Artist : Guns n’ Roses
song : Sweet Child O’Mine
Album : Appetite for Destruction – 1987
Style – Tempo – Signature – Length : Rock – 130 – 4/4 – 5:54
Musician : Steven Adler
pages : 3
Version : Album
Level : Intermediate
“Sweet Child O’ Mine” is one of Guns N’ Roses’ most iconic songs, released in 1987 on their debut album, Appetite for Destruction. While it is often praised for its legendary guitar riff and soaring vocals, the drumming by Steven Adler plays a crucial role in driving the song’s energy and emotional build-up.
The song originated from a casual jam session in their shared house on Sunset Strip. Slash was playing what he considered a silly, circus-like riff when rhythm guitarist Izzy Stradlin and bassist Duff McKagan joined in. Steven Adler instinctively locked into a groove, adding a steady, swinging drum beat that would later define the song’s pulse. Axl Rose, hearing the instrumental, began writing lyrics inspired by his then-girlfriend Erin Everly. Within hours, the band had the foundation of what would become their biggest hit.
Steven Adler’s drumming on Sweet Child O’ Mine is deceptively simple yet incredibly effective. His groove is laid-back but powerful, giving the song a rolling, hypnotic feel. His use of crisp snare hits, steady hi-hat work, and subtle fills keeps the track’s momentum, allowing the guitars and vocals to shine. The real magic happens in the transitions—Adler masterfully builds anticipation before the explosive chorus and intensifies his playing in the final minutes as the song reaches its climax.
Guns N’ Roses debuted Sweet Child O’ Mine during their early club performances at The Roxy, The Troubadour, and the Whisky a Go Go in Los Angeles. Once Appetite for Destruction gained traction, the song became a centerpiece of their live shows. Adler’s drumming was particularly electric during their 1988 performances, such as at The Ritz in New York, where his raw, grooving energy amplified the song’s emotional weight.
Despite his eventual departure from the band, Adler’s drumming remains a defining element of Sweet Child O’ Mine. His feel—swinging, loose, and undeniably groovy—gave the song a unique heartbeat that other drummers have struggled to replicate. Even when Guns N’ Roses played the song in later years with different drummers, Adler’s original groove remained the blueprint.
Today, Sweet Child O’ Mine continues to be a staple of rock drumming, with its blend of simplicity and power making it a favorite for drummers worldwide. Adler’s playing reminds us that great rock drumming isn’t about complexity—it’s about feel, groove, and knowing exactly when to hit hard.
Drum sheet / Drum cover
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. These cookies ensure basic functionalities and security features of the website, anonymously.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
cookielawinfo-checbox-analytics | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Analytics". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-functional | 11 months | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Functional". |
cookielawinfo-checbox-others | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Other. |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-advertisement | 1 year | The cookie is set by GDPR cookie consent to record the user consent for the cookies in the category "Advertisement". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-necessary | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookies is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Necessary". |
cookielawinfo-checkbox-performance | 11 months | This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. The cookie is used to store the user consent for the cookies in the category "Performance". |
PHPSESSID | session | This cookie is native to PHP applications. The cookie is used to store and identify a users' unique session ID for the purpose of managing user session on the website. The cookie is a session cookies and is deleted when all the browser windows are closed. |
viewed_cookie_policy | 11 months | The cookie is set by the GDPR Cookie Consent plugin and is used to store whether or not user has consented to the use of cookies. It does not store any personal data. |
Functional cookies help to perform certain functionalities like sharing the content of the website on social media platforms, collect feedbacks, and other third-party features.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
locale | This cookie is used to store the language preference of a user allowing the website to content relevant to the preferred language. | |
pll_language | 1 year | This cookie is set by Polylang plugin for WordPress powered websites. The cookie stores the language code of the last browsed page. |
Performance cookies are used to understand and analyze the key performance indexes of the website which helps in delivering a better user experience for the visitors.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
YSC | session | This cookies is set by Youtube and is used to track the views of embedded videos. |
Analytical cookies are used to understand how visitors interact with the website. These cookies help provide information on metrics the number of visitors, bounce rate, traffic source, etc.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
__gads | 1 year 24 days | This cookie is set by Google and stored under the name dounleclick.com. This cookie is used to track how many times users see a particular advert which helps in measuring the success of the campaign and calculate the revenue generated by the campaign. These cookies can only be read from the domain that it is set on so it will not track any data while browsing through another sites. |
_ga | 2 years | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to calculate visitor, session, campaign data and keep track of site usage for the site's analytics report. The cookies store information anonymously and assign a randomly generated number to identify unique visitors. |
_gid | 1 day | This cookie is installed by Google Analytics. The cookie is used to store information of how visitors use a website and helps in creating an analytics report of how the website is doing. The data collected including the number visitors, the source where they have come from, and the pages visted in an anonymous form. |
Advertisement cookies are used to provide visitors with relevant ads and marketing campaigns. These cookies track visitors across websites and collect information to provide customized ads.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
fr | 3 months | The cookie is set by Facebook to show relevant advertisments to the users and measure and improve the advertisements. The cookie also tracks the behavior of the user across the web on sites that have Facebook pixel or Facebook social plugin. |
IDE | 1 year 24 days | Used by Google DoubleClick and stores information about how the user uses the website and any other advertisement before visiting the website. This is used to present users with ads that are relevant to them according to the user profile. |
test_cookie | 15 minutes | This cookie is set by doubleclick.net. The purpose of the cookie is to determine if the user's browser supports cookies. |
VISITOR_INFO1_LIVE | 5 months 27 days | This cookie is set by Youtube. Used to track the information of the embedded YouTube videos on a website. |
Other uncategorized cookies are those that are being analyzed and have not been classified into a category as yet.
Cookie | Duration | Description |
---|---|---|
_gat_UA-184016302-1 | 1 minute | No description |
CONSENT | 16 years 9 months 3 days 5 hours | No description |
GoogleAdServingTest | session | No description |
RUL | 1 year | No description |
woocommerce_recently_viewed | session | Description unavailable. |
Roy H (verified owner) –
Awesome! Very authentic which is what I’m looking for. Thank you!!!