Mate! Your analysis of what's going on, together with the sporadic quotes of the song, made it so pleasant to watch, to listen to, to enjoy, and to learn. Great job!
I've watched several reactions to this video. One thing never mentioned is the athleticism of Danny. You don't have to be in great physical shape to play other instruments, but to play drums at this level for a 12 minute song, and keep that pace and power going for a 2 hour show, when you're 58 years old is remarkable. He is a true athlete.
Taylor Hawkins often said in interviews that early on he realized he had to be an actual athlete to play drums in Foo Fighters, or just drums in general.
Any drummer really has to be in great condition. You watch guys like Carey and Peart and wonder how their arms don't fall off, but consider metal drummers (death metal and similar specifically, with blast beats other technical stuff I can't name because I'm not technical). Those guys play at near blinding speed.
I believe he said he’s heard the song before but not given it this level of analysis. Regardless, you are right that he’s got a great ear. My mind is still blown that Danny’s shirt gives it away....
i am no musician, just clueless hitting strings and drumpads here. but i have rythem. for me it is math and i have a understanding of it. i just know enought about it, to understand what is needed to recognise what Mr. Cartey is doing, to see his mastery. i too look out for a reaction that shows me, the person i am watching understands it :)
His method is truly amazing, I did figured out the overall pattern by counting how many bars of three were between poles, but in the middle I did got offbeat where it switches between 5/8 and 6/8
One of the things you may notice during the back half of the "hypnotic trance" portion in the middle; not only does the pace speed up, but Danny also creates the illusion of speeding up. As his right hand bounces around to 5 different drums, he starts to remove one, then, another, then another, eventually leaving only the snare and one tom. As he goes from a round of 5 drums, down to 4, to 3, then down to 2, he's creating a feeling of tension and anticipation. Almost like you're subconsciously waiting for some sort of release or explosion, which of course is what we get as the double base and the strobes come in. Another testament to the 'extra' that Danny seems to do so naturally - adding another element of musicality. Oh also, if you watch closely during that same build, he bounces on the snare almost exclusively with his right, except for 1 hit. Just 1 time he brings his left. Who knows why ;-) Just food for thought. Thanks for the rad reactions!
Two years late but oh well - you're absolutely right about the building of tension during the poly section (and one of the few people I've seen who's spoken on it so eloquently), except for *one* small bit I'd disagree with. The double-bass and the strobe lights aren't the release, they're the final, desperate push to the pinnacle rock; the last-gasp effort when you've got nothing left to give but you're *so close now*. The release finally comes when it all *stops*, and we're left hanging weightless for a moment, held aloft over the peak by just the guitar for a few seconds while we catch our breath, before Danny comes back in strong as we tuck our wings and plunge headlong back down the mountainside. All in all, though, it's one of the most masterful examples of building and releasing tension to perfect effect I've seen in a very, very long time. It keeps going, building and building, every time you feel like the climb *must* be over soon it just gets steeper, until the final release comes with such welcome bliss it gives me goosebumps every time. To @michaelperry9180's point below, because he puts it perfectly: Tension and resolution is one of the biggest factors of good drama, period. Music, film, literature, whatever - good drama is simply tension and resolution.
It should be noted that I've seen plenty of drummers reacting to this who couldn't get that count of 33/8 correct, and you nailed it! Just proves that not only is you ear well attuned harmonically but also rhythmically, even when analysing something as complex and 'playful' as this one is. Kudos.
Dude. You're the first person I've watched that can actually follow the count. 33/8 is what they did in this song. Also, picking up the Drop D tuning...good job, bro.
@@BIGSeth73 "you people"? I'm not able to follow the count on this song. That's why I congratulated the dude in the video, as he is the first person I've seen that can. Never seen somebody take offense to a post simply telling somebody well done. So sorry I hurt your feelings, peasant.
Yes it's a type of verticle/pitched xylophone, idk if it's electric or microphoned...but, this isn't the most complex drumming, but his time and changes of time are insane in this arrangement...yes the math/time is accurate, but some time changes even pro drummers get wrong. So yeah, any drummer who can break down time on this is a fn wizard/ninja or the .01% of musicians can just listen to and call tempo/time/changes, as it's 2 separate tempos made into one, so by ear and without the video even less than .01% can give time on this composition...Danny composes his own music around the songs, he keeps time through ques from the band, it's the difference from a band with a great musician and a great band, bc tool breaks all rules of composition and hence why musicians, among others are so drawn to tool,
As a drummer of 12 years, this is one of my favourite drum performances ever. His mastery of time and rhythm is unmatchable. The way the time signature switches back and forth while retaining a pocket and groove is genius.
@@cincocharms1233 He seems both well known and obscure, all at the same time. I played drums, years ago, but did not progress enough to be in a band; still, I love great drummers. Are there similar drummers to Bozzio, but who are playing with a band?
Drummer answer here to your last question: I've heard testimony that Danny never counts in detail, he just feels the arch of the song. I played in a band with long winding songs like this (with weird timings, etc.). Due to the fact that you, as a drummer, were part of the process of building the song from scratch in the woodshed with your fellow bandmates you don't consciously need to count once you know the ins and outs of the song. In fact, counting every detail, in my experience, is a hinderance. I suspect Danny doesn't count in his head the internal structure of the 33/8 part, rather perhaps he's keeping tracking of each 33/8 portion as a "chunk": "33/8 chunk #1". I do this when I'm playing banjo with a great fiddler. I can easily get lost in the feel when paying attention to the melodic variations so I free myself up to be immersed in feel within each chunk but make a concerted effort to keep track of chunks.
@@susanalfieri4487 I can attest to that after a while of practicing the song its just based on feeling and social queues and in the band I played in for a while each member had like "marker" parts to lead into the next section of the song so that nobody gets lost music is a team effort.
The Buddy Rich videos have some great moments, and Phil Collins tribute to him and the performances at that concert were stella... But how fukn good is Danny Carey
Yes. I admit I became quite arrogant because I've got to know, praise and admire Tool's work while a lot of people around me haven't, and that's actually very messed up because that arrogance goes so much against the band's whole message. It's quite easy to fall in this trap and I'm glad I realized that, although not as soon as I should. People can evolve and better themselves and not become a Tool fan, and that's ok. Their work is a tool to self improvement, not the self improvement on itself, and it's important to see the difference. Anyway, good point friend.
After listening to Cobham, Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, and Bill Bruford for a decade before listening to Tool; Listening to Danny was, and IS, the full culmination of those that preceded him. Recognizing greatness doesn't always have to be an "ego for Danny". He's just really good, and that's that. lol
Carey has that rare talent where he can control his limbs completely, left and right leg/arm. I don’t think people realize how ridiculously hard that is to do. 99 percent of humans aren’t even capable. Legend
About halfway during the interlude when Danny starts hitting different drums w his right hand, he eventually hits the snare and starts hitting a pattern of 5 drums consecutively and gradually goes down to 4, 3, 2, and then one being the snare which transitions it to the next section with the heaviness and light change. There’s so many layers to it man Danny is a genius
Legend says that Danny Carey made a deal with The Devil at a lonely crossroads somewhere in remote America. Nobody knows what Danny got, but The Devil got drum lessons. Dude with the cool hair behind Danny at the end is Maynard.
