Jump to content

What makes Tom Sawyer so hard for Neil to play?


LeaveMyThingAlone
 Share

Recommended Posts

I think it's a difficult song for each of them to play. I read where Geddy says that he loves playing it live because it's so difficult, and he gets a great amount of satisfaction when they nail it live.

 

It's not too hard (relative to some of their other songs) on the guitar.

 

I still can't get f***ing Spirit of Radio's main riff. I have tried for years.

 

I'll just go back to playing La Villa Strangiato. Really strange that I can play all of that but not TSOR.

 

It's tricky to get without inadvertently sounding the B string. I always end up very lightly muting the strings when I play it...just enough to keep the B string from ringing out, but not enough to keep the intentional notes from being heard. I also play an extra note that Alex doesn't usually play.

He plays the first part of the riff like F#-E-D(D)-A-E-D-E, where he plays that first D note as an 8th rather than a 16th...I play it F#-E-D-E-A-E-D-E.

 

Lerxst in Wonderland is more fun anyway...

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's the time signatures and how they change. I have had several drummers tell me it's a difficult song. Plus the 16th beats on the hi hat which is already been mentioned. Edited by EagleMoon
Link to comment
Share on other sites

It's not a difficult song by any means on drums, but it's very precise which can prove difficult to "make sound right". The hi-hat part is a little more than just straight 16th notes, he opens and closes the hi-hat slightly throughout the verse and it creates a pretty cool effect that is very subtle.
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This kid nails it......

 

>Check out this 7 year old drummer Avery Drummer....especially @ the 2:20 mark he starts to get into playing and having some fun....

 

Damn. My son is 7, and we're just happy when he remembers to flush the toilet after he craps.
  • Like 6
Link to comment
Share on other sites

This kid nails it......

 

>Check out this 7 year old drummer Avery Drummer....especially @ the 2:20 mark he starts to get into playing and having some fun....

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MR_x_vrSZBM

I believe this is proof Neil Peart is among the greatest drummers of all-time. Seriously, how many people LOVE playing the drums because of Neil Peart? How many?

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Subdivisions - Can some professional here give me a Neil drum count for this song?

 

You wanting to try that foot-tapping thing I was talking about?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Subdivisions - Can some professional here give me a Neil drum count for this song?

 

The intro to Subdivisions is in 7/8 time.

 

So count to 7 twice at that tempo when Ged's playing the synth intro and you'll hit when Neil comes in.

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Subdivisions - Can some professional here give me a Neil drum count for this song?

 

The intro to Subdivisions is in 7/8 time.

 

So count to 7 twice at that tempo when Ged's playing the synth intro and you'll hit when Neil comes in.

 

Thanks a million. I'm watching Project R30.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Subdivisions - Can some professional here give me a Neil drum count for this song?

 

The intro to Subdivisions is in 7/8 time.

 

So count to 7 twice at that tempo when Ged's playing the synth intro and you'll hit when Neil comes in.

 

You know, that's hard to do. The song starts abruptly and fast. By the time I start counting, Neil's already playing. :laughing guy:

But, I'm getting the hang of it. :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Subdivisions - Can some professional here give me a Neil drum count for this song?

 

The intro to Subdivisions is in 7/8 time.

 

So count to 7 twice at that tempo when Ged's playing the synth intro and you'll hit when Neil comes in.

 

You know, that's hard to do. The song starts abruptly and fast. By the time I start counting, Neil's already playing. :laughing guy:

But, I'm getting the hang of it. :)

 

Think about it this way. That synth line Ged does at the beginning sounds like "DUN DUN DUNNNNNN" "DUN DUN DUNNNNN"

 

Rephrase that as "1-2 1-2 1-2-3" "1-2 1-2 1-2-3" for a total of 7 eighth notes each time. Hence, 7/8 time.

Edited by BowlCity
  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think it's a difficult song for each of them to play. I read where Geddy says that he loves playing it live because it's so difficult, and he gets a great amount of satisfaction when they nail it live.

 

It's not too hard (relative to some of their other songs) on the guitar.

 

I still can't get f***ing Spirit of Radio's main riff. I have tried for years.

 

I'll just go back to playing La Villa Strangiato. Really strange that I can play all of that but not TSOR.

 

Here, let Alex show you...

 

 

Enjoy! :)

Link to comment
Share on other sites

So if Neil hits the bass drum first, the 16 means that he will hit the high hat 16 times before hitting the bass again?

No, on average it would be 8 with 2 bass hits per measure, as one measure (of 4/4) is one whole note, or 16 16th notes. However, I believe that in TS's first verse, because of the timing of the bass drum half a beat before the second snare hit in a measure, it's more like a cycle of 10 and then 6 repeating every measure. However, even this won't always be the case, especially considering fills.

 

EDIT: OK, now, with another listen, I can say that this pattern only applies to the opening bars. The bass drum pattern changes pretty much every bar afterwards, often with more than 2 hits. To simplify the idea, think of Subdivisions. The 4 measures after the first part in 7/8 are in 4/4, and the bass drum is hit on every quarter note: 4 per measure, evenly spaced. The high hat here is in sixteenths, and therefore 16 per whole note measure, and therefore there are four high hat hits per bass drum hit despite the high hat being in sixteenths. The bass drum's pulse and the high hat's pulse are both in terms of the rhythmic pulse of the song and not each other.

Edited by len(songs)
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Figure counting to a song as quarter notes. If "H" stands for high hat it is like this when you're counting to a song.

 

 

Quarter notes

1 2 3 4

H H H H

 

Eighth notes

1 2 3 4

H H H H H H H H

 

Sixteenth notes

1 2 3 4

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Figure counting to a song as quarter notes. If "H" stands for high hat it is like this when you're counting to a song.

 

 

Quarter notes

1 2 3 4

H H H H

 

Eighth notes

1 2 3 4

H H H H H H H H

 

Sixteenth notes

1 2 3 4

H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H H

 

Easy to pick this out on the above isolation track. Good posting!

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now
 Share

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...