he should have been sitting behind, playing tambourine.
Tips for learning Let It Be on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Let It Be 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
- Let It Be is an intermediate level song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- You will need a strong basic groove and command of intermediate syncopation and dexterity.
- 73 bpm
- 4/4
- C 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.