4 fills to learn, played 5 times across 60 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 and kick. 13 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 2. 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. 79 out of 100 -- demanding -- 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.
On hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 50 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 10. 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, high tom, mid tom and floor tom. 40 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 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.
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 →4 distinct fills, played 5 times: bars 1, 5, 9, 33 and 59.
The one at bar 5, at 79 out of 100. 60 bars at 210 BPM -- fast, and 1:09 of it without a break -- on crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick.