In this lesson you will be building fills around a syncopated eighth note '43333' rhythm which will be decorated with subdivided sixteenth notes. Subdivision is the idea of splitting up existing groupings into smaller parts, for example you could 'subdivide' a quarter note into two eighth notes or four sixteenth notes. In this new rhythm you will play the first of each grouping as an eighth note like normal but the remaining beats will be filled with sixteenths. We'll start off with the straight eighth note rhythm which is shown below with phrase markings to clarify the grouping.
Then with the subdivided sixteenths added in.
Hopefully having seen it notated this makes sense! It is really a very simple idea that can be orchestrated in many different ways to create some interesting sounding fills. Before progressing make sure you can comfortably play the sixteenth note rhythm. Try throwing it into a short phrase as a fill, it will work quite well just on the snare. Accent placement is important as you want to be really emphasizing the start of these odd groupings to highlight the syncopation.
Once you are happy with this basic rhythm have a go at some of the variations below. The idea of just orchestrating the snare pattern around different toms has been left out, it's worth experimenting with though.
Start Each Group With A Crash
A nice simple variation to start with, just play each eighth note on a bass drum and cymbal. The use of crashes will help accent the start of each grouping. In the given example only one cymbal is used, experiment with using and combining different cymbals.
Move The 16th Notes Between Crashes
In this variation on a variation, you will take the crash idea from the previous lesson and start moving the 16th notes around different drums. It is important to be aware of where your hands are going next and a bit of thought has to go into crash placement to avoid 'cross overs'. The use of the second crash below is deliberate and for this reason.
Use The 'RLRF' Sticking
This is slightly harder idea. This time for the four 16th note groupings you will be using the RLRF pattern. The purpose of this is to allow for snares and crashes to be played at the start of each grouping. Obviously other sticking shapes could be used too. In the examples below I have shown a version of this using just the snare for the 16ths followed by some using toms.
TASK
- Using the 2 minute rule, get all example fills up to a tempo of at least 130bpm.
- Combine the ideas above to create a wide variety of fills.
- Think up new variations on the original pattern.
- Apply the fills to a structured pattern.
