The Drum Fill
A fill is a rhythmical variation from a particular pattern. Any kit part or combination of kit parts may be used. Drum fills are used to "color" sections of a song and are particularly useful as an indicator of coming changes (e.g., verse to chorus).
The following example contains a simple single stroke fill in bar 2.
Accent
This symbol indicates that the note is to be played louder.
An accented crash cymbal has replaced the hi-hat on beat one of this example
Double Stroke Roll
The double stroke roll is another rudiment and consists of two hits per hand.
A double stroke roll is used in the drum fill of this example.
NOTE: Rudiments (also called sticking(s), are sticking exercises which vary the combinations of left and right hand movements.
There are 42 primary rudiments listed in detail later in the book. Rudiments facilitate an infinite number of possibilities on drum kit and are the foundation upon which drumming is built.
The following examples display 3 rhythmic variations for bass drum.
Here are three rhythmic possibilities for snare drum.
There are a possible 36 two bar rhythms which can be created by joining the 6 previously shown one bar patterns together in different combinations. The following examples are 6 such possibilities.
The Half Note
This is a half note. There are two half notes in 1 bar of * time.
This is a half note rest and indicates silence for the count of one half note.
