In this lesson I will be presenting another simple but very affective subtle fill idea that involves placing crashes on beat 4 of one bar and beat 1 of the following bar. This idea creates a 'leading in' effect that is useful across all styles and genres of music.
I'll start by showing the concept with both eighth and quarter note right hands in common, half and double time. I will then provide a short piece to demonstrate the idea being used practically. It doesn't matter which part of the kit the right hand is riding on, this concept will always fit. You will notice that in some examples I split these two crash hits across two cymbals, this isn't a necessity. The idea will work just as well on one crash. It also doesn't matter which order you use the crashes in if you stick with using two.
Notice that when playing in common time a snare naturally falls on beat 4 and a kick generally falls on beat 1. In half and double time this isn't the case so there are a variety of options available there.
In all examples, the second bar will generally be the start of a new phrase.
Common Time, Eighth Notes
Common Time, Quarter Notes
Half Time, Eighth Notes
Half Time, Quarter Notes
Double Time
TASK:
- Learn all examples upto a tempo of at least 120bpm.
- Use different kick and snare combinations in each example.
- Add each example into one of the structures we have covered previously.
Piece
