BABYMETAL · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Arkadia

38 fills to learn, played 69 times across 227 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.

TEMPO
101 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
227
LENGTH
9:00
DIFFICULTY
77/100

Bar 5

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 5 · LANDS ON BAR 6

On crash. 49 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 6. 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.

Bar 13

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 13 · LANDS ON BAR 14

On hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 90 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 14. 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.

Bar 20, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 20-21 · LANDS ON BAR 22

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom 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 22. 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.

Bar 29

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 29 · LANDS ON BAR 30

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 78 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 30. 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.

Bar 37, and 2 more times

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 37-39 · LANDS ON BAR 40

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 47 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 40. 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.

Bar 41

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 41 · LANDS ON BAR 42

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 42. 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.

Bar 57

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 57 · LANDS ON BAR 58

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 63 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 58. 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.

Bar 59

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 59 · LANDS ON BAR 60

On crash and kick. 45 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 60. 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.

Bar 61

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 61 · LANDS ON BAR 62

On snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 37 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 62. 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.

Bar 64, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 64-65 · LANDS ON BAR 66

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 53 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 66. 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.

Bar 73, and 4 more times

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 73-77 · LANDS ON BAR 78

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 57 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 78. 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.

Bar 85

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 85 · LANDS ON BAR 86

On crash, snare and kick. 61 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 86. 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.

Bar 92, and 3 more times

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 92-93 AND 176-177 · LANDS ON BAR 94

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 39 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 94. 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.

Bar 101

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 101 · LANDS ON BAR 102

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom and kick. 64 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 102. 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.

Bar 105

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 105 · LANDS ON BAR 106

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom and kick. 66 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 106. 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.

Bar 108, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 108-109 · LANDS ON BAR 110

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 61 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 110. 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.

Bar 115, and 2 more times

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 115-117 · LANDS ON BAR 118

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 41 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how fine the subdivision is. In the song it lands on bar 118. 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.

Bar 124

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 124 · LANDS ON BAR 125

On snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 45 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 125. 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.

Bar 129

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 129 · LANDS ON BAR 130

On crash, snare and kick. 72 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 130. 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.

Bar 133

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 133 · LANDS ON BAR 134

On crash, high tom, mid tom and kick. 67 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 134. 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.

Bar 137, and 3 more times

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 137-140 · LANDS ON BAR 141

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 77 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 141. 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.

Bar 147

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 147 · LANDS ON BAR 148

On crash, snare and kick. 51 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 148. 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.

Bar 149

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 149 · LANDS ON BAR 150

On crash, snare, mid tom and kick. 43 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 150. 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.

Bar 151, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 151 AND 155 · LANDS ON BAR 152

On snare and kick. 39 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 152. 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.

Bar 153

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 153 · LANDS ON BAR 154

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 54 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 154. 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.

Bar 157, and 4 more times

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 157-161 · LANDS ON BAR 162

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 60 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 162. 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.

Bar 163

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 163 · LANDS ON BAR 164

On high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 40 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 164. 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.

Bar 165, and 4 more times

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 165-169 · LANDS ON BAR 170

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 53 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 170. 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.

Bar 184, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 184-185 · LANDS ON BAR 186

On crash, snare and kick. 60 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 186. 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.

Bar 188, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 188-189 · LANDS ON BAR 190

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 53 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 190. 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.

Bar 192, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 192-193 · LANDS ON BAR 194

On crash, snare, high 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 194. 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.

Bar 201

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 201 · LANDS ON BAR 202

On crash, snare and kick. 74 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 202. 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.

Bar 208, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 208-209 · LANDS ON BAR 210

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 51 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 210. 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.

Bar 217

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 217 · LANDS ON BAR 218

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 57 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 218. 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.

Bar 219

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 219 · LANDS ON BAR 220

On high tom and mid tom. 17 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how fine the subdivision is. In the song it lands on bar 220. 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.

Bar 221

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 221 · LANDS ON BAR 222

On crash, snare, mid tom and kick. 44 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 222. 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.

Bar 223

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 223 · LANDS ON BAR 224

On crash, snare and kick. 45 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 224. 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.

Bar 226, and 1 more time

LOOP · 101 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 226-227

On crash and kick. 50 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for.

How a fill is practised

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 →

Questions

How many drum fills are in Arkadia?

38 distinct fills, played 69 times: bars 5, 13, 20-21, 29, 37-39 and 41, and 34 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Arkadia?

The one at bar 13, at 90 out of 100. 227 bars of 4/4 at a walking 101 BPM, 9:00 of playing, on crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 227 BARS ANALYSED