This week’s drum fills all begin with a “Pat Boon, Debbie Boon” rhythm, but how do they end? How will you end it?

Where To Start?

The first two beats of this week’s Finish The Fill are taken up by a flam, an open hi-hat, a couple of snare hits and a tom hit, all arranged in a “Pat Boon, Debbie Boon” Rhythm… basically, 1 & 2 e &.

When playing this drum fill, pay attention to the quality of your flam and where you close the hi-hat. I closed it on beat 2 with the next note. You could close it on the “ah” of 1, that would make it more of a hi-hat bark, or you could just let it ring throughout the rest of the fill and only close it on the next bar. Experiment with it, but make sure you know where you are closing it and that the closing is intentional.

What Happens Next?

My first 3 endings for this drum fill all keep to the same voices used in the first 2 beats: Snare, Tom 1, Open Hi-Hat, Bass Drum. I like to restrict the voices I use when I’m practicing drum fills just to see what ideas I can come up with just for those voices. I find it helps me get more creative and move away from some of my more regular full kit choices.

The first 2 endings actually share the same rhythm, but sound quite different.

Here’s ending number 1:

… and ending number 2:

Both these endings are counted, 1 & 2 e & 3 e ah 4 & ah, if we ignore the pedalled hi-hat closings on the 2nd fill. The first ending is perhaps more poweful because of the flam on beat four, where as the second fill sounds more syncopated because of the snare on beat 3 and the “ah” of 3. Which do you prefer?

Ending 3 brings in 16th note triplets played on the hi-hat and between the snare and tom 1. Again, sticking to the same voices used in the first 2 beats. I think the change of dynamic on beat 3 with just the hi-hat sounds cool.

Ending #4 ventures in to the final frontier; Space. When I think of memorable drum fills, most of them include a lot of space. Go and listen to Africa by Toto and check out Jeff Pocaros’ drum fills. A lot of his fills incorporated 8th notes and dotted 8th notes, adding a lot of space to his fills. The counting for this fill is: 1 & 2 e & 3 e 4 & ah

Ending #5 gets a little busier with 16th note triplets on beat 3. Gotta have fun sometimes!

How will you Finish The Fill?

So there you have 5 different endings to the same beginning drum fill. Each one sounds quite different and has it’s own place where I would use it. How are you going to finish the fill? Come up with as many ideas as you can. Try restricting your voices or insisting that you include a flam, or an open hi-hat. See how that affects your creativity.

I hope you’ve enjoyed Finish The Fill #8. If you’re in Singapore and would like a free trial drum lesson, send us a message via the contact us page.