The construction method presented on this page should hopefully be quite straight forward. You will be taking some standard 9/8 groove patterns and replacing the last three eighth notes with a run of sixteenth notes. This could be thought of as a compound time version of our level 1 quarter bar fills covered in Level 0 for 4/4. Whilst the fill placement is the same in each example, I have tried to use several different ideas for fill construction. As usual, use the given ideas as a starting point for creating your own versions of these fills. I have used both simple And compound versions of the time signature for the grooves.
Several examples of this fill construction idea are listed below. Remember to experiment with varying and constructing your own fill ideas using this concept. At the bottom of the page you will find a list of links to useful lessons, if at any point you find yourself struggling with a part have a look through some of these.
Example 1
Example 2
Example 3
Example 4
Example 5
Example 6
Example 7
Example 8
Example 9
Example 10
TASK
- Using the 2 minute rule, get all exercises up to a tempo of at least 120bpm.
- Play a four bar phrase in 9/8 where the fourth contains a fill. Repeat this phrase over.
- Create your own 9/8 fills, write down any that you really like.