Fill Of The Week #52

Here’s Drum Fill Of The Week #52:

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This week’s drum fill features an open hi-hat and a slightly tricky 16th note rhythm. Let’s learn the fill.

Learn The Fill

Let’s start by looking at the rhythm we’ll be applying around the kit:

basic rhythm
The Basic Rhythm

Start by playing this rhythm slowly with a metronome. Count out loud and pay attention to the sticking pattern. Don’t move on until you are comfortable with the rhythm and the sticking

Now let’s bring in the trickiest element, the bass drum together with the open hi-hat on the “&” of 1.

open hi hat focus
Open Your Hats

When trying to add the open hi-hat in, note that I play it with the left hand; I’ve always liked the way it looks. However, if you’re not comfortable with that then you can play it with the right hand. Note that I close the hi-hat on beat 2; try to get a nice clean close together with the snare drum.

The final step will be to orchestrate the fill around the rest of the kit. Here’s how I orchestrated it.

the  full fill
The Full Fill

Taking It Further

I like to use the snare on beat 1 and the bass / open hi-hat on the “&” of 1 to start fills. Here’s some more patterns for you to orchestrate around the kit:

change it up
Change It Up!

With all three of these rhythms, take it slow at first and work with a metronome to ensure rhythmic accuracy. Decide on your own sticking pattern for each one. A good starting point is to play all the 8th notes (1 & 2 & 3 & 4 &) with the right hand and all the other notes (“e” and “ah”) with the left hand. However, the sound you want from the kit should ultimately determine your sticking. Experiment and find what works well for you.

I hope you’ve enjoyed fill of the week #52. If you’re in Singapore and you’d like drum lessons, please send us a message on the contact us page.