@@crazycatastrophe77 no I got it after watching a doc on him driving a forklift around his vineyard...... Wow project much, what the fuck do you care about a comment by some random guy on RUclips?😂
As a drummer, it becomes muscle memory. Whether it’s coming back in after a break or a time change, you get to a point you just feel it. When I was in high school marching band, I would black out and march the entire field show, and play my quads solo, without any mistakes. I would snap out of it as we are marching off the field. My drumline used to think it was the craziest thing. You just practice the music so damned much that you know it inside and out.
it becomes second nature.. you just enjoy the sound so much that you have to play it exactly and perfectly as it should be. I agree with this. But at some point it also has to do with talent. Many people know music in and out but won't execute it the way Danny would.
I only played in punk bands ;) but i can confirm. i haven't played for over 10 years, but put me behind a drumkit and i will remember most songs i played from memory.
As a drummer myself, once Danny and the band wrote it, rehearsed it and played it live..... It's all about feeling it.... The beauty and power of a gorgeous song..
I haven’t seen anyone else say this yet, so in the beginning where he has the group of 3 16th notes in his right hand on the electronic pad, he’s playing a pretty basic drumline exercise called “double beat” or “A/B” but without any of the turnarounds. With his left hand, he’s simply filling in the remaining sixteenth note, creating a 3/4 polyrhythm that lines up every 3 measures. A classic “pass the bread and butter” (if you know your polyrhythms you’ll know that one lol) but offset by 2 sixteenth notes. During the buildup in the guitar solo, he was playing Swiss army triplets (rightflam right left rightflam right left) and just moving his hands around the kit, subtracting from the orchestration as it builds up. Really a freakin AWESOME concept that I’ll definitely use before I die lol Great vid!
Long live the Octopus. God among men. The originality of this song is a rollercoaster ride. I've always loved Tool but I think this is Danny's song. He's a beast.
I've been a tool fan for over 20 years, seen them live many times... I am always in awe of their precision live. I appreciate your phenomenal ear to the signature changes, thank you sir. This band is an underappreciated treasure
@@KingKong-xp6so dream theater is good too. They lack groove. With Tool it’s almost tribal. Primal. But I also like dream theater also. But we all have our preferences.
As a drummer for over 40 years, and a big fan of prog, fusion, etc., somehow or other I totally missed out on Tool. From the Rush "Beyond the Lighted Stage" film I knew that Carey was a huge Neil Peart fan (like most of us), but I must say that the biggest vibe I got from watching this video for the first time was of 70's King Crimson. Definitely a Bill Bruford influence there. Just awesome.
Definitely! I've listened to Tool since they've been a band and I love Danny's drumming but I've always said he owes a lot to Neal Peart. He took that ball and ran with it. Could not pick a favorite between the two. Both are on a different level.
The instrument you were wanting to know what it was is called a Marimba Lumina. It's programmed and controlled by a MIDI. Danny plays it standing up with two large mallets. Each note is defined by the key like imagery on the instrument itself. He plays this during the beginning of Invincible. There is a video of a performance of that song live, that can be observed. Fortunate enough to have witnessed him playing Invincible in concert. Love your reactions.✌🤘🤘
one thing is for sure, if you've seen tool live or even seen a youtube video of them playing live, you absolutely CANNOT stop fucking spewing the fact that you've seen them in literally any comment section related to tool nobody cares!!!!!!
With these Pneuma reaction videos I always think I’m gonna just watch like a minute to get a sense of the commentary and then I end up watching the whole thing again. Hail Pneuma.
You mentioned that you're surprised that he still is able to drum like this after all these years. But if you listen to older songs, you'll see that Danny Carey, from a technical point, is still getting better and better. Best drummer in the world in my opinion.
Danny has stated before that they never use clicks when they play or write their music. They do not even have a song writer. It's all done through jam sessions, listening to the recordings individually, then meeting again and discussing it. If they all can vibe and feel the music on the same level, it becomes a track. Can't wait to hear your reaction to 7empest!
As Paul said after he quit: 'Their creative process is excruciating and tedious, and I guess I never felt the desire to play a riff 500 times before I can confirm that it’s good; that’s why it takes them eight years to write an album.'
@@MattHarris85 Maynard said basically the same thing on Rogan. Their process is so painstaking that he tries to keep his involvement to a minimum, which is where all his various outside projects came from.
He looks so entranced. He's meditating while playing. I can't see him thinking about counting, he's experiencing his actions and the music separately from his mental state.
Drummer here. You're exactly right that Tool's rhythms can be easier to feel when you think in subdivisions of 2 and 3. I think that those short groupings are partly why Tool's method of odd meter can feel deceptively natural. In that, I don't think of a larger 33/8 for Pneuma, but two repetitions of 6/8 and 8/8 (1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2), followed by that last cheeky 5/8. Knowing the melodies by heart helps with the subdivisions, hence Danny just feels it.
Bassist (and mathematician) here. I can't count this song for the life of me, yet I have no difficulties playing it because of exactly what you described: it "feels" surprisingly natural for being so complex.
Guitar guy here, Danny 's ability and sense of timing and rhythm are just natural feel at this point. Like the math guy alluded to.. It might be impossible to count this song but feeling it is different.
Drop D. I must say this guy is really spot on. I’ve watched a lot of these composers / drum teachers react. Etc. this has been the best one. This guy knows his stuff. And does great at explaining what’s going on. Rather then some who wanna talk about how wrong they are on timing and the excuse why. He isn’t claiming to know Nd shows that by saying we’re a group and if he is wrong help out.
It’s awesome to watch someone with faaaaar superior knowledge in music theory than myself still be kinda in awe and rocking out to this song. It’s even crazier for me to listen to now that he has pointed out some nuances I never even noticed
I saw this band live in 2019 and it was incredible... I don't understand how they can play like this in live conditions... and the sound was completely hypnotic...
I saw them live in Nashville in early 2020, just before all the covid shit started. It was actually the first big concert I've ever been to and I'm almost 40. Now, I'm not a religious person, but after going to that concert and being part of the crowd, I now understand what people mean when they say something was a spiritual experience. It was incredible and I would encourage anyone to go see them live if you're able, it was truly awesome.
Watching an industry pro look at Danny in action with a "how the fuck is he doing that look" just confirms what we all know about Danny. He is the best in the world at what he does.
This is amazing! I don't know how you can have each of your limbs moving at different paces. And I never understood the "math" or "counting" that happens with the beats/tempo of music. Hats off to all musicians everywhere - you all are amazing!
Without Danny's background, I think it's impossible to do such a fine job. He has big jazz influences throughout his whole life. He studied percussion with theory into the principles of geometry, science, and metaphysics. And he delved into the occult. This all together made Danny the drummer that he is. Well, you don't have to be part of the "Tool Army" to find that this is absolutely outstanding music. All musicians of this band are special. But Danny is unbelievable. Thanks for doing this video.
Hands down the fastest I've ever clicked a RUclips notification. Thanks Doug, can't wait to dive in on your take of Pneuma live! I had the privilege of seeing them from 1st row center in Nov 2019 and it's a night I'll never forget. Danny is unparalleled and I kind of regret washing my hand since I shook his.
First time I heard Pneuma, indeed the album, I thought there was no way you’d be able to perform this live. I’m in awe that indeed they could. Incredible drumming and and amazing group.
I was at this exact concert, the entire crowd was just entranced during the middle portion. Absolutely stunning display of musicianship by everyone in this performance. That instrument behind Danny I believe was used in chocolate chip trip if my memory serves me.
