Simplest Dream Theater Songs ?

[Kotowboy]

Whilst listening to Fear Inoculum recently I noticed that Culling Voices is in 6/8 the entire time.

Are there any D/T songs which stay in one time signature for the duration ?

I know the first 4 songs on Octavarium are mostly 4/4 or 6/8. Apart from the "humility now my only hope" section of Root Of All Evil which is confusing as hell.

Secondly - which ones do you think are the easiest to play drums or guitar wise ? Obviously Vacant has no drums....

[Lonk]

Through her Eyes 

[genome]

The Dance of Eternity is really easy to sing

[Kotowboy]

 

I can drum to the first four songs on Octavarium easily but that one section in Root always throws me.

[DTA]

Speak To Me is pretty easy overall

I can drum to the first four songs on Octavarium easily but that one section in Root always throws me.

What section? The snare part leading into the solos?

[Kotowboy]

" Humility now my only hope..."

[Learning2Live]

The easiest songs for me to drum to are (in no order):
Space-Dye Vest
Anna Lee
Speak to Me
Goodnight Kiss
The Answer Lies Within

[Kotowboy]

I used to be in a band that were influenced by TOOL amongst other bands - we loved poly-rhythms and compound time and avoiding 4/4 unless it just happened to sound better...

So i'm used to technical drumming. I find it easier to feel an awkward section than count it.

But that section always annoys me.

[Sebastián Pratesi]

Probably "The Spirit Carries On"? I'm not counting "Regression", since only JP plays on that one.

Some songs on The Astonishing are relatively easy to play, compared to the average DT epic.

[Lonk]

I think Heaven's Cove stays in 4/4 the entire song, and it's pretty simple to play (On guitar at least, drums sound simple but I wouldn't know)

[The Letter M]

No mention of "The Silent Man"? Or "To Live Forever"? Both are fairly simple, I think.

-Marc.

[pg1067]

I'm fairly sure Another Day, Hollow Years and Wither are entirely in 4/4.

[Ninjabait]

Are there any D/T songs which stay in one time signature for the duration ?

Between Images and Words and DT12:

   
• You Not Me (4/4)
• Hollow Years (4/4)
• Take Away My Pain (4/4)
• Anna Lee (3/3)

   
• Regression (3/4)
• Through My Words (2/2)
• Through Her Eyes (4/4)

   
• War Inside My Head (12/8)
• Goodnight Kiss (4/4)
• Losing Time (12/8)
• Grand Finale (4/4)

   
• Vacant (6/4)

   
• The Answer Lies Within (4/4)
• I Walk Beside You (4/4)
• Never Enough* (4/4)

   
• Prophets of War (4/4)
• Wither (4/4)

   
• Far from Heaven (4/4)
• Beneath the Surface (4/4)

   
• Along for the Ride (4/4)

*Doesn't count the "negative time" section
Songs with only a couple of changes:

   
• Pull Me Under (6 changes, mostly in 4/4)
• Another Day (2 changes, mostly in 4/4)
• Surrounded (6 changes, mostly in 4/4)

   
• 6:00 (8 changes, 4/4)
• Voices (5 changes)
• The Silent Man (4 changes, 4/4)
• Space-Dye Vest (3 changes)

   
• Peruvian Skies (6 changes, 4/4)
• Just Let Me Breathe (7 changes)

   
• One Last Time (8 changes, 4/4)
• Spirit Carries On (2 changes, 12/8)

   
• Overture (10 changes, 4/4)

   
• The Root of All Evil (2 changes, 44)

   
• Forsaken (9 changes, 7/8)
• The Ministry of Lost Souls (4 changes, 4/4)

   
• Best of Times (4 changes, 4/4)

   
• False Awakening Suite (4 changes, 12/8)

[cminor]

Interesting list, looks promising, although on the first look it seems strange to me in some places, e.g. I never considered Losing Time and Grand Finale as two seperate songs. As far as I recall I also would count some songs differently. Along For The Ride is in 6/8 to me, False Awakening Suite in 4/4. And where is the time signature change in TSCO? I need to relisten to this one.

[TheBarstoolWarrior]

Answer Lies Within for sure

[Dellers]

Whilst listening to Fear Inoculum recently I noticed that Culling Voices is in 6/8 the entire time.

Are there any D/T songs which stay in one time signature for the duration ?

I know the first 4 songs on Octavarium are mostly 4/4 or 6/8. Apart from the "humility now my only hope" section of Root Of All Evil which is confusing as hell.

Secondly - which ones do you think are the easiest to play drums or guitar wise ? Obviously Vacant has no drums....

I think that section in Root Of All Evil is fairly straightforward. It's 4/4 to my ears, it's just that the hi-hat and snare are being played off beat as far as I can tell. I'm not a drummer, but managed to "play" the rhythm correctly after a little thinking. The song seems to be 4/4 except for the This Dying Soul part.

[RAIN]

Isn't Paralyzed all 4/4?

[The Letter M]

It's funny to me that everyone's go-to attribute for a "simple" song is simply the time signature when there are tons of other aspects to consider - keys and key changes, use of relative keys, accidentals and note choices, and chord progressions

Some of the 4/4 songs by DT might be simple to count but that still doesn't make them simple to play/sing or analyze.

-Marc.

[Ninjabait]

Interesting list, looks promising, although on the first look it seems strange to me in some places, e.g. I never considered Losing Time and Grand Finale as two seperate songs. As far as I recall I also would count some songs differently. Along For The Ride is in 6/8 to me, False Awakening Suite in 4/4. And where is the time signature change in TSCO? I need to relisten to this one.

Ah yeah, Along for the Ride is 6/8. I was looking at the wrong thing lol
The time signature changes in The Spirit Carries On is right at the end of the guitar solo. It's a single measure of 6/8.
I just listed Losing Time/Grand Finale separately to illustrate that neither subsection has any time signature changes

[Kotowboy]

Whilst listening to Fear Inoculum recently I noticed that Culling Voices is in 6/8 the entire time.

Are there any D/T songs which stay in one time signature for the duration ?

I know the first 4 songs on Octavarium are mostly 4/4 or 6/8. Apart from the "humility now my only hope" section of Root Of All Evil which is confusing as hell.

Secondly - which ones do you think are the easiest to play drums or guitar wise ? Obviously Vacant has no drums....

I think that section in Root Of All Evil is fairly straightforward. It's 4/4 to my ears, it's just that the hi-hat and snare are being played off beat as far as I can tell. I'm not a drummer, but managed to "play" the rhythm correctly after a little thinking. The song seems to be 4/4 except for the This Dying Soul part.

Yeah I listened to it one time before jamming it again and it's 6/4 I think . You can also think of it as swung 4 with a bar of 2 on the end. The section after that can be played in 4/4 or 6/8 and it matches up.

[AVFTTOTW]

WITHER

[Kotowboy]

WITHER

Q. How do you teach a duck about soul music ?


A. You put it in a microwave until its bill withers.

[pg1067]

WITHER

Q. How do you teach a duck about soul music ?


A. You put it in a microwave until its bill withers.