How old were you when “Come As You Are” by Nirvana was released? I can’t exactly describe how I felt when I first heard it as a teenager, but it felt like a revelation. Raw, emotional, moody.
Drummer Dave Grohl, not usually known to write drum parts suitable for beginners, took kindly to future beginner drummers. “Come as You Are” is not a hard song to play on drums, but it’s no “Money Beat” or “Four on the Floor” either. We’ll break down the song and show you some alternative ways to play the beat, and with just a little bit of practice, you will be able to play the song’s drum parts from start to finish. Let’s dive in, shall we?
Tempo
“Come As You Are” sits at a steady 120 BPM, giving it a driving but relaxed feel that allows even beginners to play the groove solidly throughout the song.
Song Structure
This track follows a relatively straightforward structure. Each part is a multiple of 4 measures, with fills at regular intervals:
This visual guide will help you navigate the song as we break down each section.
Song Sections
Intro
The intro is all about establishing the foundation of the song. Keep it tight and locked in with the bass guitar.
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Intro
The beat enters on the 3 of the first measure. After this, play 8th notes on the ride, a backbeat on 2 and 4. Pay close attention to the line played by the bass guitar. The Kick Drum follows this pretty closely
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Intro in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
▬ Verse
The Verse is just a continuation of the Intro in terms of pattern:
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Verse
Play 8th notes on the ride, a backbeat on 2 and 4. The Kick Drum follows the bass guitar closely.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Verse in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
We can add a slight variation to play it like Dave does on the recording:
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Verse (Alternative)
In the third measure, add a Snare hit on the a-of-2 right before the Kick on 3.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Verse (Alternative) in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
▬ Pre-Chorus
The Pre-Chorus is likey the most iconic drum part of Come As You Are. It’s also the only part that uses 16th note patterns. The challenge is in the dynamics. While the Snare Drum is played linear with 16th notes, each quarter note is accented. This tends to be hard for beginner drummers, but it’s good to exercise these anyway. This should be nice motivation to put in those practice hours towards clean accented notes.
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus 1
The first pre-chorus from start to finish. The beat, simple quarter notes played on the Crash along with a Kick Drum pattern alternates with two types of fills. Pre-Chorus fill 1 is played 3 times, and Pre-Chorus fill 2 wraps up the first pre-chorus.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus 1 in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus Fill 1
This fill is slowed down to 90 bpm. Start with Crash and Kick Drum, then play 16th on the Snare, making sure to accent the quarter notes.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus Fill 1 in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus Fill 2
Start with Crash and Kick Drum, then play 16th on the Snare. On 3 we switch the 16th notes to the Hi Tom. The fill ends with Kick, a Flam on Snare, and another Kick. Listen to the this slowed down beat to get a feel for it.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus Fill 2 in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
The second Pre-Chorus, played before the two Chorus sections, is very similar, but ends in yet another simple fill that should be doable for beginners:
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus 2 / 3
The second pre-chorus from start to finish. The beat, simple quarter notes played on the Crash along with a Kick Drum pattern alternates with two types of fills. Pre-Chorus fill 1 is played 3 times, and Pre-Chorus fill 3 wraps up the pre-chorus.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus 2 / 3 in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus Fill 3
This fill is alternating 8th note Flams on the snare with Kick Drum.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Pre-Chorus Fill 3 in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
▬ Chorus
The chorus is relatively straight-forward:
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Chorus
The basic Chorus pattern is Kick-Kick-Snare on 1-and-2, 3-and-4. Every other measure ends with two Snare hits on the and-ah of 4. Keep playing 8th notes on cymbals. Here, we’re playing only slightly opened Hi-Hats, but you could also play it on a Crash. Be mindful to play these not too loud, though.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Chorus in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
▬ Bridge
The bridge yet again looks very familiar. Snare and Kick are almost the same as in the Verse:
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Bridge / Outro Pattern
8th notes are played on the Crash. Again, be mindful of the dynamics on the Crash compared to the Kick and Snare. Add a Snare on the ah-of-2 for some more pzazz every other measure.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Bridge / Outro Pattern in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
Outro
The outro finally is the same beat as the bridge. The song ends with these two measures:
Nirvana - Come As You Are - Outro Ending
The outro ends with simple linear 8th notes Snare-Snare-Kick-Kick and finally a Kick, all along 8th notes on the Crash.
Open Nirvana - Come As You Are - Outro Ending in the Beat Note app to change the tempo
Final words
This is not the hardest song, but can still pose challenges to Beginner drummers. If some of the notation was too hard, take a look at the different symbols used in Drum Notation. And if this song was easy, dare to climb the Grohl difficulty latter and try your hand at playing Foo Fighter’s Everlong!
Come As You Are to me is the quintessential Grunge drum song with its dynamic shifts between quiet verses and explosive choruses. Grohl’s ability to transition from restrained, almost lazy beats to those banger fills mirrors the loud-quiet-loud dynamics so often heard in Grunge songs. In that spirit, live those dynamics, take it easy in the verse and turn it up for the pre-chorus and chorus!
Happy drumming!
Michael