4 fills to learn, played 6 times across 122 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.
On high tom, floor tom and kick. 41 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- 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.
On hi-hat, snare and kick. 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 34. 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.
On snare, high tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 56 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 90. 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.
On crash, ride, high tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot. 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 122. 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.
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 →4 distinct fills, played 6 times: bars 5, 33, 49, 73, 89 and 121.
The one at bar 33, at 60 out of 100. 122 bars of 4/4 at 135 BPM, about 3:36 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.