Mike Portnoy - Odd-Time Signatures Demonstration 

I bought a drum kit because of this guy. I also sold the kit because of this guy. Incredible, love the way he explains it.

I think the scariest part of this video is that he actually understands what he's saying

Prog musicians look left, right, up, down, and within before crossing the street.

Normal people: *lives in 2019* Portnoy: *lives in 25/19*

Dude's hair has hair.

*Breathes in 12/8*

0:48 OMFG MIKE PORTNOY CAN COUNT IN NORMAL TIME...... I DIDNT KNOW HE COULD DO THAT

I miss him so much in DT. He was the core of the band!

i do not recommend watching this to Beginner drummers . it may cause depression .

I can play the riff of smoke on the water

I like the part where he played drums.

If this man doesn't make you love drumming I don't know what else could.

It's interesting that whne you listen to the song the crazy time signatures aren't that detectable- the songs still groove really well and you just feel it instead of thinking "wow that is an odd groove"

did you know? mike is not only a drummer he is a mathematician

after this I noticed my heart is beating in 9/8

Why am I watching this I don't even own a kit.

I decided to learn the album, Awake. Oh yeah, I'm a drummer. I had never heard of DT until my friend put that CD in. At an hour a day, 6 days a week, for 2 years, I dissected, listened to, played and repeated that album from note one to the very end. It was a polyrhythmic and compounded meter clinic. From this album, Awake, I heard great music in every capacity for hours. I learned song development with regards to progressive rock, as explained by Mike himself. I did some home improvements for him and spent 2 weeks in his house. The man was nonstop, tapping his hands and feet on everything he could reach, in odd time of course. He is a killer musician and a great person otherwise.

*throws drum set out the window*

I started playing drums because of John Bonham, Keith Moon and Bill Ward. I set my drums on fire because of Mike Portnoy.🔥

At 1995 Mike Portnoy explained this to people, at that time, I was eating dirt

math teacher/drum master

Peart, Mangini and Portnoy are about the only drummers out there who actually do this right. The off-beat or odd time grooves are an assault on the senses of a normal time keeper. These guys are truly amazing! I hope I can master this one day before i die.

Sounds nothing like AC/DC.

Interesting..when I play guitar, sometimes I strum a D, then go to C, but wait for it...switch up to a G, then right back to D just to melt the audience's face

This guy is actually a clear and concise, good teacher

When I'm listening to DT I can never tell if my CD is skipping or there's an extra random beat on each bar

Hi, I'm Mike Portnoy. As you can see, my beard has been meticulously drawn on with a sharpie, and is connected to my perm, which is seamlessly woven into my chest rug, which is displayed proudly to distract from my formidable eyebrows.

As a drummer I understand his theory but his drumming still blows my mind away. So much skill. If only my fiends could understand... They listen to the radio....

I hardly know what he was even talking about, that was intense...

How can anyone not adore this musiscian?

Gonna have to add a stand to my drum kit for a calculator

The math, the math is strong here.

I understood everything after the 9 minute 11 seconds mark

That style of 9/8 is so much cooler than 3/4 triplets

One of the very few musicians with such mind blowing technical ability and mastery of theory who still manages to always be interesting and musical. Everything he plays supports and adds to the songs.

what is wrong with 4/4

Jesus used to play drums apparently

I finally mastered Back in Black

Can't thank u enough Mike, My Keyboardist / Multi-Instrumentalist wants me 2 Drum 2 something he wrote in 9/8. Thanks 4 keeping me sharp Bro...!!!

8:08 when you realize you're too good at this

Counts in 9/8 with a 4/4 click *brain fused*

I must also say that I've always loved the part in the Voices Ex. 4...steady China beat alternating smoothly from down beat to up beat...beautiful!

Man, this guy is not of this world ! No comment, just deep respect Mike, God bless you !

This video is extremely helpful, and gave me an easier method of considering time signatures and writing odd time signature beats, great stuff!

Mike has an incredible ability to make weird time signatures sound easy to play but when you attempt it, it seems impossible

Such exceptional snare tone. This is something I do not hear with Mike Mangini's DT drumming, and I miss it.

I love the ease of performance he produces, and the personable faces he makes while performing

This is a concise explanation of how to use time signatures. I still say Portnoy is the most creative drummer of our time.

4/4 + 5/8 = 13/8 Came in mindless, left with algebra

He explained this in 1995. At that time I was just jizz.

This commentis to all you musicians new to odd time signatures. About 12 years ago my best friend and drummer in my band got this DVD. For a while I felt u comfortable and co fused with odd time signatures. This video seemed super hard to play myself. I am watching it now and Im just super happy and excited because I know Ican play these basic grooves on the drums. I am a guitarist. Poinnt is, dont give up! 10,000 hours. It takes about 10,000 hours to master any skill. Youre young enough and youve got time to at least get a good grasp on it! Stick with it because its absolutely worth it. Rock on my fellow musicians, and godspeed.

