How To Play Neil Peart’s Tom Sawyer Intro

How to play Rush's 'Tom Sawyer on drums?

Neil Peart's intro to Rush's 'Tom Sawyer' can be tough to figure out how to play. The drum part doesn't have one bar the same - it's constantly shifting around. In this video, I'll teach it to you in under one minute.

This 'more complex approach' to drumming is why Neil's considered one of the greatest drummers of recent times. It's why other drum enthusiasts affectionately called him 'The Professor'. But. Makes his tunes a challenge to properly pin down!

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Song: Tom Sawyer
Artist: Rush
Drummer: Neil Peart
Skill Level: Advanced

The fastest and 'fun-est' way to get craaaazy good on the drums, is to cover real songs. Every song is a 'study' in something. Learning this tune will help you with:

You'll have to work on:
- Speed with your hi-hat hand (likely your right hand)
- Odd time signatures
- Long-form drum patterns
- Big fills

If you want more detailed breakdowns and commentaries on what's going on with the drums in this tune, I've some long-form videos. You can find those on my channel. I hope they're fun and help you get all the joy you can possibly get from learning the drums!

Happy drumming,

Pete

[yyzgo]

I remember watching an interview of Neil Peart talking about Tom Sawyer and how he tried to play it a little different each time.

[guitarfreakizoid]

I was expecting the fills in the later part of the song to he the focus, but you focusing on the intro and how it changes is a good way to realize how complex the whole song is !

[EliPorterMahn]

Never thought i'd see a sodding egg play rush so skillfully

S m a s h i n g

[davidmcaninch]

What you just said about Peart hating us is actually accurate. He was a private guy, and he never liked meeting his fans. In fact, he hated the very idea of it, despised it, one would say. He wouldn’t ever want to see a fan let alone talk with him or her face to face.

[peterwhittaker]

Alright pete its pete again still waiting on a segment on moon got the title already for you and the sloppy drums

[daviddrummer]

You're confusing people who are trying to learn is just let them listen to the music and figure it out