Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres drums: tempo, difficulty and parts
Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres by Rush is 200 BPM and runs 17:15: 546 bars and 5,820 notes played on the hi-hat, kick, snare, ride, crash, floor tom, tom 2 and tom 1.
The drum part is rated Hard — a real workout, so start it at half speed and bring it up.
It has 11 fills, its longest section is the (i) Prelude (4:27) and the hi-hat opens as well as closes.
Song map
- (i) Prelude
- (ii) Apollo - Bringer of Wisdom
- (iii) Dionysus: Bringer of Love
- (iv) Armageddon - The Battle of Heart and Mind
- (v) Cygnus - Bringer of Balance
- (vi) The Sphere - A Kind of Dream
How to play Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres on drums
- Plug in your electronic drum kit over USB — or play on the keyboard.
- Press play. The notes of Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres come down in time with the recording. Play it in Beatfall or read it as drum notation.
- Slow it down. Take the Fill at bar 68 at 0.5× or 0.75× with a click and a count-in, then bring it up to 200 BPM.
- Check every hit — on time, early or late — before you record your Cygnus X-1, Book II: Hemispheres drum cover.
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