Learn to playValerieas made famous by Amy Winehouseon drums
Start with the tempo. It moves fast enough that just riding it clean is a genuine win. Once that's under you, there's more going on beneath the surface: a 3:2 son clave pattern doing the structural work, the same Motown DNA that's been driving soul grooves since the sixties. By the time you've worked through it, you're not just playing a pop song. You're inside a lineage.
Valerie
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Verse
Play 1/8 notes on the hi-hat, and mirror the bass rhythm on the kick. Add the snare after 2 bars. At the end of the section, open the hi-hat as a fill.
Pre-chorus
Continue the groove, and play open hi-hat variations, ending with a fill on snare using alternating hands.
Chorus
Move to the ride for the chorus, finishing with snare on beat 4-e to lead into the break.
Verse 2
Rest for the beginning of the verse, and pick up on beat 3 with a fill. Groove through the pre-chorus, pausing before the chorus, with a fill on beat 4.
Outro
Groove out through the outro on ride, finishing with a fill between snare and hi tom to finish.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Valerie
with Melodics
Behind the track
Valerie
by Amy Winehouse
The Zutons wrote Valerie in 2005, but the version most people know came out of the Ronson and Winehouse session, where it shed its indie-rock skin and picked up something with more weight to it. That transformation had everything to do with who was in the room. Homer Steinweiss was the house drummer for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings, the Daptone Records flagship act that helped kick off the mid-2000s soul revival. The rolled-back, locked-in feel on the track isn't a production trick. It's what years of living inside soul music sounds like when the tape starts rolling.
Tips for learning Valerie on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of Valerie 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
- Valerie is an intermediate level song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- You will need a fast, swung groove, with some independence.
- 106 bpm
- 4/4
- Eb 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.