Rush - Tom Sawyer - Guitar Lesson

Chronicles (Remastered)

1981 4:35

Listen on Spotify

About Tom Sawyer

Few rock songs demand as much rhythmic precision from a guitarist as "Tom Sawyer." Rush built the track around a relentless, syncopated riff in E minor that locks tightly with Neil Peart's drum pattern, and getting that groove to feel natural at 120 BPM takes real work. The opening synthesizer swell tends to steal attention, but the guitar part is unforgiving: Alex Lifeson holds down a choppy, muted rhythm that requires a very controlled pick attack and clean left-hand damping. The Progressive Rock feel here is less about sweep-picked solos and more about locking into odd rhythmic pockets, so the challenge is feel and consistency rather than raw speed. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop the main riff section slowed down and focus on matching the pick-mute pressure every single stroke before bringing it back up to tempo. E Standard tuning means no retuning required, but the song will expose any looseness in your rhythm playing quickly.

• The main guitar riff relies heavily on palm muting and precise right-hand rhythmic control, making consistent pick attack the top priority to nail the groove.
• At 120 BPM in E minor, the riff sits in an awkward syncopated pattern that easily falls apart if your fretting hand muting is even slightly inconsistent.
• Alex Lifeson's rhythm tone is mid-heavy and slightly compressed, so a moderate amount of gain with a tight low-end response will get you closest to the recorded sound.