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Thread: Fills

  1. #1

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    Default Fills

    Hey all,

    On the subject of fills, do you guys dedicate time to learning and practicing set fills, or let them happen naturally while playing?

    I'm trying to avoid pre-learning fills (especially when they're ones that someone else has come up with), and come up with them off the cuff whilst in the music, as it feels more authentic.

    I'm really struggling with this though, and often end up playing sloppily, I guess due to not being able to think/decide quick enough in the moment?

    I'm wondering if you guys have tips on how to work on fills without the whole learning and regurgitating method if that makes sense at all?

    🤔

  2. #2

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    It's kind of a fine line.. i will get weird looks if i do certain fills differently... it gets boring doing the same thing over and over. Telling everyone hey I'm going to play this differently will help so there's no surprises .. but as long as it's not too different and doesn't hurt the song structure that's already set then i think it's acceptable. Should be imo

    I usually don't venture out too far though... what works works and i try not to mess that up.
    Last edited by slinky; 09-28-2019 at 08:06 AM.
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  3. #3

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    I've posted on this more than a few times.

    If a song has a "signature" beat or fill(s), I would play it like the original. Past that, I played them (while staying within the framework of the song) more or less, how I felt them at the time.

    The 2 versions of "Go Your Own Way", which was a staple for a lot of bands for quite a while. We were asked for it right up to the end in 2005. The point I'm trying to make is that you can play a song different ways yet stay within the framework of the song. On the other hand, a song like Rosanna I played it the way Jeff played it.

    The 1st video of GYOW is out of time. I ran the drums through 1 mixer and the audio through another. For whatever reason, they were out of sync. The 2nd 1 was actually the 1st cover I ever put up and everything went through 1 mixer.. The 1st video has a fill at 2:05 that I got 10-12 calls about. It's simple but looks tricky because of the crossovers. Point being, you can change fills, you can't go nuts, but you can do your own thing. I would tell people that if they wanted to hear the song the way whatever band played it, to go buy the record, CD, whatever, take it home, open up a beer, listen to the song and save yourself a lot of money by staying home.

    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  4. #4

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    Had to put this 1 in a 2nd post.

    Skip the 1st minute, it's just me griping about the headphones.
    Last edited by rickthedrummer; 09-29-2019 at 01:51 PM.
    YOU MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU KNOW.

    YOU DON'T MESS WITH THE DEVIL YOU DON'T KNOW.

    VAE VICTIS

    ONCE YOU HIT A CERTAIN AGE, YOU BECOME PERMANENTLY UNIMPRESSED BY A LOT OF CRAP.

    I HIT THAT AGE 20 YEARS AGO.

    IF DOGS CAN'T GO TO HEAVEN, I WANT TO GO WHERE THEY GO

    WILL ROGERS

  5. #5

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    Default Re: Fills

    I believe you need to develop your own style, which includes when, what and how you incorporate fills into a song. One of the reasons I love playing Blues; you play what you feel at the time, which is often never the same way twice. Plus, no one is expecting you to play a fill “just like the record”.

    My other belief for fills is keep it simple and follow the basic rhythm and feel of the song. Sometimes a few rhythmic beats on the snare and hi-hat or floor tom is better than anything.
    -Brian

    "Too many crappy used drum stuff to list"

    Play the SONG......not the DRUMS!!!

    "I think that feeling is a lot more important than technique. It's all very well doing a triple paradiddle - but who's going to know you've done it? If you play technically you sound like everybody else. It's being original that counts." ~ John Bonham

  6. #6

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    You can do both. Practice fills verbatim (especially signature licks) and also improvising. Learning fills verbatim allows you to learn new licks and concepts. It will discipline you to follow note for note. But practicing fills openly opens the door for self-expression. The more you practice, the more easily fills will turn out successfully when improvising.

  7. #7

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    I try to improvise on fills and what helps me to do this on the fly is to sing along as I play.

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