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Thread: when do you use fills?

  1. #1

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    Default when do you use fills?

    when im playin with my band they tell me to do more fills but to me when i do them they sound kinda crappy in my own oppinion, they arent bad just the timing for them is i think

    does anyone know if ther is a solution to that?
    Eskimos

  2. #2

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    well....all the books will tell you to do your fills on the last 2 beats of every 8th measure....or something like that, but really just be smart....generally the best time to play a fill is when the song is going into a different section of the song....for instance when transitioning from verse to chorus or visa versa you would put your biggest fills and then a few smaller ones here and there like maybe one small fill in the middle of verse or something....pretty much whenever a major change is being made do a big fill and when a small change is being made do a small fill...but really your the artist so you put the fills where you like them and then if people don't like it they don't have to listen to you...

  3. #3

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    Check out what the drummers you listen to do. Play what they play.

  4. #4

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    i play fills pretty much when ever i think the song needs one
    PRACTICE SAFE BANGING!!! play drums! My Pearl Session Kit

  5. #5

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    Quote Originally Posted by zar99
    Check out what the drummers you listen to do. Play what they play.
    thats not good advice at all . Infact that`s some of the worst advice i`ve heard .Don`t try and play what other drummers play you`ll get frustrated as hell and wont learn ANYTHING .learn to develop your own style through progressing through the excersises .i know it`s damn boring , but do you want to be a good drummer or an amazing drummer ??

    you need to play fills to enhance the song you`re playing .You ,being a drummer, are there for 1 reason and 1 reason only .to keep tempo .as far as fills go less is more in my opinion .drummers that play too many fills ruin songs because the drums are not a great sounding instrument if over played (except in solos of course )....if you play too many fills you just look like an ego head trying to shine .listen to some ac/dc Phil Rudd is a classic example of a drummer playing just enough and no more he`absolutley solid in what he does and is not a "look at me " drummer in anyway shape or for ....in fact most people don`t even know the name of the drummer in ac/dc b ut he`s still a millionaire cos he`s good !!

    play less and less until your band say " you should put a fill in there " !!!

    good luck mate !!

    dave

  6. #6

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    You hit the nail right on the head, brother!!!
    Da' Bum
    Rockin' the beat for fadedblue
    Keepin' time for Andy Harrison & the AOP
    http://www.facebook.com/fadedbluemusic
    DW Performance 5 pc. in White Marine Pearl
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  7. #7

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    Listen intently to what the guitars are doing, If your lucky your guitar player/players will do different little pauses and rythmic variations and you can do your fills to accent what they are doing. If your guitar players just strum the same patter all the way through then you are SOL and you have to wait for the verse chorus changes. But 1st and foremost keep time and dont screw everyone else up with out of time fills. Smoking weed sometimes helps too ha ha ha but I would never condone that kind of activity.

  8. #8

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    More than i should........... and some times i speed or slow the song, so i think it depends on your experience, style, and just personal prefrence.

  9. #9

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    And Pink Floyd's absolutly correct when he says that zar99is wrong when says listen to what the drummers that influence you do and then mimmick them.. In fact that's the worst thing that you can do. However the part where Pinkfloyd did not hit the nail on the head, and rather missed and hit his hand, is where he said don't do many fills and add them when your bandmates call for them. I think so because the way a drummer is recoginized is by the way he drums, and the only way to be recognized yourself is to play what you think feels right, not what "Drummers" say is right.( no offense to anyone in particular)

  10. #10

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    I agree with flyd but you may or may not have a mindset on what a good fill is
    you may be thinking a fill could be 8 beats paying with a fast tempo using 32nd notes

    just keep your fills simple- like the drummer in the band Bread- this man does simple sh*t and still sounds kicks *ss

    then once your comfortable step it up and add something to it
    Last edited by LucidDrummer212; 10-12-2006 at 08:13 AM.

  11. #11

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    My philosophy has always been "less is more". 1 hit can be considered a fill. You don't have to play fast fills to be a good drummer. Your fills need to accentuate the rest of the music.
    I once read an article on Don Henley (my mentor) that asked him what his favorite fill was. You know what he said? Silence! Follow that by punctuating the 1 count and you have something that most drummers never think of because they are too busy trying to figure out the most methodical way to fit 64ths into the last 2 beats!
    Da' Bum
    Rockin' the beat for fadedblue
    Keepin' time for Andy Harrison & the AOP
    http://www.facebook.com/fadedbluemusic
    DW Performance 5 pc. in White Marine Pearl
    1972 Pearl Deluxe Custom 5 pc. in blue sparkle
    KAT KT-3
    Paiste cymbals
    Gibraltar hardware
    Axis pedals
    Vic Firth sticks
    Evans heads

  12. #12

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    ^ agreed altho if you are truely feelin up for it..have a song where you can let each instrument just go ALL out

  13. #13

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    Practice filling for songs, but in your mind keep the groove going. A good way is to put a click on half notes either 1 and 3 or 2 and 4.

  14. #14

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    I believe it was Mr. Gordon Sumner (all hail) who so eloquently stated, "The notes you DONT play are just as imporatant as the ones you DO play."
    Word to the wise : don't mess with the drummer.

  15. #15

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    Oh, and for those that don't know, Gordon Sumner is Sting. That's his real name, lol...phenomenal musician.
    Word to the wise : don't mess with the drummer.

  16. #16

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    nice quote...when u dont play a note u can do a stick trick ....lol

  17. #17

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    I am glad I took the time to read this advice...thanks for sharing the knowledge

  18. #18

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    I fill whenever it sounds right, i know that's pretty much what everybody says. But it is just sooooo ture!! It depends entirely on personal preference, music song stlye, and all that stuff. I heard a good way to invent ur fills is to hit ur drums just randomly...... just go to your kit and just hit drums randomly with no particular pattern, and you might be like..."Oh MAN, that was sweet," and you'll find some sweet completely oroginal fill, entirely your own.

  19. #19

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    you usually will want to play a fill every 4, 8 or 16 measures. when it's shorter like 4 measures usually it will only be a cymbal crash or just changing your beat a little bit.
    holla

  20. #20

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    Play fills when you feel you should. Drumming the beat and keeping tempo can get tedious and often you will feel like the should be something extra in the transitions and during the verses and such.

    This comes with listening to the rest of the band. When the time comes, you will know.

    HB58

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