Mike Portnoy

Foundations — sticking and the kick pedal

Clean singles, doubles and paradiddles as the raw material for everything else

• • Singles and doubles even at low volume on the Stage Custom
• • Basic double-kick alternation, heel up, relaxed ankles
• • Paradiddle accents transferred hand to hand around the kit

Unlocks: The verse groove of Pull Me Under

Leads to: Stage 2 — Core grooves — 7/8 and 5/8 backbones

4 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 80 BPM

Core grooves — 7/8 and 5/8 backbones

Feeling odd groupings as natural, not counted

Carries in from: Stage 1 — Foundations — sticking and the kick pedal

• • Portnoy's 7/8 groove subdivided as 4+3
• • Portnoy's 5/8 groove subdivided as 3+2
• • Hi-hat foot on the 'and' to lock odd meters together

Unlocks: The main riff groove in The Dance of Eternity

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 3 — Signature techniques — double kick vocabulary

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 96 BPM

Signature techniques — double kick vocabulary

Turning double kick into a musical voice across 16ths and 32nds

Carries in from: Stage 2 — Core grooves — 7/8 and 5/8 backbones

• • 16th-note double-kick patterns under a steady backbeat
• • 32nd-note kick bursts inside fills
• • Balance between kick volume and low-volume cymbals

Unlocks: The double-kick verse groove in Under a Glass Moon

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 4 — Fills & transitions — orchestrated tom runs

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 100 BPM

Fills & transitions — orchestrated tom runs

Fills that move around the whole kit like a melody, not a burst of notes

Carries in from: Stage 3 — Signature techniques — double kick vocabulary

• • Sixteenth-note tom orchestration across four or five drums
• • China cymbal used as punctuation, not decoration
• • Linking fills cleanly into the next section's groove

Unlocks: The tom fills through Metropolis Pt. 1

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 5 — Advanced coordination — linear independence

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 104 BPM

Advanced coordination — linear independence

Ostinato feet under moving hand patterns, the core of Portnoy's linear style

Carries in from: Stage 4 — Fills & transitions — orchestrated tom runs

• • Kick ostinato held steady while hands play a linear pattern
• • Ride/hi-hat independence over shifting kick figures
• • Polyrhythmic phrasing (3 over 4, 5 over 4) at slow tempos

Unlocks: The linear verse groove in Home

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 6 — Song applications — Images and Words era

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 92 BPM

Song applications — Images and Words era

Putting the vocabulary into full song form with dynamics and arrangement

Carries in from: Stage 5 — Advanced coordination — linear independence

• • Pull Me Under from intro riff to double-kick bridge
• • Metropolis Pt. 1 groove-to-fill transitions
• • Take the Time's shifting meters played through without a click crutch

Unlocks: A full run-through of Pull Me Under

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 7 — Advanced song studies — Scenes and Six Degrees

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 110 BPM

Advanced song studies — Scenes and Six Degrees

Longer forms, metric modulation and layered odd meters inside real arrangements

Carries in from: Stage 6 — Song applications — Images and Words era

• • Metric modulation between sections at different implied tempos
• • Home's shifting 7/4 and 4/4 sections stitched together
• • Endurance across an eight-minute-plus song without losing feel

Unlocks: Home, start to finish, at performance tempo

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 8 — Signature performances — Train of Thought and Octavarium

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 120 BPM

Signature performances — Train of Thought and Octavarium

Heavier, more aggressive double kick and tighter ensemble stabs

Carries in from: Stage 7 — Advanced song studies — Scenes and Six Degrees

• • As I Am's groove-and-stab arrangement figures
• • Panic Attack's fast double-kick verse under syncopated riffing
• • Octavarium's shifting-meter build sections

Unlocks: As I Am's main groove and chorus fills

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 9 — Challenge workouts — Systematic Chaos stamina

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 132 BPM

Challenge workouts — Systematic Chaos stamina

Full-tempo double kick endurance with complex fills stacked on top

Carries in from: Stage 8 — Signature performances — Train of Thought and Octavarium

• • In the Presence of Enemies' fast double-kick sections at tempo
• • Constant Motion's straight-eighth drive with orchestrated accents
• • Sustained 32nd-note kick bursts without tightening up

Unlocks: Constant Motion, full song, no drop in intensity

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

Leads to: Stage 10 — Mastery — beyond Dream Theater

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 150 BPM

Mastery — beyond Dream Theater

Applying the full vocabulary to other projects and any odd-meter material

Carries in from: Stage 9 — Challenge workouts — Systematic Chaos stamina

• • Transatlantic-style long-form arrangement playing
• • The Winery Dogs' more stripped-back groove-and-fill balance
• • Free improvisation using linear, polyrhythmic and orchestrated ideas together

Unlocks: Improvising a Portnoy-style fill over any odd meter on request

Heard in: Pull Me Under · Metropolis Pt. 1: The Miracle and the Sleeper · Under a Glass Moon

6 part session · warm-up, build, push, apply · from 130 BPM