Grammys Fill (transcribed)
Aaron Spears
Break down the fill into parts. Work on the hand and foot combinations separately first, then put it together and gradually increase the tempo.
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32nd Note Fill
Chris Coleman
Work on the basic 6 note pattern between the hands and feet (RLRLFF).
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Doubling Up
Kev O'Shea
You may need to experiment with different bass pedal settings to find the right spring tension for you.
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Insane 4-way Co-ordination
Thomas Lang
Try playing the left side ostinato without doubles as a 16th note pattern, to begin with...
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Toto - 'Africa' Drum Beat
Jeff Porcaro
Play the bass drum hits on beat 1 & 3 slightly louder to create more of a bossa nova/samba feel.
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'50 Ways To Leave Your Lover' - Drum Intro
Steve Gadd
Practise linear patterns between hands and hihat pedal.
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Solo Groove
John Blackwell
Try this on the practise pad first. Get comfortable with the right hand sticking as much of the bass drum pattern copies this.
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Halftime Groove
Chad Smith
Work on the 16th patterns in bar 3 between hand and foot separately. Be careful to play the ghostnotes lightly.
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Paradiddle in 12/8
Ginger Baker
Play groups of 4 with the accent on the first beat. Play this pattern in 12/8 to hear the 3 over 4 feel. Then switch to paradiddles.
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Alternating Linear Fill
Kev O'Shea
Play the linear pattern without accents. Next accent every third note, alternating between hand and foot. Switch hands.
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Street Beatz 03
Jojo Mayer
Jojo starts the beat with pull-out accents on the snare hand. Start at a slow tempo and aim for accuracy and good dynamics.
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32nd Note Inverted Doubles
Kev O'Shea
With inverted doubles the pulse will be felt on the second stroke. Practise at low tempos to begin with.
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Songo-inspired halftime
Kev O'Shea
Play R,L,F,L with accents in different places. Keep right hand on Hihat and left hand on the snare.
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Triple Stroke Bass Drum Exercise
Kev O'Shea
Use the heel-toe method to play a double stroke. Add another toe stroke to complete the triple stroke.
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Ghostnote Groove
Vinnie Colaiuta
Practise pull-out accents on the snare hand. Watch for this accent on the second double of the shuffle.
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Walk This Way - Drum Intro
Joey Kramer
Timing the bass drum with the open hihat bark is the key to nailing this beat.
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Linear Drum Beat
Ilan Rubin
Learn the R,L,F and L,R,F combinations slowly and lightly with an emphasis on moving from the forearm/elbow.
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Foo Fighters "Rope" - Drum Break
Taylor Hawkins
Practise playing the bass drum with the crash cymbal on your weaker hand (See bar 3) @ 2mins 50.
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Halftime Groove & Fill
Dave Weckl
Play with a metronome set to a low tempo and count in 16ths.
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Nirvana - 'Scentless Apprentice' Intro
Dave Grohl
Focus on the hand pattern in order to execute the flam comfortably. Heel-up will mean more volume.
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Playing Across The Bar Line
Pablo Gonzales
Use a metronome to keep the count while you experiment with playing over the bar line.
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Buddy Rich Sixes
Buddy Rich
This is a six stroke pattern in triplets using the ride cymbal, snare and bass drum. You can play this pattern starting on any of the six notes.
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Kick Hat Snare 05
Kev O'Shea
Practise the 6 stroke roll: R,L,R,R,L,L. Next play it in groups of three as triplets.
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Syncopated Groove
Keith Carlock
Master the Swiss Army Tap to allow you to play syncopated patterns like this one.
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Linear Drum Fill 01
Kev O'Shea
L,R,F triplet is the basis of this fill. Learn it and also, L,R,L,R,F.
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12/8 Groove
Aaron Spears
Count this out at slow tempos in order to get comfortable with the 12/8 feel. Count every second 8th whilst playing to improve timing.
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Drum Groove and Fill
Dave Elitch
Play R,L,F and L,R,F to very slowly to a metronome as 16th notes. This three over four feel will help you understand the rhythm.
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Drum Solo Excerpt
Steve Gadd
Pay attention to Steve's masterful use of dynamics and timing...
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Sneaky Shuffle Variation
Kev O'Shea
Time the drop of the stick to allow the ghostnote to land between the shuffle pattern. There is no need for much force here, simply timing.
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Manky Beat
Kev O'Shea
A manky sounding linear pattern played open-handed between hihat, snare and floor tom.
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Unison Fill
Kev O'Shea
Practise moving from flams to unison and back again to improve accuracy. This example is mostly finger work.
