A

David

Darling

drum fill

A drum fill is a phrase played between different sections of a song. It may be as simple as a couple of tom tom hits or a rapid, machine gun-like burst of notes. Drum fills can range from 1 beat to 8 measures (or more) in length. In rock, pop, blues, and most jazz drumming, fills are played every fourth, eighth, or sixteenth measure, and are timed to end on the first beat of the next phrase.