What is a Drum Fill, Really?

By Nate Brown

What constitutes a drum fill? Could a single stroke be considered a drum fill? Find out!

 

"Hey drummer. Play a drum fill here."

Would hearing that freak you out? If so, you're not alone. By nature, drum fills are open-ended and often improvisational. Even if you have the time to plan it out ahead of time, leaving the comfort-pocket of the main groove during a performance seems good cause for anxiety. However, if you take a step back and consider what a drum fill is, and more importantly -- its purpose -- you can rid yourself of this anxiety.

What is a Drum Fill?

During each part of the song, there is a consistent-feeling drum beat. It provides the pulse — the heartbeat — of each part of the song. Whenever you leave that drum beat to play something else, it's considered a drum fill.

Drum Fill: Something played that's not part of the main drum beat for that particular section of the song.

Drum notation for the "What is a Drum Fill, Really?" drum lesson.

 

To emphasize my point, this lesson focuses on short drum fills. Drummers often consider that a drum fill is long, complex, includes tom strokes, etc. But, a drum fill can be anything -- anything that strays from the main groove. Take a look at #1 above. The drum fill is one stroke -- a flam -- and believe it or not, this drum fill works great in a lot of situations.

What is the Purpose of a Drum Fill?

Many drummers believe a drum fill is their spotlight time. It's like a mini solo designed to showcase the drummer. But, it's not. Drum fills play many roles, but we can boil all those roles down to one core function: To make the music more engaging. Please notice that I didn't say, "to make the drum part more engaging."

What Do I Play?

If the song is making a natural transition, such as from the verse to the chorus, play a drum fill according to how much the energy of the song changes between those parts. I'm going to step out on a limb and suggest that quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes are all you really need to successfully engage the transition.

A full measure crescendo of eighth notes played on the low tom, snare and bass is very powerful (and a very common drum fill). A full measure of sixteenth notes on the snare can be equally as powerful. The fill doesn't have to be difficult to make the music more engaging.

For a less-energetic transition in a song, a short fill such as any of the fills above will engage the listeners. A lot of songs even use a rest as a drum fill. The beat simply cuts out for a beat or two. Technically, I guess it wouldn't be considered a drum fill. But, it does make the point that you don't have to play anything amazing.

Summing It Up

It's about the song. It's not about you. Take a sigh of relief and play a basic fill with your head held high. The song will thank you.
Drum fills

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What is a Drum Fill, Really?

By Nate Brown

What constitutes a drum fill? Could a single stroke be considered a drum fill? Find out!

 

"Hey drummer. Play a drum fill here."

Would hearing that freak you out? If so, you're not alone. By nature, drum fills are open-ended and often improvisational. Even if you have the time to plan it out ahead of time, leaving the comfort-pocket of the main groove during a performance seems good cause for anxiety. However, if you take a step back and consider what a drum fill is, and more importantly -- its purpose -- you can rid yourself of this anxiety.

What is a Drum Fill?

During each part of the song, there is a consistent-feeling drum beat. It provides the pulse — the heartbeat — of each part of the song. Whenever you leave that drum beat to play something else, it's considered a drum fill.

Drum Fill: Something played that's not part of the main drum beat for that particular section of the song.

Drum notation for the "What is a Drum Fill, Really?" drum lesson.

 

To emphasize my point, this lesson focuses on short drum fills. Drummers often consider that a drum fill is long, complex, includes tom strokes, etc. But, a drum fill can be anything -- anything that strays from the main groove. Take a look at #1 above. The drum fill is one stroke -- a flam -- and believe it or not, this drum fill works great in a lot of situations.

What is the Purpose of a Drum Fill?

Many drummers believe a drum fill is their spotlight time. It's like a mini solo designed to showcase the drummer. But, it's not. Drum fills play many roles, but we can boil all those roles down to one core function: To make the music more engaging. Please notice that I didn't say, "to make the drum part more engaging."

What Do I Play?

If the song is making a natural transition, such as from the verse to the chorus, play a drum fill according to how much the energy of the song changes between those parts. I'm going to step out on a limb and suggest that quarter notes, eighth notes and sixteenth notes are all you really need to successfully engage the transition.

A full measure crescendo of eighth notes played on the low tom, snare and bass is very powerful (and a very common drum fill). A full measure of sixteenth notes on the snare can be equally as powerful. The fill doesn't have to be difficult to make the music more engaging.

For a less-energetic transition in a song, a short fill such as any of the fills above will engage the listeners. A lot of songs even use a rest as a drum fill. The beat simply cuts out for a beat or two. Technically, I guess it wouldn't be considered a drum fill. But, it does make the point that you don't have to play anything amazing.

Summing It Up

It's about the song. It's not about you. Take a sigh of relief and play a basic fill with your head held high. The song will thank you.

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