ELITIST · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Caves

20 fills to learn, played 32 times across 145 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
190 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
145
LENGTH
3:15
DIFFICULTY
80/100

Bar 6

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 6 · LANDS ON BAR 7

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 54 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 7. 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 8

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 8 · LANDS ON BAR 9

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 78 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 9. 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 10, and 2 more times

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 83 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 13. 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 16

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 16 · LANDS ON BAR 17

On ride, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 75 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.

Bar 18, and 1 more time

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 18-19 · LANDS ON BAR 20

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 86 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 20. 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 25

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 25 · LANDS ON BAR 26

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom 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 26. 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 · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 29 · LANDS ON BAR 30

On crash, snare, 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 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 31, and 1 more time

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 31 AND 35 · LANDS ON BAR 32

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 80 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 32. 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

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 33 · LANDS ON BAR 34

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 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 37

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 37 · LANDS ON BAR 38

On snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 71 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 38. 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 55, and 2 more times

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 55, 59 AND 63 · LANDS ON BAR 56

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 61 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 56. 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 65

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 65 · LANDS ON BAR 66

On crash, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 77 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 69

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 69 · LANDS ON BAR 70

On hi-hat, 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 70. 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 1 more time

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 73 AND 81 · LANDS ON BAR 74

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 65 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 74. 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 · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 85 · LANDS ON BAR 86

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 72 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 89

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 89 · LANDS ON BAR 90

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 74 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 90. 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 93, and 4 more times

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 93-97 · LANDS ON BAR 98

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 94 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 98. 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 110

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 110 · LANDS ON BAR 111

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 84 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 111. 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

LOOP · 190 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 113 · LANDS ON BAR 114

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 75 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 114. 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 121, and 1 more time

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 89 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 123. 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 Caves?

20 distinct fills, played 32 times: bars 6, 8, 10-12, 16, 18-19 and 25, and 18 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Caves?

The one at bar 93, at 94 out of 100. 145 bars at 190 BPM -- fast, and 3:15 of it without a break -- on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 145 BARS ANALYSED