ERRA · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in Shadow Autonomous​

21 fills to learn, played 53 times across 205 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
150 BPM
TIME
3/4
BARS
205
LENGTH
4:26
DIFFICULTY
52/100

Bar 10

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 10 · LANDS ON BAR 11

On crash, snare, floor tom and kick. 36 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 11. 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 14, and 5 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 14-16 AND 68-70 · LANDS ON BAR 17

On crash, snare, mid tom and kick. 38 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 17. 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 18, and 1 more time

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 18 AND 72 · LANDS ON BAR 19

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 25 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. 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 22

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 22 · LANDS ON BAR 23

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom and kick. 50 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 23. 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 26, and 5 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 26-28 AND 75-77 · LANDS ON BAR 29

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom and kick. 39 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 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 35, and 1 more time

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 35-36 · LANDS ON BAR 37

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 50 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 37. 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 2 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 39-41 · LANDS ON BAR 42

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 40 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 42. 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 44, and 6 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 44, 52, 60, 106 AND 114, AND 2 MORE PLACES · LANDS ON BAR 45

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 34 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 45. 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 56, and 3 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 56-57 AND 184-185 · LANDS ON BAR 58

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 34 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 58. 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 3 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 63-64 AND 117-118 · LANDS ON BAR 65

On crash, snare and kick. 34 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 65. 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 82, and 1 more time

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 82-83 · LANDS ON BAR 84

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom and kick. 48 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 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 88

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 88 · LANDS ON BAR 89

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 40 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 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 92

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 92 · LANDS ON BAR 93

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 51 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 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 96

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 96 · LANDS ON BAR 97

On crash, snare, mid tom and kick. 45 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 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 100, and 2 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 100-102 · LANDS ON BAR 103

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 47 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 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 111

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 111 · LANDS ON BAR 112

On crash and kick. 31 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 112. 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

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 148 · LANDS ON BAR 149

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 47 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 149. 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 152

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 152 · LANDS ON BAR 153

On crash, snare, mid tom and kick. 31 out of 100 -- a fair first song -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 153. 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

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 160 · LANDS ON BAR 161

On crash, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 44 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 161. 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 188

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 188 · LANDS ON BAR 189

On crash, hi-hat, snare and kick. 38 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 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 201, and 3 more times

LOOP · 150 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 201-204 · LANDS ON BAR 205

On crash, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 49 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 205. 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 Shadow Autonomous​?

21 distinct fills, played 53 times: bars 10, 14-16, 18, 22, 26-28 and 35-36, and 26 more places.

What is the hardest fill in Shadow Autonomous​?

The one at bar 92, at 51 out of 100. 205 bars of 3/4 -- not four -- at 150 BPM, 4:26 of playing on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, mid tom, floor tom, kick and hi-hat foot.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 205 BARS ANALYSED