In the Air Tonight drum notation
Phil Collins
Most of the track sits on a quiet pulse and those big ambient pads. The kit barely shows up until the fill — then it’s all snare and tom drama in a few bars. If you’re learning this one, the hard part isn’t the fill itself; it’s sitting still for three minutes without rushing the entrance.
A timing study wearing a pop song’s clothes
It’s more restraint than chops. Charts of this song earn their keep by writing the fill cleanly and marking the long stretch of near-silence before it clearly enough that you don’t jump the entrance early guessing from the vocal.
Getting the entrance right
Track where the kick and sparse hits sit under the pads before the fill, count the exact entrance of the gated snare and toms from a fixed point in the verse rather than guessing, and notice how much harder the fill hits relative to everything before it — the dynamic jump is the point, not just the notes played.
- Mark the fill’s downbeat and count aloud from a fixed section of the verse
- Practice the fill alone at half tempo, then put the long wait back in front of it
- Record yourself — most people rush the last eight bars before the entrance
In the Air Tonight drum notation PDF
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This is a sample chart for demonstration and practice reference. For a transcription of your own recording, upload a track or contact us.
More sample drum charts
Other well-known grooves on the site — or see the full list.
- Tom SawyerRushPeart in 7 — tight accents, a fill that shows up in every drum cover, and zero room to coast.
- Smells Like Teen SpiritNirvanaGrohl’s four-bar intro: loud, simple, and easy to rush. The pocket is the whole joke.
- RosannaTotoPorcaro’s half-time shuffle — the “Rosanna shuffle.” Ghost notes, ride pattern, and a pocket you can study for years.
Got a slow-build track of your own?
If you're working on a song with a big dynamic entrance like this one, send us the recording — full mix or drums-only — and we'll chart what's actually being played, gaps and all.