Rush– Limelight

Light up your life with this Rush classic from 1981

Limelight features on Rush’s 1981 album Moving Pictures – an essential album in the band’s back-catalogue, featuring classics like Tom Sawyer, Red Barchetta and YYZ. As one of the band’s best known tracks, Limelight features some of guitarist Alex Lifeson’s most recognisable trademarks such as lush suspended chords and those signature open-string shapes.

Lifeson has described the song’s solo as one of his favourites, and features some of his trademark melodic playing, peppered with Floyd Rose whammy bar vibrato and divebombed natural harmonics. Hint! These require a light touch when you come to them. The notes should sound pure with plenty of sustain. The song features four time signatures: 4/4, 3/4, 7/4 and 7/8. The first three of these have four, three and seven downbeats in each bar of music respectively – so stomping your foot will help you keep time. 7/8 is trickier to understand (there are seven eighth notes in every bar) but these sections can be picked up by ‘feel’.