TOOL · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Fear Inoculum

15 fills to learn, played 34 times across 193 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
89 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
193
LENGTH
9:48
DIFFICULTY
78/100

Bar 79, and 9 more times

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 79-88 · LANDS ON BAR 89

On crash, snare, high tom, mid 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 89. 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 90, and 1 more time

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 90 AND 122 · LANDS ON BAR 91

On crash, ride, 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 91. 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 · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 92 · LANDS ON BAR 93

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 72 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. 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 94

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 94 · LANDS ON BAR 95

On crash, ride, snare, floor tom 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 95. 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

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 96 · LANDS ON BAR 97

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 61 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 97. 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 119, and 1 more time

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 119-120 · LANDS ON BAR 121

On snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 66 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 121. 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 124

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 124 · LANDS ON BAR 125

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom 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 125. 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

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 126 · LANDS ON BAR 127

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 76 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 127. 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 128

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 128 · LANDS ON BAR 129

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 53 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 129. 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 138, and 1 more time

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 138 AND 146 · LANDS ON BAR 139

On hi-hat, snare, floor tom and kick. 85 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 139. 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 149, and 1 more time

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 149-150 · LANDS ON BAR 151

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 87 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 151. 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 158

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 158 · LANDS ON BAR 159

On snare, floor tom 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 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 162, and 2 more times

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 162-164 · LANDS ON BAR 165

On crash, ride, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 65 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 165. 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 166

LOOP · 89 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 166 · LANDS ON BAR 167

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 52 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 167. 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 168, and 4 more times

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 75 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 173. 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 Fear Inoculum?

15 distinct fills, played 34 times: bars 79-88, 90, 92, 94, 96 and 119-120, and 11 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Fear Inoculum?

The one at bar 138, at 93 out of 100. 193 bars of 4/4 at a walking 89 BPM, 9:48 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 193 BARS ANALYSED