Neil Peart is the brilliant drummer and wordsmith of the Canadian band Rush. Rush is considered to be a cornerstone of progressive music (by Rush fans) and has reached a very respectable age.

''Neil's brilliant drumming relies on a simple trick, that other drummers might someday learn. Before he drums he writes down everything he's going to do on paper. This BigDesignUpFront represents a radical departure from much of drumming theory.''

Composing on paper is not an innovation.

''it was a joke''

It was?

The use of electronics, processing, and computer-aided music generation have put Rush into a rather small crowd of truly progressive musicians; is it possible they create some of their own music processing software? Other artists have done this.