Present Tense · Radiohead

117 bars of 4/4 at a walking 95 BPM, 4:54 of playing, on crash, snare and kick.

Alternative / IndieElectronic90 to 119 BPMFour drums or fewer
TEMPO
95 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
117
LENGTH
4:54
DIFFICULTY
55/100
THE BEAT

One bar, and 91% of the song

The beat the song is built on is one bar, played through bars 6-63, 76-99 and 106-114 -- 91% of every bar the kit plays. Learn that one and the song is very nearly finished.

LOOP · 95 BPM
PRESENT TENSE · BAR 6
THE BEAT, WRITTEN OUT →
THE FILLS

Where it comes off the beat

2 fills to learn, played 2 times: bars 5 and 75.

LOOP · 95 BPM
BAR 5 · LANDS ON BAR 6
LOOP · 95 BPM
BAR 75 · LANDS ON BAR 76
EVERY FILL, WRITTEN OUT →
THE SHAPE

How the song is built

117 bars across 5 sections: 98 keep time, 2 are fills and 17 are silent. The longest unbroken stretch of time is bars 6-63.

CHORUS
BREAK
CHORUS 2
BREAK 2
OUTRO
3 groovesDS2S4Fill into the next barFill that ends a sectionInto the next partStop / hitRest

Questions

What BPM is Present Tense?

95 BPM, in 4/4, with the time kept in sixteenth notes. The room plays it at any tempo from a quarter of that up to the written one, against the record where the record can follow.

Is Present Tense hard to play on drums?

55 out of 100, a step up from a first song, and the work is in how much of it falls off the beat. The beat itself is 43 out of 100; the rest of the number is everything around it.

How long is the drum part?

117 bars, about 4:54 at the written tempo. The course breaks it into 8 exercises over 2 sittings, about 32 minutes each.

What do I need on the kit?

crash, snare and kick. Three pieces and no more -- this one is playable on almost anything with a kick, a snare and something to keep time on.

How many fills are in Present Tense?

2 fills to learn, played 2 times: bars 5 and 75.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 117 BARS ANALYSED
MORE BY THIS BAND

Other Radiohead drum parts

EVERY RADIOHEAD CHART →
AT THIS LEVEL

Play something else today

EVERY SONG A-Z →