For me as a drummer, and I am nowhere near as complex as Danny, It's like the ease of riding a bike but each song presents a different destination and you have to know where you are at every moment until you reach the X on the map. The map route is the song, but the bike (drums) you have been riding for a long time on many routes. So how you ride the bike eventually comes natural to you without thinking of the pedals and the tires and the mechanics of it. The adventure is riding this bike on many different routes. So I don't think Danny has to count, he just needs to remember where he is on the route and the method of how to reach the X on each particular map (the end of the song). I hope this makes sense, but that's how I see it. I think this is how many musicians see it and writing new music is like riding your very familiar bike to a completely new place.
@Ben Riegel exactly! It's called "mastery" and you have it. Now, there are levels of mastery, but the basics are the same, it's second nature after so much work put in.
When somebody says "it's like riding a bike" they tend to be referring to the same thing that people refer to when they talk about" instinct" ," muscle memory" , or "habit". This analogy actually perfectly describes what's going on in the brain. Once you've ridden a bike enough times, you stop thinking about all of the technical details of riding a bike, and you start thinking about things like navigation. The technicalities of riding a bike have been relegated to a part of your brain known as the basal region or the basal ganglia. Whenever somebody enters what they call a flow state , that means that their basal ganglia has taken over the vast majority of their motor functions and the prefrontal cortex (the "thinking" part of the brain) has mostly taken up the task of monitoring the situation and adjusting for errors, which allows for a little bit of freed-up processing power to go to other things, like navigation in the bike analogy.
Yeah, but some people not just ride the bike, they do jumps, stoppies and wheelies, fly through the air and perform flips or backflips - without falling off or breaking their bones. And that's how he plays the drums here. I also don't think that he has to count because he created this song with the band. I also don't think that they thought "Let's make a song with the most weird rhythm, so the people will blast their brains..." I also play drums and for me the song grooves because or in spite of the weird rhythm. It would be interesting to know, how this song was written.
John Bonham, Neil Peart and Danny Carey are three of the greatest of all time. Legendary stuff and great reaction. Love tool❤️ Grtz from Holland and rock on! 🤘🏻😎🇳🇱
It sometimes blows my mind that Danny and the rest of the band grew up listening to some of the same bands I did at about the same time (MJK and I are the same age). Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush, etc. And you can hear the influences in the music.
I’m a drummer and I internalize odd time and feel my way through it. I’ve learned parts and then realized months or years later that they were in odd time.
I play rhythm games, and I do the same thing. After you become familiar enough with the groove of a track, your subconscious can do the counting for you and you just feel where the rhythms and accents land naturally.
I am Lars Ulrich. I hit the drums. The rest of the band will follow. Someone once said that much of my live stuff is in strange time. Honestly, I don't care.
Yes, you may count while learning the part, but once you find the groove, it comes naturally. But I think drummer's brains work differently than others, so there's that. I once heard an NPR story where a study found that drummers have acute sense of timing and can sense when things are off-time. I was like ... duh!
@@johnlampe3258 theres some truth to that. We had a machine at work quit working optimally at some point (you could hear a pulsing rhythm in the machine when it ran properly, roughly a quarter note pulse at about 168bpm) but I noticed it was a little slower one day. Low and behold the augurs in the machine meant to churn fiber a specific way were no longer turning in time with eachother, thus the machine didnt churn correctly. Shut the machine off, manually calibrated it again, worked like a charm. Nobody thought to try this because from an outsider perspective or someone who doesnt actually listen to the machine as it runs, it appeared the machine was in perfect working condition despite the poor results. Dont know if that confirms the theory or not.. But I attributed it to my knack to make up rhythms and patterns over everyday sounds that we hear. (Car idling, phones ringing, printers, microwave pulses etc etc.) I just happened to notice my little'warm up groove' didnt fit over the pulse that day. (I keep a metronome app on my phone so i verified it with that) It was off by like 5 or 6 bpm. Something most people would need to listen to several times to hear any significant tempo change between say 168 and 162. Its hard to discern missing 1 beat in 10 seconds span. This got really long winded. TLDR... Yes drummers notice when things are out of time.
Indeed, that 33/8 count is something practically nobody else hears when they react to this. I love your comments and quotes during the song. Best reaction yet.
Best part of this video is dougs face expressing the same feeling that every other musician gets after seeing Danny smash...Its the same with all of us and it priceless...Its how you know its great and its why you cant stop rewinding....sooooo good
As other drummers have mentioned he doesn't have to think about it at all. By the time they go to the studio and go on stage he has spent dozens of hours playing this. He could carry on a conversation with you while playing this song. I guarantee it.
well that is how it's supposed to be man, everybody does that, that is the only way to get things right, hard work. Are you under the impression people don't work hard for their results ? potential is cool but it doesn't make you play like this my friend. Also he came up with this thing is not like he copy it... you guaranty is based on your perception of it, which is little I bet you are a twenty year old man, who haven't found the discipline to work hard and yo don't play as good as what you would like to. The end.
Watching people react to this song is one of my favorite downtime activities... you just made it to the top of the list of reactions... the fact that you nailed the 33/8... I have seen over 100 reactions to this song... composers, drum teachers, vocal coaches... you are the first to nail it... bravo sir...
Ive seen my fair share of reactions to Pneuma, but I'd have to say that Ive had the most appreciation for yours Doug. Seriously Great Job. And Im so glad they did this cam of Danny's. I firmly believe this will go down as historically epic.
Glad this popped up in my feed. The intricacies of drumming are mind blowing. This explains why an amazing band like tool has remained in a class by themselves. Great video.
7:50 The pattern is: 7/4 - 7/4 - 5/8 11:08 Left leg is playing the 4/4 rythm, right leg is playing along with the bass, arms are playing a polymeter filling 3/4 rythm (right, right, left) into a 4/4 rythm. So you get RRLR - RLRR - LRRL and repeating. After that (11:32) the arms switch to a swiss triplet (R-R&L-L-L&R and repeating).
I was tired and going to sleep, but you just had to upload this, haha. Forget his technical skills - Danny's dynamics and musicality are off the charts. He can do anything he wants, and yet he never overplays.
I know I'm late to the party here but I'm pretty sure that if you can find a live version of "Descending" from this concert he plays that keyboard type thing behind him. I've definitely come across it once or twice when I've been stuck in and endless Tool loop on RUclips
to you comment at about 15: 27. I ve been playing metal guitar for about 15 years and after you get the paterns learned you are free, well I am free of counting and embraced by muscle memory and playing. really relaxed with the movements. like watching tv and petting your dog.
This song has it all, so evolved musically and in the whole feeling. And yeah you doing it really well too Doug, love your passion, greetings from germany.
He changes it up...listen to the breakdown on the studio version and he counts the quarter notes with the kick and the live video he keeps them with the hi-hat. It's so cool how he can throw little different things like that but it's so smooth that it sounds the same. He has different symbol crash fills in the studio version too.
As a prog rock drummer I almost never count when playing. On stage I press play and my hands just do it. Often I'm deep in thought or distracted while playing (even during this particular song, which is a great song by the way) because I just love the song so much I don't need to remember anything technical about it. It doesn't matter how complicated it is. You repeat it hundreds of times in your head to the point where playing it live feels identical to listening to it.
Danny Carey. he is the best drummer since Neil Peart passed away. i have seen Tool in 1994 in Phoenix in a tiny club the whole band is something you really need to see live. worth every penny. absolutly amazing!!!
I can’t even imagine how exhausting (physically and mentally) it must be on Danny to play so intensely for so long. His speed (especially closer to the end of the performance when his arms have got to be pretty fatigued) and his ability to continue to pull strength (from I don’t know where) to keep finding that pocket with SUCH precision. I don’t play drums but I can imagine that when you are hitting that hard it’s gotta take a lot of power to recover and land on the next beat - especially if you have distance to cover in your kit. His stamina and strength are second only to his technical and creative brilliance.
