Easy Drum Fills for Beginners
A drum fill is a short break from the steady groove, usually the last beat or two of a phrase, that adds excitement and signals a change such as a new section of the song. Your first fills should be simple: a few even hits on the snare or a run down the toms across the last beat, landing right back on beat 1. The skill that matters is not how busy the fill is, it is ending it exactly on time so the groove continues without a stumble.
In the grids below, read left to right across one bar of four beats counted "1 e and a, 2 e and a" and so on. SN is snare, T1 and T2 are the high and low toms, BD is the kick. An o is a hit; a dash is a rest.
What a fill actually does
A groove is the repeating pattern that carries a song. A fill briefly interrupts it to mark a transition, the end of a verse, the lead in to a chorus, or the top of a new phrase. Think of it as punctuation: the groove is the sentence, and the fill is the comma or full stop that tells the listener something is about to change. Because of that, the most important note in any fill is the one right after it, the downbeat of the next bar, where the groove returns.
Fill 1: four on the snare
The simplest possible fill replaces beat 4 of your groove with four straight sixteenth notes on the snare, then drops back into the beat. Count "4 e and a" as you play the four hits, and come down on beat 1. This single move already sounds like a real fill and teaches the most important habit, returning to the groove on time.
1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . . . 4 e & aSN . . . . . . . . . . . . o o o o
BD o . . . o . . . o . . . . . . .
Fill 2: down the toms
Once four on the snare feels easy, move the same idea around the kit. Play two hits on the snare, two on the high tom, then carry on to the low tom on the next pass. Moving from high to low across the drums gives that classic descending fill sound you hear before a big chorus.
. . . . . . . . . . . . 4 e & aSN . . . . . . . . . . . . o o . .
T1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . o o
BD o . . . o . . . o . . . . . . .
Fill 3: the half bar fill
To make a bigger statement, stretch the fill across the last two beats. Play steady eighth notes starting on beat 3, moving snare, snare, high tom, low tom, and crash the cymbal on beat 1 of the next bar to launch the new section. This is the everyday fill you will use most in real songs.
1 . . . 2 . . . 3 . 4 . & .SN . . . . . . . . o . o . . .
T1 . . . . . . . . . . . o . .
T2 . . . . . . . . . . . . o .
How to practice fills without losing time
- Set a slow metronome and play four bars of a simple groove.
- On the fourth bar, play the fill, then immediately return to the groove on beat 1.
- Keep counting out loud through the fill so you never lose your place.
- Only speed up once you land cleanly on beat 1 every single time.
The metronome is doing the real teaching here. A fill that rushes or drags is worse than no fill, so train the timing first and the flash second.
Play fills with live timing feedback.
GrooveSteps grades your timing as you play, so you can hear exactly whether your fill landed on beat 1. Try the simple fill lesson, or the linear fill and fill around the toms, then browse all the free lessons.
Frequently asked questions
What is a drum fill?
A short break from the steady groove, usually a beat or two at the end of a phrase, that adds excitement and signals a change. Most fills move around the snare and toms.
What is the easiest first drum fill?
Four even snare hits on beat 4, or a short run down the toms across the last beat. Both fit into one beat and put you back on the groove at beat 1.
How do I keep time during a fill?
Keep counting through the fill and make sure you land back on beat 1. Practice with a metronome so the groove resumes without a hitch. End on time first, get fancy later.
When should I play a fill in a song?
Usually at the end of a four or eight bar phrase, or leading into a new section like a chorus. Fills mark transitions, so use them where the music changes rather than constantly.