Perhaps the nearest we will get to a “back to basics” Muse song, Psycho is a great song for us drummers to get our teeth into, not least the shuffle rhythm and some Dominic Howard trademark herta fills to get to grips with.
Psycho is the opening song on Muse’s 2015 album, Drones. Although never released as a single (the song “Dead Inside” was the first official single from the Drones album), it was released for streaming and as a download for those who had pre-ordered the album. This song was the opening number of every performance during the Drones world tour in 2015 and 2016. Source: musewiki.org
Tempo and Time signature
Tempo is a constant 125 bpm from start to finish. Time signature is 4/4 but with a shuffle feel, ie each beat divided into 3 eighth-note triplets.
Setting up a click track
The original drums are quite forward in the mix, so it shouldn’t be too tricky to play along with the track without a click. If you do want a click, I recommend using quarter-notes. For lining up the original track to a 125 bpm grid in the DAW, I position the original file start point at 1:04:04:06 (bars).
Beats and Fills – Overview
Essentially, there are just three beats to learn: Choruses, Verses and Solo, none of which are overly difficult although, as ever, executing them cleanly and solidly may take some practice. Dominic Howard appears to favours a four on the floor kick drum pattern for shuffles (Uprising is another example), and Psycho is no exception. The shuffle feel (ie playing at least one of the eighth-note triplets in a measure to give the shuffle feel) is provided by the hands, either on the floor tom during the verses, or on the snare during the choruses. During the Solo, the drums adopt a straight four-on-the floor quarter note groove, all the swing being provided by the bass guitar line.
Complexity and interest is added by the fills, of which there are quite a few, although they are mostly variations on a theme. Some typical Dominic Howard chops are in evidence, such as the herta style fills in Choruses 3 and 4.
What’s a Herta? This is what the experts call a “hybrid rudiment”, and is usually played as a single stroke roll RLRL, with two quick strokes followed by two slow strokes. In an eighth-note triplet context, that means two sixteenth notes followed by two eighth notes, ie four strokes played within 1 beat. For more info check out this excellent Herta explanation and tutorial on DrumsTheWord.com.
Each Verse and Chorus has two fills (all are different), which means there are a fair few fills to get down and memorize. Having said that, generally they are similar and are more variations than wildly different parts. As with any song, it is possible to simplify the parts and re-use two or three fills rather than memorizing a dozen or so, as it is likely that the average gig goer will not notice your lack of fidelity to the original. Unless you’re playing to a room full of Musers, in which case all bets are off!
Song Analysis
Timestamps (m:ss) are as per the album version.
- Intro (0:00) That guitar riff, pounding kick drum on the quarter notes, and a two measure snare roll played soft to loud
- Chorus 1 (0:23 ) Instrumental
- Link (0:46 ) Descending bass line (4 measures)
- Verse 1 (0:53)
- Chorus 2 (1:31)
- Link (1:55) Descending bass line (4 measures) with Drill Sergeant
- Verse 2 (2:02)
- Chorus 3 (2:41)
- Link (3:04) Double length (8 measures) with plenty of Drill Sergeant screaming
- Verse 3 (3:19) Shorter length verse with only vocals and guitar. No drums.
- Chorus 4 (3:34)
- Re-intro (3:58) Effectively, a repeat of the Intro
- Solo (4:13)
- Chorus 5 (4:44) – Same as previous Choruses, with the last line doubled in length.
- Outro (4:59) No drums, except for some cymbal washes; descending bass line and vocals
Fan of Muse? Want more? Check out my other drumming analysis of Muse songs.
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