They started playing this song live BEFORE the album was even released, and this video was recorded before as well, so it was super new material to them. There may have been some counting involved on his part. LOL
"It's an community efford to find out what these guys are doing." It really is :D Just to add my 2 cents why I find this song so pushing. I started jogging again last year and see how far I can push it before turning 50. I have a particular running course in the countryside of Cologne which is quite hilly (well at least for my taste anyway). I always run this course with Fear Inoculum on my headphones and as when the Pneuma track starts I have a very brutal stretch of the course just ahead of me. Its like the additional kick-in-the-butt to get you on the other side of the hill :)
As a drummer, it depends on the song if I need to stay consciously locked in the tempo or just feel it. There are tool song that I can just feel, however weird the time signatures are, and some songs in 4/4 that I have trouble with and need to stay locked in. It depends on how natural it feels to play.
Classically trained in piano & dabbled in a bunch of other things incl. drums - seriously impressed with your reactions Doug! Tool is not a band that has a genre, & when you see them live it feels like every form of art hits you in the face, whilst simultaneously hypnotising you. If you ever get a chance to, see them live. It’s a total experience. When I saw them in early 2020, so excited, but there was a sense of sadness that I’d last seen them 14 years before that (10,000 Days) & the time in between, the grey hairs they’d grown, that we were all older, all the life that happened in between for everyone, the irony of how they play with time in their composition & releases, it was amazing, but a bit melancholy, so new reactors always bring joy to balance it out. Welcome to the Tool Army, Doug! 🌀
As a drummer Im sure it can go both ways for different people but at least for me it gets to a certain point where youre just able to feel where you have to be, you feel where whatever changes are gonna be at just through familiarity.
Can't read a lick of music or tab, never used a metronome. Just plugged headphones on my skull and made up my own shit to the bands I listened to. When I played with musicians just felt where I should go and feed off one anothers energy which synthesized a synergy. Some people you just connect with. Almost as if the aetheral beings inside of our meatsuits use the instrument as a conduit for communication in a resonate frequency for like minded beings. Quite transcendent when one finds these connections.
![Twenty One Pilots - “The Line” (from Arcane Season 2) [Official Music Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/E2Rj2gQAyPA/mqdefault.jpg)
Mate! Your analysis of what's going on, together with the sporadic quotes of the song, made it so pleasant to watch, to listen to, to enjoy, and to learn. Great job!
yea!
Agree! 💯🥰👍
I couldn't have said it better myself!
Great reaction video Doug. Great explanation of things. Very enjoyable. Thank you.
No Counting Needed. just do it there is No trying.
His left hand is one of the worlds best drummers
You just won the comment section 👏 👑 🏆
😂
Lmao best one I’ve seen
Luv it 😂😂
just died! :)
When asked why he doesn't rock out onstage, guitarist Adam Jones said "I'm too busy counting!"
Fantastic
LOL that's amazing
Classic
Doesn't stop Justin "Thrustmaster" Chancellor
😅 that’s adorable
I've watched several reactions to this video. One thing never mentioned is the athleticism of Danny. You don't have to be in great physical shape to play other instruments, but to play drums at this level for a 12 minute song, and keep that pace and power going for a 2 hour show, when you're 58 years old is remarkable. He is a true athlete.
He was like 58 at the time of this from what I understand. In great shape, be like 25 years strong. Love Danny, love Tool.
True
Taylor Hawkins often said in interviews that early on he realized he had to be an actual athlete to play drums in Foo Fighters, or just drums in general.
Any drummer really has to be in great condition. You watch guys like Carey and Peart and wonder how their arms don't fall off, but consider metal drummers (death metal and similar specifically, with blast beats other technical stuff I can't name because I'm not technical). Those guys play at near blinding speed.
He's also 6'5"
Every member of this band is one of the best at what they do.
As a tool fan for 25 years I salute you sir for giving me an even deeper appreciation of the band and of Danny. Thank you.
His t-shirt is a clue to the time signature!
Holy Shit! This wins the comments section.
man i thought the time signature was 46&2 ...
Hiding in plain sight!
came here to literally say holy shit to this comment! =D
Props. Goddamn, man lol
Holy shit! You're ther only person on RUclips this far who actually nailed down the correct poly in real time, first listen. You sir, have a great ear
I believe he said he’s heard the song before but not given it this level of analysis. Regardless, you are right that he’s got a great ear. My mind is still blown that Danny’s shirt gives it away....
i am no musician, just clueless hitting strings and drumpads here. but i have rythem. for me it is math and i have a understanding of it. i just know enought about it, to understand what is needed to recognise what Mr. Cartey is doing, to see his mastery. i too look out for a reaction that shows me, the person i am watching understands it :)
Glad I came here first then!
🤘🥁🤤
@@LynnAgain83 from here it is downhill, i´ve watched 10-14 reactions of pneuma and... this is the most interresting! :)
His method is truly amazing, I did figured out the overall pattern by counting how many bars of three were between poles, but in the middle I did got offbeat where it switches between 5/8 and 6/8
One of the things you may notice during the back half of the "hypnotic trance" portion in the middle; not only does the pace speed up, but Danny also creates the illusion of speeding up. As his right hand bounces around to 5 different drums, he starts to remove one, then, another, then another, eventually leaving only the snare and one tom. As he goes from a round of 5 drums, down to 4, to 3, then down to 2, he's creating a feeling of tension and anticipation. Almost like you're subconsciously waiting for some sort of release or explosion, which of course is what we get as the double base and the strobes come in. Another testament to the 'extra' that Danny seems to do so naturally - adding another element of musicality. Oh also, if you watch closely during that same build, he bounces on the snare almost exclusively with his right, except for 1 hit. Just 1 time he brings his left. Who knows why ;-) Just food for thought. Thanks for the rad reactions!
Creating and effectively relieving tension is one of the big factors that go into good music. Especially important in genres like prog and electronic.
yes indeed.
Also noticed how he hyper smoothly changes the control of the hi hat from his left foot to his right?? Check that out…
Two years late but oh well - you're absolutely right about the building of tension during the poly section (and one of the few people I've seen who's spoken on it so eloquently), except for *one* small bit I'd disagree with. The double-bass and the strobe lights aren't the release, they're the final, desperate push to the pinnacle rock; the last-gasp effort when you've got nothing left to give but you're *so close now*. The release finally comes when it all *stops*, and we're left hanging weightless for a moment, held aloft over the peak by just the guitar for a few seconds while we catch our breath, before Danny comes back in strong as we tuck our wings and plunge headlong back down the mountainside.
All in all, though, it's one of the most masterful examples of building and releasing tension to perfect effect I've seen in a very, very long time. It keeps going, building and building, every time you feel like the climb *must* be over soon it just gets steeper, until the final release comes with such welcome bliss it gives me goosebumps every time.
To @michaelperry9180's point below, because he puts it perfectly: Tension and resolution is one of the biggest factors of good drama, period. Music, film, literature, whatever - good drama is simply tension and resolution.
It should be noted that I've seen plenty of drummers reacting to this who couldn't get that count of 33/8 correct, and you nailed it! Just proves that not only is you ear well attuned harmonically but also rhythmically, even when analysing something as complex and 'playful' as this one is. Kudos.
actually odd signatures at least to me are allways counted as X/8 or X/16. you get the result very fast.
Dude. You're the first person I've watched that can actually follow the count. 33/8 is what they did in this song. Also, picking up the Drop D tuning...good job, bro.
