The Court Of The Crimson King drums: tempo, difficulty and parts
The Court Of The Crimson King by King Crimson is 68 BPM and runs 10:11: 181 bars and 2,732 notes played on the ride, snare, kick, crash, floor tom, tom 2 and hi-hat.
The drum part is rated Hard — a real workout, so start it at half speed and bring it up.
It has 9 fills, its longest section is the "The Dance of the Puppets" (2:40) and the hi-hat opens as well as closes.
Song map
- Intro
- Verse 1
- Chorus
- Verse 2
- Chorus
- Interlude
- Chorus
- Verse 3
- Chorus
- "The Return of the Fire Witch"
- Verse 4
- Outro
- "The Dance of the Puppets"
How to play The Court Of The Crimson King on drums
- Plug in your electronic drum kit over USB — or play on the keyboard.
- Press play. The notes of The Court Of The Crimson King 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 71 at 0.5× or 0.75× with a click and a count-in, then bring it up to 68 BPM.
- Check every hit — on time, early or late — before you record your The Court Of The Crimson King drum cover.
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Guides
- How to connect an electronic drum kit to your computer
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- Why your electronic drums feel late — and how to fix it

