ÁLEX · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Eclipse brutal

10 fills to learn, played 66 times across 182 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
180 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
182
LENGTH
3:57
DIFFICULTY
74/100

Bar 25, and 19 more times

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 25-34 AND 60-69 · LANDS ON BAR 35

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 58 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 35. 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 7 more times

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 39-42 AND 74-77 · LANDS ON BAR 43

On crash, snare and kick. 45 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 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 83

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 83 · LANDS ON BAR 84

On ride, snare and kick. 80 out of 100 -- hard -- 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 91, and 1 more time

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare and kick. 75 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 93. 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 101, and 1 more time

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 101-102 · LANDS ON BAR 103

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, floor tom and kick. 74 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 103. 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, and 3 more times

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 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 145, and 1 more time

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 145-146 · LANDS ON BAR 147

On crash, ride, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 51 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 147. 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, and 10 more times

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 148-158 · LANDS ON BAR 159

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

Bar 160, and 10 more times

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 160-170 · LANDS ON BAR 171

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 49 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 171. 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 182, and 4 more times

LOOP · 180 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 182-186

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 86 out of 100 -- hard -- 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 Eclipse brutal?

10 distinct fills, played 66 times: bars 25-34, 39-42, 60-69, 74-77, 83 and 91-92, and 6 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Eclipse brutal?

The one at bar 182, at 86 out of 100. 182 bars at 180 BPM -- fast, and 3:57 of it without a break -- on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 182 BARS ANALYSED