Rush - Tom Sawyer - Guitar SOLO Cover/Lesson + TAB
Hey everyone!
I hope you're all doing well during these crazy times! Today's video is a very special one and is long overdue.. the almighty "Tom Sawyer" off 1981's Moving Pictures album! Rush is one of my all-time favorite bands right up there with Pink Floyd, Zeppelin, and GNR. I wanted to really make sure I got this solo right and as close to the original as possible without it being a carbon copy 😎
This song, as with many Rush songs, is in a very uncommon time signature. Most of the song is in 7/8, but this solo alternates between a 7/8 and 13/16 groove! "Limelight" is also in 7/8, so it seems the band liked to use this rhythm a lot in their songs 🎼 And who could blame them? With "Professor" Neil Peart behind the kit, anything can be done. To get the solo note-for-note was not easy and I'm still not sure it is 100% spot on, but it's very close! I think it is impossible for any song to be deciphered completely accurately just by listening to the recording because you never know exactly how and when these notes are being played. On the guitar, notes repeat so it's possible to play the same note in multiple different places in the fretboard. I saw Alex Lifeson's tutorial of this song here on YouTube and I also found the isolated guitar track. By listening to both and using my ear, I gave my best shot at writing this transcription.
I hope you guys like my (hopefully) noble attempt at this beast of a track 🎸
Rock on and stay safe 👍🏻 -J
DISCLAIMER - This video in no way shape or form intends to violate YouTube's guidelines regarding copyright infringement. The video and all others like it on my channel were created and published to YouTube without any desire to profit commercially from them or from the platform. While the music featured in this video is not my own and despite the fact that I do NOT own the rights to this song/recording whatsoever, my goal at the time of this upload was and continues to be that of teaching and entertaining. The musical notation (tablature) I display on-screen in these videos was created from scratch by listening to the original song and transcribing it by ear. Sometimes I may have referenced already existing TABs on the Internet, however, the TAB I create is a unique interpretation that does not seek to copy or plagiarize any outside material. Thank you!
Song: Tom Sawyer
Album: Moving Pictures (1981)
Guitarist: Alex "Lerxst" Lifeson
Key of guitar solo: E
Tempo: ~87 BPM
Recorded and mixed in Logic Pro X
Filmed with Neewer LED lights and Canon 80D DSLR
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