DRUMS
GET FREE FROM THE DRUM FILL RUT! | Carl Albrecht
Oh NO, not the same fill again! ** On the snare 3 e & ah 4 e & ah GO!!** Or the infamous“ Pat Boone, Debbie Boone fill”- 3 & 4 e &. Yes, we’ ve all played these and other classic fills a thousand times. But how do we keep expanding our drum fill library and not just rely on the same old ideas? Come follow me into the world of drum fill metamorphosis.
Keep in mind the goal of our musical lives is to make the leaders happy. So I’ ll always play whatever inspires them with as much passion as I can; even if I have played it a thousand times before. But I also strive to expand my arsenal of drumming ideas so that when the time is right I can also deliver something fresh and unexpected.
1. Take a typical idea you already play a lot. Something like the first thing I mentioned – the snare fill on 3 e & ah 4 e & ah. Try playing 4 bar grooves playing this fill every 4th bar and see how many different things you can do with it. Start on the snare … then on the toms … then any combination of those. Also try starting a fill on the kick or hi-hat. Maybe even start on a crash and then move around the snare to the toms. Etc. You are only limited by your imagination and your ability to coordinate a certain move. Don’ t feel limited to just a single stroke roll, hand-to-hand pattern. Mix it up with doubles, paradiddles, and other sticking patterns too.
2. Doing accents also gives you a huge amount of options to the sound of a drum fill. Start with the typical accent on every quarter note, and then try accenting all the“&’ s” of the count.
Then shift it to any of the notes within the phrase of the fill. Be sure to try double accents as well. That would be the“ 1 e” of the phrase or the“ ah 2” or any combination you’ d like. Again, the whole idea here is to create new ideas you have not tried before. Another option for using accents is to continually play a pattern on one drum, like the snare and then hitting the accents on other drums or cymbals. Even try adding kick drum hits with the accents as well.
3. Starting a fill on different counts of a measure is a great exercise too. The easiest way to do this is to start playing a four bar groove and then in the last bar start a fill on the 1 count. Then the next round start on the 2 count, then the 3, and then the 4. Next, when you come around start the fill on the“&” of that count … then on the“ e” and so on. You’ ll be surprised with how starting fills in different places in the bar forces you to play a fill differently. This is an awesome exercise for creating fills you never thought of before. Using the four bar phrase allows you to lock into the groove feel first.
4. One of my favorite drum fill ideas is to play them“ over the bar line.” This means that as you finish the phrase you don’ t hit the downbeat or the“ 1” of the next bar, but you crash or complete the fill anywhere after that. It could be hitting the“&” of 1, or the 2 nd count, or any part of the bar you want. Just don’ t hit the downbeat. The trick with this kind of fill, or any of them for that matter, is to maintain the feel of the groove.
5. As a final exercise in drum fill development try to play fills that you create by copying melodic phrases that you hear. It could be a melody of a song, or a guitar line that you hear. It might be a line that you hear a bass player do. It really could be anything you hear within a song that inspires you to try to emulate it on the kit. Be aware of the low to high phrasing of the notes, and then try to make the drums copy the tonal range of the melody. Obviously you may not be able to do the melody note for note. But what you are trying to do is imitate the movement from high to low tones of your drum kit. This is a situation where I really enjoy playing a large drum kit in order to do this. But even on a scaled down kit( 4 pieces + hi-hat, ride cymbal, & 2 crashes) you should be able to respond melodically to whatever you hear.
As you expand your drumming ideas be sure to remember to always honor the music and the people you play for. Sometimes the best drum groove or fill idea is still the simplest thing you can think of. Be don’ t be afraid to go out on a limb and see what happens.
Blessings on the journey,
Carl
Carl Albrecht Professional drummer for 30 + years, playing with Paul Baloche, Don Moen, Ron Kenoly, Abe Laboriel, LeAnn Rimes and others. He’ s also a clinician, author & pastor. Contact Carl for coaching, online lessons, producing, or sessions. I’ m still growing too... www. CarlAlbrecht. com carlralbrecht @ gmail. com
82 December 2025 Subscribe for Free...