The best part is that this guy its all feeling during his shows, its amazing how he is in control of everything that he is playing without losing his soul

Mike is a technically proficient player who plays mostly complex music, yet simplifies it so well. I think that’s what the appeal is; he can create such accessible yet intriguing parts that even non-progressive fans can enjoy.

He speaks so similar to John Petrucci!

Excellent begginer tutorial video! Easy pacing with basic beats, I like how you added in some addition subtraction stuff as well, this is perfect for my younger brother who wants to play the drums! I'm going to show this to him, hopefully he can play along Lars soon.

You can tell the greats... they share what they know and never hoard it. Great stuff.

I never paid much attention to drums until I saw MP in Deeam Theater and realized what it really takes to be a great drummer. Now that's one of the first things I pay attention to in a band. There are few truly GREAT drummers out there! Not only is he an awesome drummer, but a fantastic performer, composer, and I could go on and on!

When you think you're loose unbuttoning one on your shirt. MP: hold my shirt

Crazy watching this years ago and it sounding so foreign but watching it now and knowing what he’s doing is actually pretty simple and helpful!

Mike's speaking voice sounds completely different these days. What a drummer. He is my super inspiration.

Whoa I was not even sperm when this was made and I still have it on VHS..............thank you grandad for bringing me many great moments on the drums with this video and my first pearl kit R.I.P

4:44 “If you add up 8/8 and 5/8, you get 13” Thanks mike portnoy

Damn what a nice dude. Really cool to see such a beast be so humble. Awesome.

If I didn’t know this man and somebody asked me how a perfect drummer would sound like, I would describe Portnoy. Always knows how to play his parts, with technique and emotion.

I'm only commenting to bring some SANITY to this thread. His solos...good but lacking in expression and variety. His tutorials...VERY informative and well expressed. His writing and arranging....among the best I've ever heard. His hair? As a bald guy, I guess I'm not entitled to a comment.

Why am I watching this? I'm not even a drummer. Now you guys know how guitarists feel after watching a Petrucci instructional video.

As a drummer trying to get better at drums I found this video to be helpful. thank you mike and have a upvote

Genius of Time signatures and skill. Great work.

He needs some tarot cards.

hes a lion

The first one is actually pretty simple and yet it makes such a sweet groove. Very useful to sound impressive.

Regular musician: "What's so unusual about 9/8?" Mike Portnoy: "I'm glad you asked."

A lot of hair in the 90s it seems.

Mike Portnoy in the 90s is more beautiful than any women these days

Great video. thanks! It's really cool to see how he counts bars and subdivision. Best Prog drummer ever

It was my favorite drummer back in 1992 and after 27 year he's still my favorite drummer.

Not quite my tempo.

that dude makes cool look casual

He makes it feel so easy! Ir actually helps a lot though. Ive managed to pick up certain beats way faster thanks to this video

This video taught me odd time meters long time ago! This was amazing to learn from :D

This is the dude from Metallica right?

Physics and abstract calculus. WTF

Watching this video two years ago made me improve my drums so much. The example in pattern 4 was very influential in my writing

Wow a young Mike Portnoy wonder if he knew then the success he would achieve.. truly a legendary drummer

9/4 time signature is usual for DM??! what the fuck... they are super masters*

the "dream" drummer... throw any odd ball rhythm at him and he starts adding signatures like they're fraction problems.

You know, it's kinda humorous..how he plays so smooth and effortlessly. Makes you chuckle

such a percussion genius, really like this guy.

Mike portnoy does not write music, he writes art.

I resisted liking Mike Portnoy for a long time because I thought he emanates exorbitant amounts of Douchbaggery. But I could only resist for so long before I liked his work. Now that I have watched more and more of him, his affable brand of douchbaggery is starting to grow on me. It's almost like salt; on it's own it makes me pucker, but when added to a dish it helps bring out and accentuate the flavors that are already there... That and [IMO] he is one of the three best living rock drummers.

Such a well done video. Thank you Mike.

I love learning to understand time signatures

Wtf, is this math class?

Jeez. Alternating 9/8 on the kick and snare beneath a mini-China in 9/4? WTF

such a musical drummer...he's the perfect combination of musicality and technicality

A small detail worth noting regarding portnoys playing of the 3/4, 9/8 change of seasons pattern is his inclusion of an open hi hat on count 9 at certain junctures of the groove sequence. It's actually rather difficult considering the placement within the groove added with the limb indepence it asks for to execute it confidently and musically. Portnoys work is still full of surprises years later

His hair goes to College!

My head hurts

Great examples and music, thank you.

The best way to learn this is by listening and drilling the counting into your head. Practice these same times you've been counting on a practice pad with combinations of rudiments and a metronome really slow. By the time you finally get on the kit you wont be thinking much at all to keep these counts while playing. Won't be long before you' aren't really counting any more and can improv these odd times without stepping out of time at all. I wish Mike still loved drumming like this and honed his technique and pushed the envelope some more....