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Fill It In | The Secret Jazz Scale

Fill It In

by Michael Green

For this issue of Percussion Sessions® I want to introduce you to the idea of Fill-ins. Fill-ins are used to make simple rhythms more complex and vice versa, by fi lling in the space between the notes with one or two notes using the opposite hand. This allows you to focus on the simpler rhythm while executing something more complex. First play the basic rhythm then play it with fi ll-ins while still thinking about the basic rhythm. Make sure that you try each exercise leading with both the right and left hand. Speed is not the goal with these exercises, instead keep your focus on the basic rhythm you are playing.

I hope that this article has been informative and fun. Feel free to email comments to me at michaeldrums@gmail.com.

Happy playing,
Michael