Customer Reviews

Drum Techniques of Rush

5 star:		(5)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Transcriptions of some of Mr. Peart's best drum parts of the "middle" Rush-era. If you're interested in kit drumming and haven't been turned onto Neil Peart, check this book out to find out what you've been missing. There are a lot of unique and creative patterns in this book.

(I would give the book 5 stars for the subject matter, but there's a small transcription error in "Subdivisions" - I suspect there may be a few more lurking in there.)

I've been a percussionist for some 20+ years now. I started my cult like following of Neil and Rush back when "Grace Under Pressure" was released.

Since then I haven't missed a lick or concert. I own just about everything that RUSH has made. So of course I picked up this book and it's sequel.

What I have found is that the books are not accurate transcriptions of Neil's work. Several of the songs are a little watered down so that newbies don't get discouraged. Neil is without a doubt one of the best drummers to hit the skins and these books try to give the percussive student the basics of Neil's work.

Where the books fall short is where they leave out several key kit rudiments that are trademarks of Neil Peart. (e.g. The Peart Roll in several songs like Tom Sawyer). Also, I noticed that the transcripts have written the notes for drums other than what Neil actually uses on various songs. (Who can forget Neil's chimes in Xanadu?)

So... don't worry about buying it. The books worth it! Just remember that they are intended to give a fundamental understanding of Neil's work but they are no substitute for watching "Neil Peart - A Work in Progress" (available on VHS), listening to every work by the artist, and practicing his rudiments over and over for hours and hours until it becomes second nature (no pun intended... honestly).

One last thing...

Neil if you read this, I have one of your sticks and would be happy to return it in exchange for an afternoon at your ranch in Canada. <g> (Middletown Dreams)

I've enjoyed going through this book and working out some of the parts. Some of the time signatures/changes were eye-opening, as you can get lost at times trying to decipher certain Rush tunes (well I know I do anyway).
On the downside, a lot of it has been simplified - kind of like a "Here is the basic idea of what's being played" attitude (The Trees for example). There are occasional mistakes which I can live with, but some of it is flat wrong. Check out the beginning of Natural Science ("Wheels within wheels in a spiral array") - if you listen to the song while following the transcription, you will see that what is written is wrong.

Overall I'd recommend this book - is there such a thing as a BAD drum book?

I have been using this book for over 12 years now. I received it as a gift during my senior year of high school, and used the book so much that it was literally falling apart. I had to get a replacement. I have also used this book to teach to some of my drum students. Although I have found a few mistakes, the rhythms and time signatures are very accurate.

I find it very useful to not only teach time changes and reading skills, but to teach continuity even when mistakes happen.

Neil Peart's drumming exhibits finesse and is incredibly intricate. The drummer that uses this book will learn not the K.I.S.S. (keep it simple stupid) method to drumming and timekeeping, but the M.U.S.I.C. (make up something interesting and complimentary) method.

I would highly recommend this book to any RUSH fan or intermediate to advanced drummer looking to add a few more "tools" to their percussive toolbox.

When I first read this book, I knew that the skill level was more advanced than mine. But, my teacher and I looked at "Limelight" after I bought Moving Pictures. Later on, I started looking at the Hemispheres and Permanent Waves and I found that the music pretty difficult and I needed help. Now, I'm getting more into Neil Peart's drumming. The good things about this book is that the writer chose a good selection of songs like "The Spirit of Radio," "La Villa Strangiato," and "Subdivisions." When I listened to the drum track, the writer didn't transcribe the music very accurately. I had edit different parts of every song with the correct transcription. I would recommand this book to anyone who likes Rush. But, be aware of the incorrect transcriptions in every song.

Other Rush transcriptions and videos are not that accurate, but this one is dead nuts. Neil supervised the transcription. This is also a good way to learn any one of Neil's million grooves and apply it in fun ways to your own music.

This book is incredibly useful if you are trying to learn Rush tunes. Sure you could just sit and learn them from the CD but also having the sheet music speeds things up quite a bit and you will catch things you didn't notice by just listening. People here are complaining a lot about the mistakes, which there are, but I think its a minor point. The fact is, most of the mistakes are totally obvious if you are listening the cd. I think maybe they are mostly transcription errors from the publisher. In any case, most of the book is quite accurate and it will give you a much greater appreciation of Peart's compositions than you ever have had.

I'm not as good as I would like to be at hearing progressive rock music and understanding what is being played so I was very happy to see this book.

Unfortunately the author isn't very good either. I've spent quite a few hours trying to reconcile what I was hearing with what I was reading.

I would still purchase it for some clues, but you can't take it as gospel. The book states that the arrangements were prepared under the supervision of Neil Peart, maybe he wasn't paying attention. :)

I was on the fence about this book because of the other reviews about the "simpleness" of the transcriptions. But after I read through it, I was surprised. They were accurate for as far as I could tell, and very useful. I usually learn songs by ear, but I had a few fills in La Villa Stragiato to clear up. So I bought the book and it has helped immensely! So, if you're a drummer that enjoys Rush, or even just a drummer looking to learn some cool licks, this book is great!

Considering that Neil Peart is best known for his precision and consistency, I was disappointed with this frequently inaccurate effort. The inaccuracies are sometimes amusing - Mr. Wheeler's 'imagined' fills are in places a bit harder and less intuitive than Mr. Peart's actual parts. Mostly I was disconcerted however that the author himself apparently has not quite mastered Mr. Peart's work and subsequently has misled rather elightened many students of the art. I'm curious to know if Mr. Peart was ever made aware of the errors and if so what his reactions must have been (he has said that he does not read music and hence did not review the transcriptions personally).