"You people" are ninjas counting these time signatures and sequence changes . Thank you for transcribing it to us, peasants
@@BIGSeth73 "you people"? I'm not able to follow the count on this song. That's why I congratulated the dude in the video, as he is the first person I've seen that can. Never seen somebody take offense to a post simply telling somebody well done. So sorry I hurt your feelings, peasant.
Yes it's a type of verticle/pitched xylophone, idk if it's electric or microphoned...but, this isn't the most complex drumming, but his time and changes of time are insane in this arrangement...yes the math/time is accurate, but some time changes even pro drummers get wrong. So yeah, any drummer who can break down time on this is a fn wizard/ninja or the .01% of musicians can just listen to and call tempo/time/changes, as it's 2 separate tempos made into one, so by ear and without the video even less than .01% can give time on this composition...Danny composes his own music around the songs, he keeps time through ques from the band, it's the difference from a band with a great musician and a great band, bc tool breaks all rules of composition and hence why musicians, among others are so drawn to tool,
While figuring out the drop D tuning might not be all that difficult for the trained ear, figuring out 33/8 is godlike.
@@venkatnatarajan3479or is it 33/16? 🤔
As a drummer of 12 years, this is one of my favourite drum performances ever. His mastery of time and rhythm is unmatchable. The way the time signature switches back and forth while retaining a pocket and groove is genius.
I'm curious: what are your thoughts on Terry Bozzio?
Mike Mangini Left the chat xD
@@JasonSmith-lp6wg Terry Bozio is a phenomenal drummer!
@@JasonSmith-lp6wg life is so strange.
@@cincocharms1233 He seems both well known and obscure, all at the same time. I played drums, years ago, but did not progress enough to be in a band; still, I love great drummers. Are there similar drummers to Bozzio, but who are playing with a band?
"person behind him has a cool haircut....." f'n classic........that was Maynard
came to the comments just for this
😆
also came to the comments for this :-D
LOL!!!
He's such a loveable ghoul
Drummer answer here to your last question: I've heard testimony that Danny never counts in detail, he just feels the arch of the song. I played in a band with long winding songs like this (with weird timings, etc.). Due to the fact that you, as a drummer, were part of the process of building the song from scratch in the woodshed with your fellow bandmates you don't consciously need to count once you know the ins and outs of the song. In fact, counting every detail, in my experience, is a hinderance. I suspect Danny doesn't count in his head the internal structure of the 33/8 part, rather perhaps he's keeping tracking of each 33/8 portion as a "chunk": "33/8 chunk #1". I do this when I'm playing banjo with a great fiddler. I can easily get lost in the feel when paying attention to the melodic variations so I free myself up to be immersed in feel within each chunk but make a concerted effort to keep track of chunks.
So interesting. As a non-musician, I love hearing explanations like this. Brings new respect for their amazing talent.
@@susanalfieri4487 I can attest to that
after a while of practicing the song its just based on feeling and social queues
and in the band I played in for a while each member had like "marker" parts to lead into the next section of the song so that nobody gets lost
music is a team effort.
Who is here after Mike/drumeo?
Truly shows how good Doug is that he picked up on the timing so quickly
Granted he did say he saw the video before
You should check out Mike Portnoy learning this song over on Drumeo
@@victorortiz2323 what do you think he meant by 'Mike/Drumeo?'
The algorithm got me here today after subscribing to drumeo yesterday.
The thing I love about Tool music is that it is so complex and polywhatever and yet it is so lyrical, smooth and ethereal.
I have watched this a hundred times. I think this is one of the finest examples of drumming on video.
meee too since the first time i watched the performance, I am still being hypnotised
The Buddy Rich videos have some great moments, and Phil Collins tribute to him and the performances at that concert were stella... But how fukn good is Danny Carey
so mc donalds has the best burgers because theyve collectively sold the most?
@@drumtwo4seven weak
I’d say this is the apex of drumming
I think the Tool fans a have bigger ego for Danny than he actually has for himself. He's really down to earth.
Yes. I admit I became quite arrogant because I've got to know, praise and admire Tool's work while a lot of people around me haven't, and that's actually very messed up because that arrogance goes so much against the band's whole message. It's quite easy to fall in this trap and I'm glad I realized that, although not as soon as I should. People can evolve and better themselves and not become a Tool fan, and that's ok. Their work is a tool to self improvement, not the self improvement on itself, and it's important to see the difference. Anyway, good point friend.
After listening to Cobham, Tony Williams, Steve Gadd, and Bill Bruford for a decade before listening to Tool; Listening to Danny was, and IS, the full culmination of those that preceded him. Recognizing greatness doesn't always have to be an "ego for Danny". He's just really good, and that's that. lol
I mean... I know he's just a guy, but... those memes tho lol
Probably because you don’t really hear him mentioned in opinionated polls of best drummers. His fans come to his defense.
compared to emerson lake and palmer tool are pure SHIT
Carey has that rare talent where he can control his limbs completely, left and right leg/arm. I don’t think people realize how ridiculously hard that is to do. 99 percent of humans aren’t even capable. Legend
About halfway during the interlude when Danny starts hitting different drums w his right hand, he eventually hits the snare and starts hitting a pattern of 5 drums consecutively and gradually goes down to 4, 3, 2, and then one being the snare which transitions it to the next section with the heaviness and light change. There’s so many layers to it man Danny is a genius
So complex and cool
Carey is on another level for drumming. Being able to do things like 3/16 over a 4/4 and to constantly change signatures within a song is amazing.
Legend says that Danny Carey made a deal with The Devil at a lonely crossroads somewhere in remote America. Nobody knows what Danny got, but The Devil got drum lessons.
Dude with the cool hair behind Danny at the end is Maynard.
..yeah checking his texts from the guys back at the vinyard.
Yo awesome comment man, how do you come up with this gold? Oh you got it from every tool video on yt? cool cool
@@crazycatastrophe77 😂😂
@@crazycatastrophe77 no I got it after watching a doc on him driving a forklift around his vineyard...... Wow project much, what the fuck do you care about a comment by some random guy on RUclips?😂
That was good....the devil was left scratching his head
As a drummer, it becomes muscle memory. Whether it’s coming back in after a break or a time change, you get to a point you just feel it. When I was in high school marching band, I would black out and march the entire field show, and play my quads solo, without any mistakes. I would snap out of it as we are marching off the field. My drumline used to think it was the craziest thing. You just practice the music so damned much that you know it inside and out.
it becomes second nature.. you just enjoy the sound so much that you have to play it exactly and perfectly as it should be. I agree with this. But at some point it also has to do with talent. Many people know music in and out but won't execute it the way Danny would.
I only played in punk bands ;) but i can confirm. i haven't played for over 10 years, but put me behind a drumkit and i will remember most songs i played from memory.
compared to emerson lake and palmer tool are pure SHIT
😬😳🙄🙄🙄🙄🥱🤤🤔w⚓️🤌🏼
margix I’m pretty sure Emerson lake and Palmer would beg to differ.
As a drummer myself, once Danny and the band wrote it, rehearsed it and played it live..... It's all about feeling it.... The beauty and power of a gorgeous song..
