JUDAS PRIEST · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Diamonds And Rust

13 fills to learn, played 25 times across 100 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
145 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
100
LENGTH
2:46
DIFFICULTY
82/100

Bar 20

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 20 · LANDS ON BAR 21

On crash, 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 21. 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 28, and 2 more times

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 28-30 · LANDS ON BAR 31

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor 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 31. 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 38

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 38 · LANDS ON BAR 39

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 47 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 39. 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 40

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 40 · LANDS ON BAR 41

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom 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 41. 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 42

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 42 · LANDS ON BAR 43

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 69 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 43. 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 46, and 1 more time

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 46-47 · LANDS ON BAR 48

On ride, hi-hat, snare 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 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 50, and 1 more time

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 50-51 · LANDS ON BAR 52

On crash, hi-hat, snare, floor tom and kick. 67 out of 100 -- demanding -- 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 55, and 1 more time

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 55 AND 65 · LANDS ON BAR 56

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 49 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 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 63

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 63 · LANDS ON BAR 64

On hi-hat, snare, 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 64. 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 2 more times

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 73-75 · LANDS ON BAR 76

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 72 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 76. 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 78, and 1 more time

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 78-79 · LANDS ON BAR 80

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor 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 80. 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 92, and 1 more time

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 92-93 · LANDS ON BAR 94

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 72 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 94. 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 96, and 3 more times

LOOP · 145 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 96-99 · LANDS ON BAR 100

On crash, snare, 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 100. 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 Diamonds And Rust?

13 distinct fills, played 25 times: bars 20, 28-30, 38, 40, 42 and 46-47, and 8 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Diamonds And Rust?

The one at bar 46, at 100 out of 100. 100 bars of 4/4 at 145 BPM, about 2:46 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 100 BARS ANALYSED