Rush · 1981 · drums by Neil Peart
Tom Sawyer
From Moving Pictures. Expert · Odd meters · prog
Tempo
88BPM
- Time signature
- 4/4 + 7/8
- Feel
- Odd meters
- Tempo band
- Under 90
- Difficulty
- Expert
"Work up to it" opens the tempo trainer at 58 and climbs to 88 in steps of four every eight bars. Members get the climb; everyone gets the click.
What the drums do
The half-time verse groove is the easy bit. The instrumental section moves into 7/8, and the fills that lead in and out of it — around the toms in sixteenths, ending on the crash — are among the most transcribed in rock. Learn the drum fill after the synth solo last; it is the one that gets you.
Expert: Years of work. Play it at half speed and be proud.
Neil Peart
- Neil Peart's drum rig in the Rig Vault →The kit, snare, cymbals and hardware, era by era — look for the 1981 setup.
- Log the sessionNote the BPM you got it clean at, and next time starts from there.
More Neil Peart songs
Songs at about 88 BPM
Practise these together: one click, several songs.