14:06 he gives TooL the greatest compliment any musician can give another
10/10 YT comment
At 14:06 the compliment is already finish
@@andrearubeo1348 I think he's saying that the stank face is the complement
@@andrearubeo1348 Face and a minute of speechlessness is the compliment :D
I haven’t seen anyone else say this yet, so in the beginning where he has the group of 3 16th notes in his right hand on the electronic pad, he’s playing a pretty basic drumline exercise called “double beat” or “A/B” but without any of the turnarounds. With his left hand, he’s simply filling in the remaining sixteenth note, creating a 3/4 polyrhythm that lines up every 3 measures. A classic “pass the bread and butter” (if you know your polyrhythms you’ll know that one lol) but offset by 2 sixteenth notes. During the buildup in the guitar solo, he was playing Swiss army triplets (rightflam right left rightflam right left) and just moving his hands around the kit, subtracting from the orchestration as it builds up. Really a freakin AWESOME concept that I’ll definitely use before I die lol
Great vid!
Long live the Octopus. God among men. The originality of this song is a rollercoaster ride. I've always loved Tool but I think this is Danny's song. He's a beast.
The entire album seems focused mostly on Danny's masterful drumming.
I was today years old when I realized Danny gives away the time signature here with his jersey.
OMG! You had me rolling
33/Boston. Though 27/Tampa is my favorite.
Cryptic message from Carey . Love it
I've been a tool fan for over 20 years, seen them live many times... I am always in awe of their precision live. I appreciate your phenomenal ear to the signature changes, thank you sir. This band is an underappreciated treasure
Thanks very much!
The person behind him is the lead singer Maynard James Keenan. This has got to be, hands down and pound for pound, the best band out there.
They Might Be Giants is better.
I cant wait to see them again in a couple of weeks
The only band that matters🏆🤘
Lmao. Dream Theatre is far better in everything.
@@KingKong-xp6so dream theater is good too. They lack groove. With Tool it’s almost tribal. Primal. But I also like dream theater also. But we all have our preferences.
As a drummer for over 40 years, and a big fan of prog, fusion, etc., somehow or other I totally missed out on Tool. From the Rush "Beyond the Lighted Stage" film I knew that Carey was a huge Neil Peart fan (like most of us), but I must say that the biggest vibe I got from watching this video for the first time was of 70's King Crimson. Definitely a Bill Bruford influence there. Just awesome.
You're right. I remember seeing an intervie from him a long time ago saying King Crimson was one of his biggest influences.
100% correct, King Crimson is one of Tool's biggest influences. They even opened for Tool during the Lateralus tour for several shows.
Definitely! I've listened to Tool since they've been a band and I love Danny's drumming but I've always said he owes a lot to Neal Peart. He took that ball and ran with it. Could not pick a favorite between the two. Both are on a different level.
He's also a big fan of Billy Cobham.
I also missed out on Tool until reaction vids...
The instrument you were wanting to know what it was is called a Marimba Lumina. It's programmed and controlled by a MIDI. Danny plays it standing up with two large mallets. Each note is defined by the key like imagery on the instrument itself. He plays this during the beginning of Invincible. There is a video of a performance of that song live, that can be observed. Fortunate enough to have witnessed him playing Invincible in concert. Love your reactions.✌🤘🤘
one thing is for sure, if you've seen tool live or even seen a youtube video of them playing live, you absolutely CANNOT stop fucking spewing the fact that you've seen them in literally any comment section related to tool
nobody cares!!!!!!
He also plays it in the opening sequence of 7empest. Saw the live debut in Feb 2020, before the end times.
John Fishman has one in his tour setup as well.
I love watching these reaction videos from musicians that have infinitely more knowledge than everyone else try to count their time signatures...haha
@@RapidVidsProductions someone sounds jealous. if you didn't care, you wouldn't bother responding, no?
With these Pneuma reaction videos I always think I’m gonna just watch like a minute to get a sense of the commentary and then I end up watching the whole thing again. Hail Pneuma.
You mentioned that you're surprised that he still is able to drum like this after all these years. But if you listen to older songs, you'll see that Danny Carey, from a technical point, is still getting better and better. Best drummer in the world in my opinion.
I am not a drummer, but what it looks like to me is it’s all in his muscle memory. He’s in the zone. It almost looks like he’s channeling!
Danny has stated before that they never use clicks when they play or write their music. They do not even have a song writer. It's all done through jam sessions, listening to the recordings individually, then meeting again and discussing it. If they all can vibe and feel the music on the same level, it becomes a track. Can't wait to hear your reaction to 7empest!
As Paul said after he quit: 'Their creative process is excruciating and tedious, and I guess I never felt the desire to play a riff 500 times before I can confirm that it’s good; that’s why it takes them eight years to write an album.'
@@MattHarris85 Maynard said basically the same thing on Rogan. Their process is so painstaking that he tries to keep his involvement to a minimum, which is where all his various outside projects came from.
You balance the theoretical analysis perfectly with just pure appreciation! This was a very enjoyable reaktion to watch
He looks so entranced. He's meditating while playing. I can't see him thinking about counting, he's experiencing his actions and the music separately from his mental state.
I watched this so many times now, and every time I'm equally amazed 😮
Same here O_o
Drummer here. You're exactly right that Tool's rhythms can be easier to feel when you think in subdivisions of 2 and 3. I think that those short groupings are partly why Tool's method of odd meter can feel deceptively natural.
In that, I don't think of a larger 33/8 for Pneuma, but two repetitions of 6/8 and 8/8 (1 2 3, 1 2 3, 1 2), followed by that last cheeky 5/8. Knowing the melodies by heart helps with the subdivisions, hence Danny just feels it.
Bassist (and mathematician) here. I can't count this song for the life of me, yet I have no difficulties playing it because of exactly what you described: it "feels" surprisingly natural for being so complex.
Guitar guy here, Danny 's ability and sense of timing and rhythm are just natural feel at this point. Like the math guy alluded to.. It might be impossible to count this song but feeling it is different.
Drop D. I must say this guy is really spot on. I’ve watched a lot of these composers / drum teachers react. Etc. this has been the best one. This guy knows his stuff. And does great at explaining what’s going on. Rather then some who wanna talk about how wrong they are on timing and the excuse why. He isn’t claiming to know Nd shows that by saying we’re a group and if he is wrong help out.
It’s awesome to watch someone with faaaaar superior knowledge in music theory than myself still be kinda in awe and rocking out to this song. It’s even crazier for me to listen to now that he has pointed out some nuances I never even noticed
I saw this band live in 2019 and it was incredible... I don't understand how they can play like this in live conditions... and the sound was completely hypnotic...
I am so jelly of you!! I wish i would see them Live some day
I saw them in 1997. Came out of the pit with a broken nose. I had so much fun at that concert, so I'm told.
I saw them live in Nashville in early 2020, just before all the covid shit started. It was actually the first big concert I've ever been to and I'm almost 40. Now, I'm not a religious person, but after going to that concert and being part of the crowd, I now understand what people mean when they say something was a spiritual experience. It was incredible and I would encourage anyone to go see them live if you're able, it was truly awesome.
Watching an industry pro look at Danny in action with a "how the fuck is he doing that look" just confirms what we all know about Danny. He is the best in the world at what he does.
As a drummer, trying to replicate it, you just memorize it. No way could I count this in my life
It doesn't always have to be the first time you've seen it Doug. I would love to hear your reactions on things that you love as well.
So much this, specially if that makes me discover some music I never heard and that are as good as this.
Agreed
Indeed!
What a time to be alive. To experience this art, a masterpiece. This is life
The instrument behind him is an analog
modular synth. Danny is a collector of vintage synthesizers. He’s written a book about his collection.
He used it in chocolate chip trip when I saw this tour
“More than anything we’re going to rock out and enjoy this unbelievable drum cam video featuring Danny Carey and Tool.”
Words to live by.
This is amazing! I don't know how you can have each of your limbs moving at different paces. And I never understood the "math" or "counting" that happens with the beats/tempo of music. Hats off to all musicians everywhere - you all are amazing!
