Listening for tempo and timing?

[Toology]

Anyone have any tips for a newbie drummer as far as listening to a song and trying to find the tempo and timing within the song? I would like to play along to some songs with the metronome but I can't ever hear/find the tempo or timing. I'm trying to "self teach" as I did with Bass. For instance, I'm trying to learn Sad but True from Metallica as it seems to be pretty easy and rather uncomplicated, but I cant seem to get the snare drum breakdown (0--0000) timing perfect without a metronome, but I can't find the tempo to set it!

[eric_B]

Did you try searching for tabs: http://www.911tabs.com/link/?6695987, tempo is here: http://www.guitaretab.com/m/metallica/11903.html.
What do you mean with finding the 'timing'? Where the first note in a bar is? Or where the backbeat (usually 2 and 4) is? Or what to play?

[Fullback32]

What do you mean with finding the 'timing'? Where the first note in a bar is? Or where the backbeat (usually 2 and 4) is? Or what to play?

This was my question as well. Are you talking about time signature or simply tempo? Since you mentioned tempo, I would say that you should tap it out with your feet then find the metronome setting to match it or look up the tabs like Eric mentioned.

[Toology]

Did you try searching for tabs: http://www.911tabs.com/link/?6695987, tempo is here: http://www.guitaretab.com/m/metallica/11903.html.
What do you mean with finding the 'timing'? Where the first note in a bar is? Or where the backbeat (usually 2 and 4) is? Or what to play?

Sorry I mean how I should be counting it out as in, 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, or 1e&a2e&a etc.

[losteskimo1]

Maybe because it's in 4 then 2...... The quarter note value to set your metronome to is 86..... I've attached the first page of the score (hopefully) so you can see what I mean.

IMG.jpg

[fastballer8]

I think the counting part is all up to you and what you feel most comfortable doing. The timing of those snare fills, from what I read in the tabs and can hear in the song, is that the first hit is on an "and" note, and the next 4 are the 16th notes of the following beat. In most of the fills it's the 'and' of the 3rd beat, and all 4 sixteenth notes of beat 4. In the longer part where no drums are playing right in the beginning and also toward the middle/end of the song, the 'and' hit is on beat one of the next bar and the 16ths are all of beat 2 in that bar.

I hope that made some sort of sense. It made sense in my head when I was typing it. And as far as tempo goes, it's 86 beats per minute according to the link Eric posted.