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Thread: Beginner Rolls and Fills

  1. #1

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    Default Beginner Rolls and Fills

    Can anyone give me some decent beginner rolls and fills to practice?

    Looking for rock type stuff. There are a lot of neat sounding things in the music I listen to, but I can't really follow them yet.

    I like a lot of Steve Miller Stuff. Bryan Adams if that helps.

  2. #2

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    Smile Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    I would just start going through the rudiments. They crop up in every type of fill and style of drumming and music. Just start with the first five in the families (singles, doubles, diddles, flams, drags) and work your way out. Vicfirth.com has some really good stuff in their education section.

    Hope this helps!

  3. #3

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    learn how to play holy diver by dio. there are a lot of fills in that song that are somewhat basic and in 4/4 time. it helped me out a lot in strengthening my fills. plus its really fun to play!

    also just practice RLRL on the snare, then high tom, then mid tom, then low tom and starting over again and try to match it together in a good timing.
    so itd be like
    snare snare snare snare htom htom htom htom mtom mtom mtom mtom ltom ltom ltom ltom-repeat.
    do it until you reach the fastest, cleanest speed you can do it at and practice!

    good luck
    Last edited by mapexmetal351; 02-20-2010 at 10:59 PM.

  4. #4

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    I go through several of the rudiments every time I play. And I can see where they come into play.

    I hear X fill in a lot of the music I listen to. Or a slight variation of X Fill. So, getting better at listening.

    I guess I just want to QUICKLY learn SOMETHING I can use as a rock fill.

    I am VERY good at memorizing. ANd all of you are far more advanced than I am. And surely have some good ideas I can mess with.

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    When beginning, the first rule to remember is - don't lose time. The second rule to remember is - don't lose time and the third rule to remember is - keep in time.

    OK seriously though, there is tons of really simple fills that can be done at a beginner level, using basic single stroke and double stroke rolls. Paraddidles, flams and drags, IMO, are slightly more advanced rudiments anyway, and their uses in fills will come with experience. It all depends on what you mean by "beginner" really...

    If your an absolutely newbie, who is really only just getting the hang of a 4/4 rock beat, you don't wanna over-complicate the learning, but you don't wanna be bored. Think of everything in 4 half-bar groups - 3 half-bars of playing the beat, 1 half-bar playing a fill/roll. Alternately you coudl view this ias 8 measures, or two bars in total. IMO this is the easiest way to approach it, and it feels somewhat natural. Play your 4/4 over 3 half-bars, then do the roll described above, moving from your snare and around your toms. COUNT THE WHOLE THING!!! What I mean by that is count, out loud, "1 and 2 and 3 and 4" as your playing (each of these shoudl co-incide with your hits in the hi-hat), the kick should fall every "1" and "3", the snare every "2" and "4" - keep this counting going when you do the fill, with the kick hitting every time you say a number. This will help you learn to keep it in time. If you had no idea what I meant by "bars and measures" - this is 4 groups of this counting.

    You can then do things like play the toms and snare in a different order, and then reduce the amount of time your doing the fill, maybe by half, or a quarter. To be interesting you might try hitting your crash/hi-hat (closed and/or open) with every number but all the rest of your strokes on the snare and toms. this is all using basic single stroke rolls but by hitting things in a different way, will produce different and more interesting fills. Hit the snare and floor tom at the same time aswell - just once, on the 1 and 2, then do the rlrl combo for the second half of the fill. All examples of simple to do fills, but for different effects and sounds.

    If none of this made sense, or those with more technical knowledge think i have made a mistake of some sort - i'll just shut up......
    "What consumes your mind, controls your life" - So, what consumes your mind?

  6. #6

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    Oh and before i forget, to make your fills "faster", you can experiment by doing them as double stroke rolls, not necassarily actually any faster, but if your doubles are smooth enough, it can be a good way to instantly get double your bang in the same amount of time as a single stroke roll...some people find doubles eaiser than trying to be super quick with singles
    "What consumes your mind, controls your life" - So, what consumes your mind?

  7. #7

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    Thumbs up Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    Quote Originally Posted by crazymanwithaplunger View Post
    when beginning, the first rule to remember is - don't lose time. The second rule to remember is - don't lose time and the third rule to remember is - keep in time.
    +1,000,000,000,000

  8. #8

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    Thanks guys. Those are things I am going to work hard on.
    Keeping time while trying to play SOMETHING around the kit was a struggle at first.

    I THINK TOO MUCH!

    Challenge for you, if any of you are up to it.

    Decipher the last part of Pat Benetar's All Fired Up for me. I LOVE THAT!

    I have the basic beat and a lot of the little fills, but the last one is long and fast. I can't keep up.

    Thank you for all the help and encouragement.

  9. #9

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    experiment and watch alot of youtube drumming videos
    BREAK THE RECORD!

    "Only the mediocre are always at their best"

    "All im going to do is go on and do what i feel"-Jimi Hendrix

  10. #10

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    No doubt, you may be able to find someone playing "All fired up" on yutube.

  11. #11

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    Yeah, but you guys are da bomb, and I STILL won't be able to keep track by watching it on youtube.

    Sheesh, didn't any of you guys try and get someone else to do your homework while you were in school?

