DEATH · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Empty Words

17 fills to learn, played 98 times across 212 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
100 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
212
LENGTH
8:29
DIFFICULTY
91/100

Bar 18, and 4 more times

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 18, 26, 36, 112 AND 144 · LANDS ON BAR 19

On crash, ride, snare, mid 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 19. 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

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 20 · LANDS ON BAR 21

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 88 out of 100 -- hard -- 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

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 24 · LANDS ON BAR 25

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 76 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 28

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 28 · LANDS ON BAR 29

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 73 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. 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 31, and 15 more times

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 31-32, 71-72, 79-80, 139-140 AND 179-180, AND 3 MORE PLACES · LANDS ON BAR 33

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 75 out of 100 -- demanding -- 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 43, and 31 more times

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 43-58 AND 151-166 · LANDS ON BAR 59

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 91 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 59. 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, and 5 more times

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 63-68 · LANDS ON BAR 69

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 78 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 69. 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, and 9 more times

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 75-76, 83-84, 183-184, 191-192 AND 195-196 · LANDS ON BAR 77

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, floor tom and kick. 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 77. 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

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 92 · LANDS ON BAR 93

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 70 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 100

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 100 · LANDS ON BAR 101

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 62 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 101. 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 104

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 104 · LANDS ON BAR 105

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 82 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 105. 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 108

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 108 · LANDS ON BAR 109

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 82 out of 100 -- hard -- 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.

Bar 116

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 116 · LANDS ON BAR 117

On snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 63 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 117. 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 126, and 10 more times

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 126-136 · LANDS ON BAR 137

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 88 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 137. 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 171, and 5 more times

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 171-176 · LANDS ON BAR 177

On crash, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 79 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 177. 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 187, and 1 more time

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 187-188 · LANDS ON BAR 189

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 88 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 189. 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 207, and 1 more time

LOOP · 100 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 207-208 · LANDS ON BAR 209

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare and kick. 81 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 209. 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 Empty Words?

17 distinct fills, played 98 times: bars 18, 20, 24, 26, 28 and 31-32, and 27 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Empty Words?

The one at bar 43, at 98 out of 100. 212 bars of 4/4 at a walking 100 BPM, 8:29 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 212 BARS ANALYSED