Three Quarter Bar Fills Using One 16th Note Grouping

In this lesson you will continue learning about creating fills using Groupings Of Sixteenth Notes, this time by applying different groupings to a Three Quarter Bar Fill In 4/4. The rhythms and orchestrations used will be very similar to those in our One Beat Fills Using 16th Note Groupings and Two Beat Fills Using One 16th Note Grouping lessons so I advise you read through these first.

On this page you will be presented with exercises that are a bar of music made up of one beats worth of groove and three beats worth of of fill. The rhythm for this fill will be one of the sixteenth note groupings played on the snare twice. You will then be given two further examples of this fill orchestrated around the kit in various ways. For each example you will be shown a version with both crotchet and quaver hi hats. The aim here is to familiarize you both with the length of fill and the idea of using different rhythms to construct fills.

Fill 1

The first fill is built from This Rhythm. It looks like this:

Note that the hi hat is left on beat 2 making the first use of the grouping more like a group of straight 16ths, this hi hat can be removed if you wish.

Orchestration 1

Split the three 16ths in a group of one followed by a group of two.

Orchestration 2

Reversing the groupings from orchestration 1.

Fill 2

The second fill is built from This Rhythm. It looks like this:

Orchestration 1

Split the eighth note and two sixteenth notes between two different parts of the kit. In this case you are straggering the changes of drums over the beat.

Orchestration 2

Play crashes on all numbered counts and snares everywhere else.

Fill 3

The third fill is built from This Rhythm. It looks like this:

Orchestration 1

Orchestrate between two different drums.

Orchestration 2

Play crashes on all numbered counts and move all other notes around toms.

Fill 4

The third fill is built from This Rhythm. It looks like this:

Orchestration 1

Play crashes on the '+' counts.

Orchestration 2

Play the eighth notes on a tom and all other notes on a snare.

TASK

1. Using the 2 minute rule, get all fills up to a tempo of at least 120bpm.
2. Use different grooves in each example.
3. Apply the given fills to a structured example as the 'B' section.
4. Create your own half bar sixteenth note fills then apply them to a phrased example.