Tom Sawyer drum notation
Rush
The verse groove locks against Geddy’s bass in a way that feels obvious once you’ve got it and slippery until you do. Count carefully through the fills; rushing the tom work is how this one falls apart on a practice pad.
Peart in 7 — and why it stops feeling like math
Odd-time rock with clear accents, which makes it good material once you're moving past straight 4/4 covers and need the subdivisions written out instead of guessed from a YouTube play-along.
Where the accents actually land
- How the snare and cymbal accents line up with the synth/bass figures
- Fill lengths — Peart’s phrases often land back on a specific downbeat, not “whenever”
- The difference between the verse pattern and the bigger chorus hits
Getting the meter into your hands
- Count the meter out loud until the groove feels like a loop, not a math problem
- Isolate one fill and loop it into the following bar of groove before chaining sections
- Use a click subdivided the way you count the song — guessing the pulse under fills is where mistakes hide
Tom Sawyer drum notation PDF
Trouble viewing the chart? Download the PDF instead. Want this kind of chart for your own track? Upload a recording.
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.
- In the Air TonightPhil CollinsThat gated-reverb fill in the last third — the one everyone waits for. The rest of the song is mostly atmosphere until it isn’t.
- 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.
Working through more odd-time material?
Upload a track in 5, 7, or anything else that's not straight 4/4, and we'll write out the actual subdivisions instead of leaving you to guess from a play-along video.