Drum fills for beginners

A fill is a short change in the groove at the end of a phrase: one or two beats long, for a beginner. The groove changes, but the pulse keeps going, and the fill leads the band into the next section. Every fill in this guide ends with a crash on beat 1, which is common in rock and pop, though a fill doesn't have to. The fills here are short and simple. Coming out of them on time is what takes practice, so this guide spends as much time on counting as on the fills themselves.

What a fill does

A fill marks a change: the end of the intro, the verse turning into the chorus, or one 8-bar phrase handing off to the next. It tells the band that something new starts on the next 1. For a moment the groove changes, but the pulse doesn't stop: keep counting through the fill, and the beat comes back right on time.

Where fills go: the end of a phrase

Much band and pop music moves in phrases of 4 or 8 bars. A fill usually goes at the end of the last bar of a phrase: the end of bar 4, or of bar 8. In a drum part, the fill may be written out, or shown as slashes with "Fill" above them, which means you make one up. See how to read drum set music for those marks.

Counting a four-bar phrase

To keep track of where bar 4 is, count the bar number in place of beat 1: "1 2 3 4, 2 2 3 4, 3 2 3 4, 4 2 3 4." When you say "4" at the start of a bar, the fill is coming at the end of that bar.

One-beat fills

Start with fills that only take beat 4. Keep the beat going through beat 3, then play the fill with alternating hands. The letters under each fill show one sticking: R is the right hand and L is the left. Starting with the right hand is common, but it isn't required; pick the start that keeps your arms from getting in each other's way.

The bass drum keeps playing on 1 and 3 under every fill on this page. That's on purpose: if the fill drifts, your foot shows it.

Two-beat fills around the toms

A two-beat fill starts on beat 3. The toms go from high on your left to low on your right, so a fill down the toms moves from left to right. Keep alternating and let your arms carry the sticks from drum to drum. The sticking under each fill is one choice. If your arms get in each other's way, try starting with the other hand. If your kit has one rack tom, play the high-tom and mid-tom notes on it.

Landing on the crash

In rock and pop, many fills end on beat 1 of the next bar with the crash and the bass drum together, as this example does. Other endings work too: going straight back into the beat, or catching a figure with the band. This example ends the fill with the left hand, so the right hand is free to move to the crash. With R L R L sticking, a fill with an even number of notes ends on the left. If you lead with the left hand, the right hand plays the last note, and the left hand can take the crash instead.

Common mistakes: rushing and losing the beat

• If the crash comes early, check whether you rushed the fill. Count out loud through it, and keep the bass drum on 1 and 3 underneath.
• If you pause before the crash, the band reaches beat 1 without you. Practice the bar after the fill as carefully as the fill.
• If you come out of the fill on the wrong beat, the fill may be too hard at that tempo for now. Pick one you can play cleanly at the song's speed.

Practice

Play-along in Percussion Trainer has a Fills button. With it on, bar 4 of each phrase has a fill and the crash comes on the next downbeat. Start with the rock style at Beginner, and count the bar numbers out loud the whole time. Fills use the same strokes as the rudiments, so a few minutes of single strokes on a pad helps too.