How to Play a Long Snare and Cymbal Fill

The long snare and cymbal fill is a mainstay of drummers everywhere. It's not as hard as it sounds. The drum "fill" is really just a term for how long you are playing a particular drum and what you're playing it with, and the snare fill should be familiar to most drum aficionados.

Difficulty: Moderate

Instructions

1. Start out with a basic beat. A good example is on snare and hi hat. Yes, you can use the snare outside of your "fill", the difference is when you hit the fill, you'll use the snare WITHOUT other drums (except the cymbal). An example of a basic beat in standard 4/4 rhythm is to alternate between the snare and the high hat.

2. Count in fours. The 4/4 rhythm is a four-beat measure. You'll hit the snare on 1, the high hat on 2, the snare on 3, and the high hat on 4. Get comfortable with this pattern and keep counting the measures off as you play.

3. Play several measures, getting ready to add the fill.

4. Go into the fill at the beginning of a measure, on 1, by bringing both drum sticks to the snare and hitting the snare twice as fast, 8 times in the measure. You should be able to hear how the rapid-fire snare beat complements your original rhythm as a measure-long "fill."

5. Add one tap to the crash cymbal as you return to your original beat at the beginning of the next measure which is at the end of your 8-beat snare measure.