Drum Fill #2
Partial-measure fills are the most common drum fills that you’ll come across. In a partial-measure fill, the drum beat continues throughout part of the measure while the fill “fills-in” the rest.
This lesson explores 5 variations of essentially the same drum fill — only the drums being hit are changing. Drum fill #5 presents a unique (and great sounding) way to return to the beat, rather than the usual crash-on-1 technique.
Along with learning the variations presented in this lesson, it’s helpful (and fun) to make your own variations. Maybe adding a crash cymbal along with the first bass kick, a flam on beat 3 or playing the fill on beats 1 and 2 while returning to the groove on beat 3 are examples to get your brain thinking outside the box.
If you enjoy the Friday Drum Fill series, let me know in the comments below or shoot me an email at onlinedrummer@onlinedrummer.com. You can check out last week’s Friday Fill here.
Author
Publisher of OnlineDrummer.com, Alfred Publishing author, Ddrum artist, and veteran Drum! Magazine contributor, Nate is a graduate of John Carroll University in Cleveland, Ohio and holds a Master of Arts in Education from the University of Findlay.
