How to Play a Long Fill Using the Entire Drum Set

If you've seen a drummer at work, you've probably seen a drum fill. The fill is a way to describe using certain drums for a certain length of time. A measure-long fill is a part of drum play that lasts for one measure. Using all of your drums for a measure-long fill is a popular dramatic move in drums. It can add a lot of power to a transition.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

1. Choose "stock" drums you will play for your "regular" rhythm to start off with. Most drummers use some combination of the snare, high hat and bass drum.

2. Set up your standard measure. A measure is one full bar of music that repeats itself. In standard drum language, the 4/4 rhythm is most commonly used. So, you will count in fours, and each time you come back to 1, that's an entire measure.

3. Start your regular drum beat. For example, you can hit the bass and snare on 1, the hi hat on 2, the bass and snare on 3, and the high hat on 4.

4. Keep playing the same rhythm and counting the measures in your head, getting ready for your big fill.

5. Know that your measure fill will consist of hitting all of your drums, in sequence, in a rhythm that corresponds to what you've already begun. You can hit either 8 of 16 beats during the entire measure, on whatever drums you like, before ending with a crash cymbal and going back into your regular beat on 1.

Tips & Warnings

• Although you can choose which drums you want to use in a fill and in what order, many drummers start with higher-pitched toms (usually to your left) and go lower (toward the right) to give their drum fill a "cascading" sound.