Without Danny's background, I think it's impossible to do such a fine job. He has big jazz influences throughout his whole life. He studied percussion with theory into the principles of geometry, science, and metaphysics. And he delved into the occult. This all together made Danny the drummer that he is.
Well, you don't have to be part of the "Tool Army" to find that this is absolutely outstanding music. All musicians of this band are special. But Danny is unbelievable. Thanks for doing this video.
Hands down the fastest I've ever clicked a RUclips notification. Thanks Doug, can't wait to dive in on your take of Pneuma live! I had the privilege of seeing them from 1st row center in Nov 2019 and it's a night I'll never forget. Danny is unparalleled and I kind of regret washing my hand since I shook his.
I absolutely LOVE to watch guys that obviously know what they are talking about musically try to figure out Danny’s time signature.
And I LOVE when they can't figure it out!!!
haha
One does not simply watch tool and figure out the time signature.
First time I heard Pneuma, indeed the album, I thought there was no way you’d be able to perform this live. I’m in awe that indeed they could. Incredible drumming and and amazing group.
I was at this exact concert, the entire crowd was just entranced during the middle portion. Absolutely stunning display of musicianship by everyone in this performance. That instrument behind Danny I believe was used in chocolate chip trip if my memory serves me.
It's amazing to me Danny Carey can play 4 separate rhythms with each limb.
Five different beats if his shorts are down
For me as a drummer, and I am nowhere near as complex as Danny, It's like the ease of riding a bike but each song presents a different destination and you have to know where you are at every moment until you reach the X on the map. The map route is the song, but the bike (drums) you have been riding for a long time on many routes. So how you ride the bike eventually comes natural to you without thinking of the pedals and the tires and the mechanics of it. The adventure is riding this bike on many different routes. So I don't think Danny has to count, he just needs to remember where he is on the route and the method of how to reach the X on each particular map (the end of the song). I hope this makes sense, but that's how I see it. I think this is how many musicians see it and writing new music is like riding your very familiar bike to a completely new place.
That's a very good and accurate analogy fellow beater of things that cost a lot with things that cost a lot!
@Ben Riegel exactly! It's called "mastery" and you have it. Now, there are levels of mastery, but the basics are the same, it's second nature after so much work put in.
Fantastic analogy. I’m a drummer as well and the bike riding analogy is a great one! I’ll use this if I may!
When somebody says "it's like riding a bike" they tend to be referring to the same thing that people refer to when they talk about" instinct" ," muscle memory" , or "habit". This analogy actually perfectly describes what's going on in the brain. Once you've ridden a bike enough times, you stop thinking about all of the technical details of riding a bike, and you start thinking about things like navigation. The technicalities of riding a bike have been relegated to a part of your brain known as the basal region or the basal ganglia. Whenever somebody enters what they call a flow state , that means that their basal ganglia has taken over the vast majority of their motor functions and the prefrontal cortex (the "thinking" part of the brain) has mostly taken up the task of monitoring the situation and adjusting for errors, which allows for a little bit of freed-up processing power to go to other things, like navigation in the bike analogy.
Yeah, but some people not just ride the bike, they do jumps, stoppies and wheelies, fly through the air and perform flips or backflips - without falling off or breaking their bones. And that's how he plays the drums here. I also don't think that he has to count because he created this song with the band. I also don't think that they thought "Let's make a song with the most weird rhythm, so the people will blast their brains..." I also play drums and for me the song grooves because or in spite of the weird rhythm. It would be interesting to know, how this song was written.
John Bonham, Neil Peart and Danny Carey are three of the greatest of all time. Legendary stuff and great reaction. Love tool❤️ Grtz from Holland and rock on! 🤘🏻😎🇳🇱
It sometimes blows my mind that Danny and the rest of the band grew up listening to some of the same bands I did at about the same time (MJK and I are the same age). Pink Floyd, Yes, Rush, etc. And you can hear the influences in the music.
Pioneers of their generation and genre. I happen to fall in the Rush section of it all. Diehard fan since 1980.
I would add to that list M. Portnoy
The Holy Trinity.
It started with Bonham though. Achilles Last Stand... the original spark. Fantastic.
@@peterdefrankrijker I like you my friend. Well said
you can't count that while playing... Danny is in a pocket that he hears himself and Chancellor.. It's all feel. He's a beast.
In an interview, Dani said he just feels it and just beats the shit out of his drums as he sees fit. He is insane.
I’m a drummer and I internalize odd time and feel my way through it. I’ve learned parts and then realized months or years later that they were in odd time.
I play rhythm games, and I do the same thing. After you become familiar enough with the groove of a track, your subconscious can do the counting for you and you just feel where the rhythms and accents land naturally.
I am Lars Ulrich. I hit the drums. The rest of the band will follow. Someone once said that much of my live stuff is in strange time. Honestly, I don't care.
Yes, you may count while learning the part, but once you find the groove, it comes naturally. But I think drummer's brains work differently than others, so there's that. I once heard an NPR story where a study found that drummers have acute sense of timing and can sense when things are off-time. I was like ... duh!
@@johnlampe3258 theres some truth to that. We had a machine at work quit working optimally at some point (you could hear a pulsing rhythm in the machine when it ran properly, roughly a quarter note pulse at about 168bpm) but I noticed it was a little slower one day. Low and behold the augurs in the machine meant to churn fiber a specific way were no longer turning in time with eachother, thus the machine didnt churn correctly. Shut the machine off, manually calibrated it again, worked like a charm.
Nobody thought to try this because from an outsider perspective or someone who doesnt actually listen to the machine as it runs, it appeared the machine was in perfect working condition despite the poor results.
Dont know if that confirms the theory or not.. But I attributed it to my knack to make up rhythms and patterns over everyday sounds that we hear. (Car idling, phones ringing, printers, microwave pulses etc etc.)
I just happened to notice my little'warm up groove' didnt fit over the pulse that day. (I keep a metronome app on my phone so i verified it with that)
It was off by like 5 or 6 bpm. Something most people would need to listen to several times to hear any significant tempo change between say 168 and 162. Its hard to discern missing 1 beat in 10 seconds span.
This got really long winded.
TLDR... Yes drummers notice when things are out of time.
@@u.v.s.5583 such an innovative joke
I appreciate that you made it clear you've seen this before and didn't fake it as a first time reaction
''I had no idea Larry Bird could drum like that.''
Dude, I had no idea Larry Bird was ever that muscle-packed like that. ;)
Indeed, that 33/8 count is something practically nobody else hears when they react to this. I love your comments and quotes during the song. Best reaction yet.
33 huh? Wonder if it's actually 33 1/3. If you know you know. Not a drummer but maSonic order runs deep in our culture
Best part of this video is dougs face expressing the same feeling that every other musician gets after seeing Danny smash...Its the same with all of us and it priceless...Its how you know its great and its why you cant stop rewinding....sooooo good
“I think his left hand is 3/16 and his right hand is 4/4.”
What about his left and right foot, which are each on their own rhythm?
I was thinking the same thing.
As other drummers have mentioned he doesn't have to think about it at all. By the time they go to the studio and go on stage he has spent dozens of hours playing this. He could carry on a conversation with you while playing this song. I guarantee it.
Yep, amateurs practice until they get it right, professionals practice until they can't get it wrong.
well that is how it's supposed to be man, everybody does that, that is the only way to get things right, hard work. Are you under the impression people don't work hard for their results ? potential is cool but it doesn't make you play like this my friend. Also he came up with this thing is not like he copy it... you guaranty is based on your perception of it, which is little I bet you are a twenty year old man, who haven't found the discipline to work hard and yo don't play as good as what you would like to. The end.
