15 fills to learn, played 26 times across 175 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 kick. 44 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 3. 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. 27 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 5. 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. 34 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. 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.
On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 40 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 18. 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. 15 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. 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.
On ride, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 27 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 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.
On snare. 13 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. 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.
On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 40 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 62. 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. 25 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 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.
On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 47 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 92. 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 and kick. 9 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 112. 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, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 17 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how often it moves around the kit. In the song it lands on bar 120. 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. 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 156. 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. 1 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how little of it repeats. In the song it lands on bar 170. 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, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 22 out of 100 -- straightforward -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 175. 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 →15 distinct fills, played 26 times: bars 2, 4, 12, 16-17, 29 and 33, and 12 more places.
The one at bar 89, at 47 out of 100. 175 bars of 4/4 at a walking 92 BPM, 7:35 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick.