Level 4 · Sixteenths & Fills
4-2 - Your first fill
Two beats of groove, two beats of fill - land back on 1.
How to practice it
One bar: beats 1-2 keep the groove skeleton (B t S t), beats 3-4 are a sixteenth-note fill (t-t-S-S t-t-S-S) that launches you back to the next bar's '1'. In practice: play 3 bars of your groove (3-2), then this fill bar, then loop. Record the full 4-bar cycle.
Suggested take: ~90s · start 65 BPM → pass around 85 BPM
1
B
e
g
&
S
a
g
2
g
e
g
&
S
a
S
3
g
e
g
&
S
a
S
4
B
e
·
&
S
a
·
65 BPM
Start at 65, exercise passes around 85. Legend: B bass · S snare · g ghost · - rest
Tips
- • The fill's only job is to make the NEXT '1' feel inevitable.
- • Keep the fill at groove volume first; excitement makes people rush fills.
- • Alternate hands through the fill - no double-strokes needed.
Watch out for
- • Rushing the fill (the #1 fill crime everywhere)
- • Nailing the fill but missing the landing on '1'
- • Fill much louder than the groove around it
Record your take
Aim for ~90s. Put the phone ~1m away, facing the front plate. You'll get Rafa's feedback within a minute of submitting.
Up next after this: 4-3 - Funk displacement