Things You'll Need:
- Drum set
- "Stairway to Heaven" recording
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Step 1
Listen carefully to a recording of the song, preferably the original studio recording. Notice that the first half of the song doesn't include any drumming at all. You should respect the original form of the song during this time, and remain silent on the drums. If you feel that you must play something, or want to keep your hands warmed up as you wait for the second half, you can provide some simple cymbal accents and flourishes.
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Step 2
Begin the drum part by playing a simple eight-note fill leading into the vocal line "If there's a bustle in your hedgerow..." This should include the snare, hi tom, mid tom, and low tom sequentially. You can choose to play a flam on the snare to start the fill, to add some punch and make your presence known.
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Step 3
Follow the fill directly with a solid 4/4 beat on the hi hat, bass drum, and snare drum. The beat is still slow and rather plodding at this point. Include four-beat fills on the snare, beginning at the end of the measure. Feel free to put your own creative spin on these fills.
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Step 4
Listen for the vocal line "...change the road you're on..." and move to the ride cymbal until the vocals resume. After "whispering wind" is sung, stop playing following the next measure. You'll use the toms to reinforce the guitar part by playing sixteenth notes echoing the guitar rhythm.
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Step 5
Increase the tempo slightly during the next section. You'll return to playing a straight 4/4 beat on hi hat. Try to master the fill at 6:25, which is essentially a set of triplets on the toms and bass drum. The fill heard at 6:47 is also important, since it's repeated again at the end of each phrase for a good portion of the remainder of the song. This involves keeping a steady beat with the hi hat and playing a syncopated rhythm on the bass and snare. Add fills liberally at this point. As the song winds down, the tempo gradually slows.
