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How to Play a Half-Measure Drum Fill Using the Snare and Bass Drums

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By eHow Contributing Writer
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This half-measure drum fill utilizes the bass and the snare drums. Drum fills are short sections of music where the drummer fills in a break. These breaks are used as transitions or pauses for the other musicians or vocal artists. In this article we use 4/4 time to explain the drum fill, but to fill works with any time signature.

Difficulty: Moderately Easy
Instructions
  1. Step 1

    Look at the sheet music and read the time signature. Calculate how many beats half of a measure is. For example, half of a measure in 4/4 time is 2 beats.

  2. Step 2

    Keep the beat with the bass drum. Most music is written for the bass drum to play half notes. This means they play 1 note per measure, normally on the 1 and 3 counts. Play faster beats to fit the style of music. It is difficult to play anything faster than a 16th note on a bass drum.

  3. Step 3

    Play 4 8th notes on the snare drum for songs with a slower tempo. Add in some rolls in place of the 8th notes.

  4. Step 4

    Play 8 16th notes or 16th note triplets for faster-paced songs. Speed up your drumstick movement to make the drum fill more active by using 32nd and 64th notes.

  5. Step 5

    Create variations to the drum fill. Switch out types of notes and change up your combinations. This allows you to adapt different drum styles and notes into 1 drum fill.

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