LING TOSITE SIGURE · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in DISCO FLIGHT (cover by Dokugaku)

25 fills to learn, played 53 times across 148 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
125 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
148
LENGTH
4:44
DIFFICULTY
70/100

Bar 14, and 3 more times

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 14, 60, 89 AND 113 · LANDS ON BAR 15

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 57 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 15. 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, and 3 more times

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 16-17 AND 137-138 · LANDS ON BAR 18

On crash, hi-hat, snare, kick and hi-hat foot. 59 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 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.

Bar 20, and 3 more times

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 20, 58, 87 AND 111 · LANDS ON BAR 21

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 57 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 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 24, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 24 AND 36 · LANDS ON BAR 25

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 54 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 25. 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 27, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 27-28 · LANDS ON BAR 29

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 66 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 29. 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 32

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 32 · LANDS ON BAR 33

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high 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 33. 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 39, and 4 more times

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 39-43 · LANDS ON BAR 44

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare 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 44. 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

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 46 · LANDS ON BAR 47

On snare, high tom and kick. 49 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 47. 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 48, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 48 AND 101 · LANDS ON BAR 49

On hi-hat, snare and kick. 46 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 49. 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 · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 50 AND 56 · LANDS ON BAR 51

On crash, hi-hat, snare, kick and hi-hat foot. 53 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 51. 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 52, and 2 more times

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 52-54 · LANDS ON BAR 55

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 62 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 55. 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 62, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 62 AND 115 · LANDS ON BAR 63

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 32 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 63. 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, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 65-66 · LANDS ON BAR 67

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 65 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 67. 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 72, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 72-73 · LANDS ON BAR 74

On crash, hi-hat, 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 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 75

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 75 · LANDS ON BAR 76

On crash, hi-hat, snare 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 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 77, and 2 more times

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 77-79 · LANDS ON BAR 80

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 68 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 81

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 81 · LANDS ON BAR 82

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 58 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 82. 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 83

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 83 · LANDS ON BAR 84

On crash, hi-hat, snare, kick and hi-hat foot. 60 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 84. 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 · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 85 · LANDS ON BAR 86

On hi-hat, snare, high tom and kick. 59 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 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 96, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 96-97 · LANDS ON BAR 98

On hi-hat, snare 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 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 99

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 99 · LANDS ON BAR 100

On hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 69 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.

Bar 105, and 2 more times

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 105-107 · LANDS ON BAR 108

On crash, hi-hat, snare, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 63 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 108. 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 122, and 1 more time

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 122-123 · LANDS ON BAR 124

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, 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 124. 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 144

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 144 · LANDS ON BAR 145

On crash, hi-hat, snare, kick and hi-hat foot. 81 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 145. 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 148

LOOP · 125 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 148

On hi-hat, snare and kick. 64 out of 100 -- a step up -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for.

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 DISCO FLIGHT (cover by Dokugaku)?

25 distinct fills, played 53 times: bars 14, 16-17, 20, 24, 27-28 and 32, and 30 more places.

What is the hardest fill in DISCO FLIGHT (cover by Dokugaku)?

The one at bar 144, at 81 out of 100. 148 bars of 4/4 at 125 BPM, about 4:44 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 148 BARS ANALYSED