OPETH · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Blackwater Park

16 fills to learn, played 19 times across 242 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
90 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
242
LENGTH
10:30
DIFFICULTY
89/100

Bar 14

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 14 · LANDS ON BAR 15

On crash, snare and kick. 58 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 15. 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 33, and 1 more time

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 33 AND 39 · LANDS ON BAR 34

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 58 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 34. 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 43

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 43 · LANDS ON BAR 44

On crash, snare and kick. 65 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 44. 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 47

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 47 · LANDS ON BAR 48

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 60 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 48. 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 51

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 51 · LANDS ON BAR 52

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 63 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 52. 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 · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 59 · LANDS ON BAR 60

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 71 out of 100 -- demanding -- 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 113, and 2 more times

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 113-115 · LANDS ON BAR 116

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 47 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how fine the subdivision is. In the song it lands on bar 116. 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 117

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 117 · LANDS ON BAR 118

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 70 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. 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 129

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 129 · LANDS ON BAR 130

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 69 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 136

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 136 · LANDS ON BAR 137

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom and kick. 70 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 137. 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 138

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 138 · LANDS ON BAR 139

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 87 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 139. 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

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 165 · LANDS ON BAR 166

On hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 73 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 166. 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 189

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 189 · LANDS ON BAR 190

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 87 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 209

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 209 · LANDS ON BAR 210

On crash, snare 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 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 · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 217 · LANDS ON BAR 218

On crash, snare and kick. 76 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 225

LOOP · 90 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 225 · LANDS ON BAR 226

On ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 100 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 226. 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.

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 Blackwater Park?

16 distinct fills, played 19 times: bars 14, 33, 39, 43, 47 and 51, and 11 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Blackwater Park?

The one at bar 225, at 100 out of 100. 242 bars of 4/4 at a walking 90 BPM, 10:30 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 242 BARS ANALYSED