Drum Related

Below is a breakdown of Knockin’ on Heavens Door, it shows the section name and number of bars.

Section                No. of Bars

Intro                    8 (Don’t play 1st 3.5 bars. ½ bar fill in 4th bar. Then groove on hi hat for last 4 bars)

1st Verse             8 (Hi hat)

Chorus                 8 (Ride)

Instrumental      8 (Hi hat and cross stick)

2nd Verse           8 (Hat hat)

Chorus                8 (Ride)

Guitar solo          8 (Ride)

Middle 8             8 (Hi hat)

Chorus (Quiet)  16 (Hi hat. Stop on the “1” of the 15th bar….. Whole bar fill in the 16th bar)

Chorus                9 (Ride. Whole bar fill that slows in 9th bar. Stop on “1” of 10th bar)

This weeks’ track of the week is Knockin’ on Heavens Door by Guns N Roses. I’ve chosen this track because it’s one I’ve got to play at a gig this weekend. It’s a classic, pretty slow, good for your “power” fills and it can utilise lifts, lots of bass drum work, crashes…… need I go on?? Give it a listen and I’ll give you the breakdown. It’s also pretty straight forward, while being good for your counting as it’s slow and a section of 16bars can take a while!