2 beginner's questions (fills; practicing with metronome)

[dmt]

2 beginner's questions:

 

a) Do you have any tips for getting into and out of tom fills on time (such a maybe ending on a crash on the 4& beat or whatever)

 

I guess any tips at all on tom fills could help

 

b) Do you have any tips for practicing against a metrone (such as do you always keep the accented metronome strike on the one, or having the metronome play twice as fast as the actual beat so that it counts out the "&"s and adds a back beat, etc.)

 

Thank you,

 

-David

[Blue Strat]

I'm no expert, but here's my advice:

 

1) Listen to the other guys playing in your band and when you go for the big tom drum solo keep on hitting until they get back around to the one again. Then resume playing your normally scheduled rythym.

 

2) I would set the accent on the one. Those little Quiktime metronomes only have a one pitch click, so I use them on the beat, or four times in a measure if your in 4/4.

 

I don't know, I just play.

[Dan M]

That reminds me of a discouraging realization when I was starting to play the drums - that fills actually had to end up on the beat!

[djarrett]

DMT:

 

Remember this ... as it has always helped me ... LESS IS MORE! when it comes to fills.

 

There is really no real rule of thumb here. Most beginners will play a fill right through one full measure, but that is not totally necessary. Remember that emptiness (rests) are as important as notes.

 

Play what feels natural when it comes to fills. (not necessarily what is mechanically correct!)

 

Hope this makes sense.

 

DJ

[offramp]

Kind of a difficult question to answer, really. It's more of a 'feel' thing than anything else.

During my formative years, I tended to listen to other instruments rather than drums, for my inspiration. One approach I used was to try to play the hook, or a part of the melody, on the kit, whether as a fill or as a solo; this approach came largely from my early jazz training, which is all theme and variation, anyway.

 

That said: less is, truly, more. What you DON'T do in the space is often more memorable than what you DO. Case in point: 'Walking On The Moon', by the Police. The entire song goes by without a single, full-on snare hit, until the end; two whacks with a swing feel, and that signals the vamp out. The rest of the song is all space.

[reachjkh]

I have only really been playing for the last six months or so. I felt very awkward playing fills on the set at first especially since I was concentrating on the hat/snare/bass. I tried to do as much with the hats and a splash for variety as possible before even really trying fills on the toms. As I felt that more room in my playing became available, I started with just single or double hits on the toms for accent and came right back to the core beat with a crash or loose HH hit. Fills mean nothing to me without the core being tight.

Now without even trying, I find that I'm doing what I consider to be somewhat complex fills without getting lost. I think that there are some hits that are more essential to the feel of the particular fill than others, so starting with accent hits seemed the logical way to get broken in to me.

Whatever, it worked for me and I don't get lost on the beat much anymore during my fills.

Hope you figure it out.

[dmt]

Thanks for the comments and suggestions, everyone. Of course it mainly took time and a combination of letting loose sometimes and, other times, analyis and/or practicing a specific technique, but I've made progress. I can now do some 16th note tom fills and end on the right beat. Still lots of work ahead, though!