6 fills to learn, played 9 times across 81 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 snare, mid tom and floor tom. 8 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. 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, mid tom and kick. 26 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how often it moves around the kit. In the song it lands on bar 28. 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 and floor tom. 16 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 31. 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. 23 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how often it moves around the kit. In the song it lands on bar 59. 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 and floor tom. 19 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 69. 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 mid tom, floor tom and hi-hat foot. 8 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how little of it repeats. 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.
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 →6 distinct fills, played 9 times: bars 19-20, 27, 30, 57-58, 68 and 79-80.
The one at bar 27, at 26 out of 100. 81 bars of 4/4 at a walking 82 BPM, 3:57 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.