On this page you will be given various two bar patterns that follow an A B structure. In this case A will be a bar of groove and B will be fill that can be described as a 'three quarter bar' fill. That terminology only really applies within the time signature of 4/4 and means that the fill is played over three beats of the bar and that would generally be the last three beats. The aim here is to develop your ability to switch from groove to fill and back again without any break in timing whilst also showing you a new idea for fill length. The slower eighth note patterns given on this page also start introducing some ideas and shapes that will be applied to more complex fills later on, making this a great introduction to fill construction and application.
The important thing here is to repeat the two bar phrases over and over, preferably with a metronome, until you can play the part several times without any breaks in timing. This is a very important step in building up to playing songs, the switch from groove to fill is absolutely essential to master. I have written all exercises over four bars (so the two bar pattern is shown twice on each line) and have included Repeat Marks to highlight the importance of playing these patterns over and over.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
TASK
- Using the 2 minute rule, get all phrases up to a tempo of at least 135bpm.
- Create your own versions of these patterns by varing the groove and fill.
Up Next
I recommend trying our A B Exercises Using Sixteenth Note Fills or A A A B Exercises Using Eighth Note Fills next.
