Education
Dream Theater Drum Songs From Easiest to Hardest: A Mike Portnoy Learning Path
Oct
Learning Dream Theater on drums is a rite of passage for progressive drummers. Mike Portnoy’s parts combine heavy grooves, odd time signatures, long-form arrangements and fills that are composed as carefully as the guitar solos. The problem is knowing where to start: jump straight into “The Dance Of Eternity” and you will spend weeks on the first page.
This guide puts six Dream Theater songs in a learning order – from the most approachable to the hardest – and explains what each one teaches. All six are available as note-for-note Dream Theater drum sheet music, transcribed from the original recordings.
Before you start: how to practise long prog songs
- Map the song first. Before you play a note, listen through with the sheet music and mark every section and meter change. Dream Theater songs are long, and knowing the road map is half the battle.
- Learn in sections, not from the top. Treat each section as its own exercise and loop it until it is comfortable.
- Count out loud. In odd-time passages, say the count (“1-2-3-4-5-6-7”) while you play slowly. If you can’t say it, you can’t play it.
- Use an eighth-note click. For meters such as 7/8 or 5/8, set the metronome to eighth notes so every subdivision is audible.
- Join sections last. Most mistakes happen at transitions, so practise the last bar of one section into the first bar of the next.
1. Pull Me Under (Images And Words, 1992)
Pull Me Under is the best first Dream Theater song for almost every drummer. It sits at around ♩ ≈ 102 with strong, heavy grooves and clear sections, so you can focus on Portnoy’s feel and fills rather than on counting. Pay attention to how he orchestrates fills around the toms and how the grooves change from verse to chorus – it is a masterclass in making a long song feel structured.
Practice tip: learn the main groove first, then work through the fills one at a time at 80 bpm before taking the song up to tempo.
2. The Ytse Jam (When Dream And Day Unite, 1989)
The band’s early instrumental – its name is “Majesty”, their original band name, spelt backwards – is your first real test of unisons. At around ♩ ≈ 130, The Ytse Jam asks you to lock the kick and snare with the guitar and bass figures, which is exactly the skill you will need for the harder songs on this list.
Practice tip: sing or play along with the guitar line while you learn each unison passage – the drums only make sense when you hear the riff.
3. Under A Glass Moon (Images And Words, 1992)
Under A Glass Moon raises the tempo to around ♩ ≈ 150 and adds more complex fills and changing sections. It is also home to one of John Petrucci’s most famous solos, and the drums behind it are a lesson in driving a band at speed without overplaying.
Practice tip: isolate the fills and practise them in a loop with one bar of groove before and after – it trains the transitions, which is where speed problems show up.
4. Overture 1928 (Metropolis Pt. 2: Scenes From A Memory, 1999)
The instrumental that opens the story of Scenes From A Memory is high-energy from start to finish. Overture 1928 introduces the album’s main musical themes, so the drums are full of hits and unisons with the band, plus big, technical fills. On the album it flows straight into “Strange Déjà Vu”, so practise the ending with the next song in mind.
Practice tip: build stamina by playing the whole piece twice in a row at 85% tempo before you push it to full speed.
5. Erotomania (Awake, 1994)
Erotomania is the instrumental first part of “A Mind Beside Itself”, the three-part suite on Awake. At around ♩ ≈ 160 it combines odd groupings, fast unisons and some of Portnoy’s most technical drumming. This is where reading skills start to matter as much as hands and feet.
Practice tip: mark every odd grouping on the page with a pencil before you play. Then practise just the groupings with your hands on a practice pad until you can feel them without counting.
6. The Dance Of Eternity (Metropolis Pt. 2, 1999)
The final boss. The Dance Of Eternity is famous for changing time signature more than a hundred times in about six minutes – the first page alone moves through 4/4, 7/8, 3/4, 6/8, 7/16, 5/8 and more. It is the hardest song in the store for many drummers, and also one of the most rewarding to finally play from start to finish.
Practice tip: learn it a page at a time, slowly, with an eighth-note (or even sixteenth-note) click. Don’t move to the next page until the current one feels relaxed.
Get all six songs together
If you plan to work through the whole list, the Dream Theater Ultimate Drum Collection includes all six songs at 30% off the single-song price – the cheapest way to get the complete learning path. You can also pick songs one by one; buy any three and the fourth is free.
Once you have finished with Dream Theater, other progressive bands in the store are a natural next step: try Tool, Haken or Animals As Leaders.
Frequently asked questions
What is the easiest Dream Theater song to play on drums?
“Pull Me Under” is the most approachable. It has clear, heavy grooves at a medium tempo and fewer meter changes than most of the band’s songs.
What is the hardest Dream Theater song on drums?
“The Dance Of Eternity” is usually considered the hardest, because of its constant time-signature changes, fast unisons and technical fills.
Are these drum tabs or real drum notation?
They are full drum sheet music – standard notation transcribed note-for-note from the original recordings, so every rhythm and meter change is written out exactly.
Ready to start? Browse the Dream Theater drum sheet music, or order a custom drum transcription of any Dream Theater song that isn’t in the store yet.
Drum sheet music from this article
Buy any 3 songs and get a 4th free. Can't find a song? Order a custom drum transcription.
