Learn to playZombieas made famous by The Cranberrieson drums
The drum beat in Zombie by The Cranberries is steady and powerful, with a driving, militant rhythm. It emphasizes heavy kick and snare hits, adding intensity and grit.
With our step-by-step drum lesson you can recreate the beat behind Zombie. We’ve broken down the main sections of the song and will take you through each part beat by beat, with video demonstrations.
Zombie
Drums Tutorial - Step by Step
Intro
Pickup with a snare fill in bar 4. Move to the open hi-hat groove, watching for the snare variations. Finish with a fill moving from snare to hi tom.
Verse
Use alternating hands to play the 1/16 notes on the hi-hat, moving to the mid tom on the backbeat. Leading into the chorus, open the hats and fill on the snare.
Chorus
Return to the intro groove. In the second half, add syncopated snares, and watch for the snare fills throughout.
Break
Play 1/16 notes on the hi-hat to start the break. Then move to the open hi-hat groove, adding syncopation after 4 bars.
Outro
Play 1/4 notes on the snare while you move between crash and open hi-hat. Build up and fill back into the break groove on closed hi-hat. Finish with a snare fill.
Combine and play
Now combine the sections to play the full arrangement.
Learn to play
Zombie
with Melodics
Behind the track
Zombie
by The Cranberries
The musical composition of Zombie by The Cranberries is bold and haunting, featuring grungy, distorted guitars and a steady, intense drum beat. The song uses a minor key to create a somber tone, while its simple, repetitive chord progression builds a sense of tension and urgency.
Dolores O'Riordan's vocal performance is raw and powerful, marked by her unique vocal timbre and Irish accent. Her voice alternates between vulnerable and fierce, especially during the chorus where she belts out “Zombie” with intensity, reflecting the song's themes of conflict and frustration. The vocal layering and reverb add an ethereal quality, enhancing the song's haunting impact.
Tips for learning Zombie on drums
Tip 1: Slow it down
Break it down: Tackle each section of 'Zombie' 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
- Zombie is an intermediate difficulty song. Fortunately, there are beginner versions of the song available on Melodics to check out!
- To play Zombie you will need to be able to play two-handed hi-hat grooves, and have command of basic syncopation.
- 82 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.