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What makes Tom Sawyer so hard for Neil to play?


LeaveMyThingAlone
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I remember playing the drums for this tune at a high school talent assembly ("talent" is used loosely in my case). It was a brutally difficult thing to drum to on a five piece drum set with one crash and one ride cymbal. I didn't try any fancy high-hat tricks—it was all I could do to keep it going. I gave up drums soon after that performance...
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I remember watching Neil going hell for leather during The Rhythm Method on the ASOH DVD. Good golly - the level of stamina and concentration made my jaw drop! He didn't let up for one second!

 

Having said that, while seeing him kind of hunched over, I did find myself thinking: "I hope he doesn't get back ache...

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I remember watching Neil going hell for leather during The Rhythm Method on the ASOH DVD. Good golly - the level of stamina and concentration made my jaw drop! He didn't let up for one second!

 

Having said that, while seeing him kind of hunched over, I did find myself thinking: "I hope he doesn't get back ache...

 

That's what I think when I watch him playing The Weapon in Grace Under Pressure - stamina and concentration. Even with headphones on, I don't know how he doesn't get distracted. His self-discipline must be phenomenal.

 

I truly do admire him.

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I remember watching Neil going hell for leather during The Rhythm Method on the ASOH DVD. Good golly - the level of stamina and concentration made my jaw drop! He didn't let up for one second!

 

Having said that, while seeing him kind of hunched over, I did find myself thinking: "I hope he doesn't get back ache...

 

That's what I think when I watch him playing The Weapon in Grace Under Pressure - stamina and concentration. Even with headphones on, I don't know how he doesn't get distracted. His self-discipline must be phenomenal.

 

I truly do admire him.

 

I admire him too.

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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

 

Simlar non-technical way to look at it:

 

Playing quarter notes, it feels appropriate to count along like:

 

"One.........two.........three.........four........."

 

Eigth notes are for a busier sounding song; it might feel better to count as:

 

"One...and...two...and...three...and...four...and..."

 

Sixteenth notes are even more urgent; they feel like:

 

"One.ee.and.ah.two.ee.and.ah.three.ee.and.ah.four.ee.and.ah."

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OK, this is also a bit of shameless self promotion, but this one has a slower tempo, and might be easier to count. There are several time signatures present, so perhaps it's good counting practice.

 

 

I never bothered to count it, except during that weird bit just before the main lead...the rest I just felt my way through.

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I think part of it is keeping the constant 16th notes going on the high-hat. The first time I heard him talk about it being difficult, the song was coming right after his drum solo. So he was bashing away at his kit for 8-9 minutes, and then they go into TS with a very precise percussion part.

 

I agree. And it's hard combining some of the bass drum patterns in time with the 1/6th notes!

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For me as a drummer, the patterns Neil is playing in TS are not terribly difficult per se, it's the tempo at which he's playing them. The song as originally recorded is just so bloody *fast*, particularly those 16th-note hi-hat notes. For me, that's the toughest part - just keeping up.

 

Even Neil himself - I suspect - can't keep up anymore. You'll notice that RUSH have really slowed the tempo of TS down in recent years. Compare the original recording with the versions on the last two live DVD's. I suspect Neil simply can't - or maybe just doesn't want to bother - trying to play the song at that breakneck speed anymore.

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For me as a drummer, the patterns Neil is playing in TS are not terribly difficult per se, it's the tempo at which he's playing them. The song as originally recorded is just so bloody *fast*, particularly those 16th-note hi-hat notes. For me, that's the toughest part - just keeping up.

 

Even Neil himself - I suspect - can't keep up anymore. You'll notice that RUSH have really slowed the tempo of TS down in recent years. Compare the original recording with the versions on the last two live DVD's. I suspect Neil simply can't - or maybe just doesn't want to bother - trying to play the song at that breakneck speed anymore.

I thought it was my imagination. Thank for for bringing this up because I did notice it.

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