What is your Pattern?
Danny: "Infinity Squared."
I cracked up so much reading this comment thank for that. So true as well
"ALL of them"
ego tripping squared
Infinity Tesseracted
@@pantheon777 🤣
Watching people react to this song is one of my favorite downtime activities... you just made it to the top of the list of reactions... the fact that you nailed the 33/8... I have seen over 100 reactions to this song... composers, drum teachers, vocal coaches... you are the first to nail it... bravo sir...
Just found this gem. I can't stop watching it. This song is insane and Danny is on another level.
Ive seen my fair share of reactions to Pneuma, but I'd have to say that Ive had the most appreciation for yours Doug. Seriously Great Job. And Im so glad they did this cam of Danny's. I firmly believe this will go down as historically epic.
Danny does more on this song than most drummers do on an entire album. A true master!
I was never into Tool but I was impressed by Danny Carey when I first saw this video
Glad this popped up in my feed. The intricacies of drumming are mind blowing. This explains why an amazing band like tool has remained in a class by themselves. Great video.
"danny what time signature are you playing in?!" - drummers
"first you have to deconstruct what you THINK you know about time" - danny carey
7:50 The pattern is: 7/4 - 7/4 - 5/8
11:08 Left leg is playing the 4/4 rythm, right leg is playing along with the bass, arms are playing a polymeter filling 3/4 rythm (right, right, left) into a 4/4 rythm. So you get RRLR - RLRR - LRRL and repeating. After that (11:32) the arms switch to a swiss triplet (R-R&L-L-L&R and repeating).
I was tired and going to sleep, but you just had to upload this, haha.
Forget his technical skills - Danny's dynamics and musicality are off the charts. He can do anything he wants, and yet he never overplays.
For reals. He really uses the drums like an instrument itself and not just a percussion to keep rhythm or a beat for the rest of the band.
He’s not a show off, a truly humble team player. Bless him, he could bang away and steal the show, but he wouldn’t do that to his friends.
I know I'm late to the party here but I'm pretty sure that if you can find a live version of "Descending" from this concert he plays that keyboard type thing behind him. I've definitely come across it once or twice when I've been stuck in and endless Tool loop on RUclips
to you comment at about 15: 27. I ve been playing metal guitar for about 15 years and after you get the paterns learned you are free, well I am free of counting and embraced by muscle memory and playing. really relaxed with the movements. like watching tv and petting your dog.
And this guy knows what he's talking about. You can tell by how he counts the beats. AND HE'S GIGGLING LIKE A CHILD! Danny IS art. Enjoy, I say!
His skills are unbelievable. Always had full respect for his talent and I feel he's been underrated for years.
Its called a "polymorse" it's like a screwball backwards syncopation on the 3rd 1/8 upbeat..and they start with a 6/8 time. that is Danny's quote..
He is the greatest drummer of today. He wrote this song... well...they built this song around his personal drum track!
This song has it all, so evolved musically and in the whole feeling. And yeah you doing it really well too Doug, love your passion, greetings from germany.
I am 100% sure that Danny plays it exactly the same every single time. Not only is he counting it, he is also feeling it.
He changes it up...listen to the breakdown on the studio version and he counts the quarter notes with the kick and the live video he keeps them with the hi-hat. It's so cool how he can throw little different things like that but it's so smooth that it sounds the same. He has different symbol crash fills in the studio version too.
The synth sound is actually Adam playing that live with his feet, they're all so talented.
I love how classically trained musicians are amazed by tool. They are their own breed for sure.
Amazing how you could figure out the 33/8.
Mike Portnoy had a very hard time when trying to learn the song on Drumeo.
Thank heaven for Danny Cam. In 100 years no one would believe it was just 1 guy playing that drum section. F!ing BRILLIANT
As a prog rock drummer I almost never count when playing. On stage I press play and my hands just do it. Often I'm deep in thought or distracted while playing (even during this particular song, which is a great song by the way) because I just love the song so much I don't need to remember anything technical about it. It doesn't matter how complicated it is. You repeat it hundreds of times in your head to the point where playing it live feels identical to listening to it.
Great analysis! Carey's drumming is so complex, out of this world. I think I've watched this video about 50 times since it came out
Danny Carey. he is the best drummer since Neil Peart passed away.
i have seen Tool in 1994 in Phoenix in a tiny club the whole band is something you really need to see live.
worth every penny. absolutly amazing!!!
Danny probably goes thru 900 drumsticks in an hour. TOOL is the best you could do. never get sick of hearing tool. FANDAMTASTIC.
I can’t even imagine how exhausting (physically and mentally) it must be on Danny to play so intensely for so long. His speed (especially closer to the end of the performance when his arms have got to be pretty fatigued) and his ability to continue to pull strength (from I don’t know where) to keep finding that pocket with SUCH precision. I don’t play drums but I can imagine that when you are hitting that hard it’s gotta take a lot of power to recover and land on the next beat - especially if you have distance to cover in your kit.
His stamina and strength are second only to his technical and creative brilliance.
They started playing this song live BEFORE the album was even released, and this video was recorded before as well, so it was super new material to them. There may have been some counting involved on his part. LOL
For me, it's a mix of counting and the feels. The feels are a big part of it. Once you really know the song, counting stuff becomes less necessary.
"I had no idea Larry Bird could drum like that"
Thanks dad
White men can't jump but they can surely drum.
Also, 6+6+5+6+5+5=33, but that is obviously a trivial fact.
How dare you
That was my favorite line!
"It's an community efford to find out what these guys are doing."
It really is :D
Just to add my 2 cents why I find this song so pushing. I started jogging again last year and see how far I can push it before turning 50. I have a particular running course in the countryside of Cologne which is quite hilly (well at least for my taste anyway). I always run this course with Fear Inoculum on my headphones and as when the Pneuma track starts I have a very brutal stretch of the course just ahead of me. Its like the additional kick-in-the-butt to get you on the other side of the hill :)
As a drummer, it depends on the song if I need to stay consciously locked in the tempo or just feel it. There are tool song that I can just feel, however weird the time signatures are, and some songs in 4/4 that I have trouble with and need to stay locked in. It depends on how natural it feels to play.
Classically trained in piano & dabbled in a bunch of other things incl. drums - seriously impressed with your reactions Doug! Tool is not a band that has a genre, & when you see them live it feels like every form of art hits you in the face, whilst simultaneously hypnotising you. If you ever get a chance to, see them live. It’s a total experience.
When I saw them in early 2020, so excited, but there was a sense of sadness that I’d last seen them 14 years before that (10,000 Days) & the time in between, the grey hairs they’d grown, that we were all older, all the life that happened in between for everyone, the irony of how they play with time in their composition & releases, it was amazing, but a bit melancholy, so new reactors always bring joy to balance it out. Welcome to the Tool Army, Doug! 🌀
As a drummer Im sure it can go both ways for different people but at least for me it gets to a certain point where youre just able to feel where you have to be, you feel where whatever changes are gonna be at just through familiarity.
Can't read a lick of music or tab, never used a metronome. Just plugged headphones on my skull and made up my own shit to the bands I listened to. When I played with musicians just felt where I should go and feed off one anothers energy which synthesized a synergy. Some people you just connect with. Almost as if the aetheral beings inside of our meatsuits use the instrument as a conduit for communication in a resonate frequency for like minded beings. Quite transcendent when one finds these connections.