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7/8 Groove
Tony Royster Jr.
Use a metronome at a low tempo to memorise the intricate rhythms before you attempt them at full speed.
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2 Cross Sticking Patterns
Eric Moore
Use a palm up technique to strike the floor tom, then palm down on the hihat.
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Kick Hat Snare 03
Kev O'Shea
The L,F,R triplet is key to learning this beat. Practise it in 12/8.
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Kick Hat Snare 02
Kev O'Shea
Practise paradiddles with and without accents. Next try starting them on the offbeat.
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Guitar Center Solo
Ilan Rubin
Learning the R,L,R,F combination is key to playing this pattern.
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Linear Drum Fill 02
Kev O'Shea
Practise to a metronome at a slow tempo to ensure the cross-sticking is clean.
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Moscow Groove
Eric Moore
Practise the first 8 notes of this pattern on a practise pad only. Use it in daily playing. Gradually introduce the bass drum hits.
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'Immigrant Song' Drum Beat
John Bonham
Practise the bass drum double separately then introduce the hands.
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Sting - Seven Days (basic pattern)
Vinnie Colaiuta
A hypnotic pattern in 5 which sounds easier than it really is.
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Toto - 'Mushanga'
Jeff Porcaro
Be aware of the dynamics Jeff uses to create this feel. Some drums are accented, others are tapped lightly.
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Linear Drum Fill 03
Kev O'Shea
Play this fill without the double strokes on the bass drum initially to get a sense of the rhythm.
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Linear-Type Beat
Vinnie Colaiuta
Practise cross-handed sticking between splashes and cymbals.
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U2 - 'Sunday Bloody Sunday' Drum Intro
Larry Mullen Jr.
Try to play each drum at the same dynamic level to create the marching feel of this song.
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Filling Time - Chapter 2 (sample)
Kev O'Shea
Convert simple hand-to-hand patterns into advanced linear sticking patterns...
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Kick Hat Snare 01
Kev O'Shea
First get comfortable with F,R,L,F,R,L,R,L (whilst accenting the last 'L'). There rest is a variation on a basic paradiddle.
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Rudimental Warm Up
Gavin Harrison
Use fingers to help with the left hand triple strokes. Use bounce for the quick ruffs.
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Kick Hat Snare 06
Kev O'Shea
Practise a roll between hand and foot. F,R,F,R etc. This will help with the start of this beat.
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The Bonhadiddle (Moby Dick)
John Bonham
Happens around the 2 minute mark. Swap the double 'L' in a regular paradiddle for 2 bass drum strokes.
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Street Beatz 02
Jojo Mayer
Work on good dynamics between snare ghostnotes and accents.
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3 Pedals 2 Feet
Benny Greb
A Dennis Chambers-inspired 'fat foot' technique which involves playing the hihat and slave bass pedal together.
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Red Hot Chili Peppers - 'Dani California' Intro
Chad Smith
Work on one-handed ruffs, bass drum double-strokes and, of course, timing and feel...
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Quintuplets - Groups of 5
Kev O'Shea
More information is covered in my book 'Filling Time'.
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Kick Hat Snare 07
Kev O'Shea
You can change the pitch of the hihat bell by applying some pressure to the pedal. Find the sound you like best.
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Linear Swing Fill
Gavin Harrison
Practise triplets of R,L,F and L,R,F in time to a metronome. Then shift from hand to hand singles and back to the linear triplets.
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32nd Note Offbeat Groove
Chris Coleman
Work on the hi-hat pattern first. Next introduce bass drum. Introduce the snare when you can play steadily between hihat and bass drum.
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Deep Purple - 'Fireball' Drum Intro
Ian Paice
Get the double bass pattern down first. You can play this with a slight swing to give the right feel.
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Linear Drumming Pattern
Aaron Spears
A good warm up exercise. Focus on clean strokes with good time at lower tempos. Accents can be alternated between hand and foot.
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Kick Hat Snare 08
Kev O'Shea
Practise the 'closed' roll on the edge of the snare. See how many times you can get the stick to bounce on each hand. Then increase the tempo.
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Street Beatz 01
Jojo Mayer
Practice linear patterns between snare, hihat and kick in 4/4. RLF, LRF etc.
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Drum Solo Triplets
Buddy Rich
Blistering singles and doubles between the hands and feet in a triplet pattern.
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Kick Hat Snare 04
Kev O'Shea
Practise the inverted single paradiddle: R,L,L,R,L,R,R,L with and without accents on the first beat of each 4 notes.
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"Rock And Roll" end solo
John Bonham
R,L,F is a signature Bonham triplet. Move it around the kit.
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