Francis' Drumming Blog

In this new episode, I’ll share an 8th-note triplet drum fill that will give you a different perspective on rudiments, stickings, and phrasing. We’ll arrange and play the concept of this lesson in a jazz context, but you can easily apply it to other genres and styles, enhancing your drumming. Differently from most drum fills, this one starts on the upbeat with the bass drum in unison with the ride cymbal, followed by an 8th-note triplet phrase that occurs in the space of two beats; it starts with the left hand and ends with the bass drum in unison with the ride cymbal, creating a circular structure.

The idea behind this drum fill is the paradiddle-diddle rudiment (RLRRLL sticking) applied in a triplet subdivision and starting from the upbeat of the fourth beat, with the accent on the second “L” note. The last bass drum hit “fill” the beat, allowing us to repeat the drum fill. To return smoothly to the groove, you can omit the ride cymbal, ending on the next bar with the bass drum, or snare in unison with the cymbal.

Here’s a demonstration of the drum fill at three different tempos, playing three bars of groove and one of fill and two bars of groove and two of fills. A possible variation is to play the first note on toms, alternating tom and floor tom, as shown in the second image below.

In the following video, I play a four-bar jazz phrase based on this drum fill. Feel free to play and experiment with your ideas. The concepts of this lesson can be adapted to other genres and styles, for example, applying the drum fill to a shuffle rhythm or funk groove. Elevate your drumming mastery!