KYUSS · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Gardenia

17 fills to learn, played 36 times across 107 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
78 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
107
LENGTH
5:27
DIFFICULTY
87/100

Bar 5

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 5 · LANDS ON BAR 6

On snare, floor tom and hi-hat foot. 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 6. 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 9, and 6 more times

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 9, 11, 31, 35 AND 67, AND 2 MORE PLACES · LANDS ON BAR 10

On crash, ride, snare, kick and hi-hat foot. 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 10. 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 13, and 5 more times

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 13, 33, 41, 43 AND 61, AND 1 MORE PLACE · LANDS ON BAR 14

On ride, snare, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 68 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 14. 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 15, and 3 more times

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 15-18 · LANDS ON BAR 19

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 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 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 21

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 21 · LANDS ON BAR 22

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 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 22. 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 25, and 1 more time

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 25-26 · LANDS ON BAR 27

On crash, hi-hat, snare, 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 27. 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 29

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 29 · LANDS ON BAR 30

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 67 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 30. 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 37

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 37 · LANDS ON BAR 38

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 84 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 38. 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 · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 46-47 · LANDS ON BAR 48

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, 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 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 51

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 51 · LANDS ON BAR 52

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 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 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 53, and 2 more times

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 53-55 · LANDS ON BAR 56

On crash, ride, snare, kick and hi-hat foot. 77 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 59

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 59 · LANDS ON BAR 60

On crash, ride, snare, kick and hi-hat foot. 74 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how much of it falls off the beat. In the song it lands on bar 60. 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 · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 63 · LANDS ON BAR 64

On crash, ride, 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 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 75

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 75 · LANDS ON BAR 76

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 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 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 87

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 87 · LANDS ON BAR 88

On crash, ride, snare, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 73 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet. In the song it lands on bar 88. 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 · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 90-91 · LANDS ON BAR 92

On crash, ride, snare, mid tom, 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 92. 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 107

LOOP · 78 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 107

On crash, ride, snare, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 83 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is the independence between the hands and the feet.

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 Gardenia?

17 distinct fills, played 36 times: bars 5, 9, 11, 13, 15-18 and 21, and 22 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Gardenia?

The one at bar 15, at 87 out of 100. 107 bars of 4/4 at a walking 78 BPM, 5:27 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 107 BARS ANALYSED