From the course: Drum Set Lessons: On the Beaten Path

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Playing in 5/4

Playing in 5/4

- The next beat we're going to play is something that Neil Peart played, the drummer for Rush, in a song called The Trees. Neil is really well-known for playing odd time signatures extremely well, and this one is in 5/4 and it goes like this. One, two, three, four, five. (hi-hat cymbal) One, two, three, four, five. (hi-hat cymbal) (ride bell and snare drum) (bass pedal) (ride bell and snare drum) (bass pedal) (ride bell and snare drum) (bass pedal) (ride bell and snare drum) (bass pedal) So now let's break that beat down. We're going to play the ride bell on all 5 beats, and we're going to play the snare drum on beats 2 and on beats 4, and we're going to play the bass drum on beats 1 and 5, like this. One, two, three, four, five. (hi-hat cymbal) One, two, three, four, five. (hi-hat cymbal) (ride bell and snare drum) (bass pedal) (ride bell and snare drum) (bass pedal) Next, let's add in some 8th notes on the bass drum, to get a little bit closer to the actual rhythm that Neil played…

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