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

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. 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. 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. 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. 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. 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.