    Simply put, I bet ALL of you here have more experience than I do. And it would be nothing for you to follow that ending

  12. #12

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    [QUOTE=chewgravel219;267866]

    I guess I just want to QUICKLY learn SOMETHING I can use as a rock fill.

    I QUOTE]

    Quick and easy to learn...........go around your toms ,1 and 2 and 3 and 4 and.......its your standard 4/4 rock beat, let us know how you make out with it.
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  13. #13

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    Gonefishin: You're mean.

    I watched some youtube vids. There is one that is SUPER. And there are quite a few parts I was hearing right.

    I really like that song. Someday..........

  14. #14

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    Hey man, about that drum roll in All Fired Up - you mean the outro right? To me, what I'm hearing is a quick single stroke roll on the snare, then what sounds like either a bonham triplet, or quadriplet using the lower toms and kick, a couple of snare hits and cymbals.

    For the triplet/quadriplet (whatever it might be - i'd know more if i listened to it more and tried playing it myself) - look them up on youtube - way to difficult to explain on here to be honest - it'll make way more sense seeing it done on a youtube video. not hard per-se, but only really sounds right at speed - which takes time and practice
    "What consumes your mind, controls your life" - So, what consumes your mind?

  15. #15

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    Off to look up what the heck those terms mean

  16. #16

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    Don't get frustrated I know exactly where you're at right now. I've been playing for a year and a half and all I can tell you is the more you play the better you'll get and the better your ear will get. Trust me , in time you will start to listen to songs and be able to hear what people are doing. Even if you can't tell exactly what their doing you'll start to learn how to at least get it close. Alot of times I don't like to play something exactly how it's played cause I think that takes all the fun out of it. This is how you begin to get you're own stlyle. Just keep plugging away and you will be amazed what you'll be able to handle two months from now.

  17. #17

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    Quote Originally Posted by chewgravel219 View Post
    Off to look up what the heck those terms mean
    yeah I know - sorry, but like I said, youtube clips will be a lot clearer than any explanation you get on here.
    "What consumes your mind, controls your life" - So, what consumes your mind?

  18. #18

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    Ill ty to explain how I started..
    I would start with a basic beat ,then on the one count of the next beat I would just do a 4 count beat on each of my toms than try and come back on the 1st beat right back into the basic beat .

    I hope this is understandable but it worked great for me.

    As a matter of fact I kind of use that every day as a warm up..

  19. #19

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    Just pick a pattern and practice it til you get comfortable.

    For example...right (R), left (L), kick (K)...move around the kit and build up the speed.

    Then get a little more complex...RLKK...do the first RL on the snare, then tom1, tom2, tom3...

    Those will get you working on moving around the kit and the latter incorporates a double bass pattern. Just remember to keep TIGHT time/tempo and eventually speed will come.

    Sky is the limit from there....make up your own patterns and combine different ones in sequence....and eventually be able to pull them off anywhere.

  20. #20

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    The most important and most valuable to the song is keeping on beat (see Crazyman's post). Having said that, when learning some complex fills, try breaking it down to simpler terms. For example, if the fill calls for 16th notes, try playing it with 8th notes. This allows you to be comfortable with the basic fill and still keep on beat. Then, slowly introduce the more complex parts.

    As for the Benatar song, I think you're talking about the ending where he hits flams following by cymbal hits. Then, a single quarter note on the snare, followed by 2 power triplets, with two 16th notes on the snare. Finally, ending with staggered-triplets down the toms.
    Last edited by nio; 03-13-2010 at 11:15 AM.

  21. #21

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    Default Re: Beginner Rolls and Fills

    Go on-line and find down-loadable rudiments, rudiments, rudiments, and when you get tired of practising doing them, do some more. Practice is the only way. Unfortunately there are no short-cuts. Then start worrying about following along to songs. You will find that all the rudiments are in all the songs. Master the rudiments, things come quicker. Of course still play along to songs, we need to still have fun, right? Cheers.
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  22. #22

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    I would start by learning triplets, quads, and flams. Try and get creative with it and mix them together at certain parts of songs. Above all try to keep a simple rhythm going before taking on the task of learning fills. They aren't always needed, and can distract from the beat of a song. Here's a fun challenge- try and go a whole day of jamming along to the radio, without doing a single fill. You will be surprised at the results you get because of it. Happy jammin!
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  23. #23

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    Keep checking the thread, but unfortanetely not able to play on the kit at all for a couple weeks now and going to be a few more. House is getting tiled and paint and the drums, along with everything else are in the POD.

    Tapping my desk is driving my co-worker insane

  24. #24

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    C/G219 I have a set of fills and rolls in drum tab form I will try to post in the next day or so. F/T

  25. #25

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    Quote Originally Posted by chewgravel219 View Post
    Gonefishin: You're mean.

    I watched some youtube vids. There is one that is SUPER. And there are quite a few parts I was hearing right.

    I really like that song. Someday..........
    Sorry CG........didnt mean to come off the wrong way. If you dont have the time to take some lessons , maybe watching someone do a basic fill will give you something to copy on your own and practice.
    slot # 1

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    RIP Frank.............thanks for being part of my journey

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