18 fills to learn, played 34 times across 189 bars. Two fills that share a rhythm and differ only in how they are spread round the toms are one fill here, learned once and orchestrated twice.
On crash, snare, mid tom and kick. 52 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 5. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On hi-hat, snare and kick. 70 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 17. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 66 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 21. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On hi-hat, snare and kick. 31 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 25. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 46 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 73. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On hi-hat, snare and kick. 39 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 81. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 16 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 89. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 46 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 105. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On crash, snare and kick. 38 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 107. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On snare and mid tom. 36 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 109. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On crash, snare, mid tom and kick. 23 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 113. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 44 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 121. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On crash, snare and kick. 55 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 129. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 14 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 145. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 26 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 157. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On crash, ride, snare and kick. 44 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 169. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On crash, snare and kick. 49 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 177. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
On floor tom and kick. 25 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 189. The exercise loops the figure on its own first, and the one after it puts it back: one bar of rest to count yourself in, the figure, then the landing with the time still running. Getting out of a fill is the half most people never practise.
A fill is rhythm before it is orchestration. The room plays the whole figure on the snare first, puts the feet under it second, and moves it round the toms last -- looped on its own, round and round, until the hands know it. Then it puts the fill back where it lives: a bar of rest to count in, the figure, and the downbeat it lands on, because landing square is the other half of the job.
PRACTISE THESE FILLS →18 distinct fills, played 34 times: bars 1-4, 16, 20, 22, 24 and 40, and 18 more places.
The one at bar 16, at 78 out of 100. 189 bars at 225 BPM -- fast, and 3:22 of it without a break -- on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick.