8 fills to learn, played 18 times across 343 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 hi-hat, snare and mid tom. 24 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 109. 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 kick. 35 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 127. 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 and kick. 20 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 135. 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, floor tom and kick. 22 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 143. 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 and kick. 8 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 159. 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 and floor tom. 21 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 183. 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, floor tom and kick. 35 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 205. 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 crash, snare, mid tom and floor tom. 12 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 215. 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 →8 distinct fills, played 18 times: bars 108, 125-126, 134, 141-142, 158 and 182, and 8 more places.
The one at bar 125, at 43 out of 100. 343 bars at 350 BPM -- fast, and 3:55 of it without a break -- on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick.