ENTROPIC · DRUM FILLS

The drum fills in The Axiom of Existence

10 fills to learn, played 26 times across 64 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
130 BPM
TIME
4/4
BARS
64
LENGTH
2:02
DIFFICULTY
100/100

Bar 1

LOOP · 130 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 1 · LANDS ON BAR 2

On crash, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick. 69 out of 100 -- demanding -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 2. 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 4

LOOP · 130 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 4 · LANDS ON BAR 5

On crash, ride, snare, high tom and kick. 92 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 5. 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 4 more times

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 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 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 31, and 1 more time

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare and kick. 100 out of 100 -- hard -- 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 34, and 6 more times

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom and kick. 100 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 41. 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 42

LOOP · 130 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 42 · LANDS ON BAR 43

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 100 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 43. 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 1 more time

On crash, ride, hi-hat, snare and kick. 100 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 46. 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 47, and 1 more time

LOOP · 130 BPM
PLAYED AT BARS 47 AND 51 · LANDS ON BAR 48

On crash, snare 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 49

LOOP · 130 BPM
PLAYED AT BAR 49 · LANDS ON BAR 50

On crash, ride, snare and kick. 100 out of 100 -- hard -- and what decides that is how many notes a second it asks for. In the song it lands on bar 50. 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 3 more times

On crash, snare, high tom, mid 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 57. 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 The Axiom of Existence?

10 distinct fills, played 26 times: bars 1, 4, 9-13, 31-32, 34-40 and 42, and 5 more places.

What is the hardest fill in The Axiom of Existence?

The one at bar 31, at 100 out of 100. 64 bars of 4/4 at 130 BPM, about 2:02 of playing, on crash, ride, hi-hat, snare, high tom, mid tom, floor tom and kick.

READ OFF THE SCORE ITSELF · 64 BARS ANALYSED