{"id":23665,"date":"2020-06-03T09:29:25","date_gmt":"2020-06-03T16:29:25","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/?p=23665"},"modified":"2023-10-04T13:10:28","modified_gmt":"2023-10-04T20:10:28","slug":"how-to-play-17-iconic-drum-fills","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/how-to-play-17-iconic-drum-fills\/","title":{"rendered":"How To Play 17 Iconic Drum Fills"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/bG3mkXOBLZo\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What songs do you always find yourself air drumming? What would you consider are some of the most iconic drum fills of all time?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We asked the community for their favorites, and this list is the result!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27160043\/17-Iconic-Fills-For-Beat.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">(Click here to download a PDF with all the fills and time codes)<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>1. &#8220;In The Air Tonight&#8221; &#8211; Phil Collins &#8211; 96 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Phil Collins<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Even non-drummers know how to air-drum this one bar fill! Based on a simple 16th note feel, it&#8217;s notated for five toms but you can adapt it for two or three.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151925\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.49.20-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>2. &#8220;Wipeout&#8221; &#8211; The Surfaris &#8211; 130 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: David Raven<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>If you&#8217;re over 40, you&#8217;d likely recognize this song as soon as the drums start &#8211; even if you aren&#8217;t a drummer. The rhythmic melody is instantly recognizable. Pay attention to where the accents fall. (Bonus: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/the-worlds-longest-drum-fill-on-ice\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Click here to watch this song played in an ice rink<\/a>!)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/28095605\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-28-at-12.52.51-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>3. &#8220;Rock With You&#8221; &#8211; Michael Jackson &#8211; 114 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: John &#8220;JR&#8221; Robinson<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151927\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.50.04-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>4. &#8220;Africa&#8221; &#8211; Toto &#8211; 100 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Jeff Porcaro<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The list wouldn&#8217;t be complete withou<a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/toto-africa-drum-fill\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">t this anthemic, air-drummable fill<\/a>, which comes in around 1:07-1:17 in the song.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151928\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.50.11-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>5. &#8220;No One Knows&#8221; &#8211; Queens of the Stone Age &#8211; 170 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Dave Grohl<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It was tough to choose just one fill for this song, so we ran the whole gauntlet between 1:11-1:34. Work that triplet feel. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/\">Check out the note-for-note transcription of this song in Drumeo!<\/a><br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151929\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.51.06-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151930\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.51.24-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151931\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.51.31-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151932\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.51.37-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151933\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.51.43-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>6. &#8220;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/everlong-drum-fills\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Everlong<\/a>&#8221; &#8211; Foo Fighters &#8211; 158 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Taylor Hawkins<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This recognizable fill uses the snare as an anchor point.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151934\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.51.50-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151935\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.51.57-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151936\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.52.05-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151937\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.52.11-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>7. <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/how-to-play-smells-like-teen-spirit-beginners\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">&#8220;Smells Like Teen Spirit&#8221;<\/a> &#8211; Nirvana &#8211; 116 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Dave Grohl<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This is probably one of the most air-drummed fills of the last 30 years. Remember that every snare note is flammed.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151938\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.52.18-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>8. &#8220;Life Is A Highway&#8221; &#8211; Tom Cochrane &#8211; 103 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Mickey Curry<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In this short intro fill, the hi-hat starts on the <em>and<\/em> of 2.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151939\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.52.27-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>9. &#8220;Back In Black&#8221; &#8211; AC\/DC &#8211; 92 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Phil Rudd<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s hard to not overplay! <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/how-to-cover-acdc-on-drums\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Keep it meat and potatoes<\/a>.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151940\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.53.22-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>10. &#8220;In Bloom&#8221; &#8211; Nirvana &#8211; 79 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Dave Grohl<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Simple and memorable, once you learn the one bar, you&#8217;re basically good to go for the rest of the song.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151941\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.53.29-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151942\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.53.36-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>11. &#8220;Whole Lotta Love&#8221; &#8211; Led Zeppelin &#8211; 84 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: John Bonham<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/5-john-bonham-drum-licks\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Bonzo had an instantly recognizable sound<\/a>, and that includes his drum fills. We chose the two bar fill that happens around 3:52. It sounds simple, but when you<a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/22-free-led-zeppelin-drum-transcriptions\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"> break it down<\/a>, the orchestration is a bit more challenging than you think.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151943\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.53.42-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>12. &#8220;Good Times Bad Times&#8221; &#8211; Led Zeppelin &#8211; 95 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: John Bonham<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Don&#8217;t forget the cowbell!<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151944\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.53.52-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151945\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.54.00-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>13. &#8220;Take The Money And Run&#8221; &#8211; Steve Miller Band &#8211; 123 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Gary Mallaber<\/em><br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151946\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.54.15-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>14. &#8220;Come Together&#8221; &#8211; The Beatles &#8211; 88 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Ringo Starr<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Pay attention to the sticking, and deaden the drums if you want to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/beatles-drum-beat\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">get that &#8216;authentic&#8217; Ringo sound<\/a>.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151947\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.54.29-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>15. &#8220;Uprising&#8221; &#8211; Muse &#8211; 128 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Dominic Howard<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Check out this anthemic flam-based fill at 3:33.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151948\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.54.39-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>16. &#8220;Where Eagles Dare&#8221; &#8211; Iron Maiden &#8211; 226 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Nicko McBrain<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>It&#8217;s the fill right at the beginning of the tune.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151949\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.54.52-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>17. &#8220;Creep&#8221; &#8211; Radiohead &#8211; 88 BPM<\/strong><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Drummer: Philip Selway<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The fill happens at 2:42. On count 3 of the second bar, there&#8217;s a group of 16th note triplets and 8th note triplets.<br><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.musora.com\/musora-cdn\/image\/quality=85\/https:\/\/drumeoblog.s3.amazonaws.com\/beat\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/27151950\/Screen-Shot-2020-05-27-at-5.55.02-PM.png\" alt=\"\" title=\"\"><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>What do you think? Did we miss anything?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><iframe class=\"email-form-include-full\" src=\"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/weeklyemail\" frameborder=\"none\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>What songs do you always find yourself air drumming? Here are 17 of the most iconic drum fills of all time (and how to play them)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":23888,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[4017,4026],"tags":[65,4052],"class_list":["post-23665","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-beats-and-fills","category-drum-fills","tag-drum-fills","tag-songs"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23665","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=23665"}],"version-history":[{"count":63,"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23665\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":48641,"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/23665\/revisions\/48641"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/23888"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=23665"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=23665"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.drumeo.com\/beat\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=23665"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}