DRUMMER CAFE - Community Forum

I never really thought of fills as having the potential to sound dated. The only dated-sounding fills I can think of would be like the 32nd-note, descending-across-the-whole-kit fills like the ones in Queen's "Fat Bottom Girls."

Anyone else have examples of dated fills?

four 16ths snare
four 16ths hi tom
four 16ths snare
four 16ths floor tom

A CLASSIC "oldies" fill.

Outdated??  Maybe.

"Frankenstein" fills <2 sets of triplets, descending 4 times> ;D

IMHO, if you play with a musical feel for the music, there's no such thing as "dated" only "inspired".


ok, but that keyboard tie might be a bit too dated...  :P

Play a 32nd-note roll across the toms during a song, and I guarantee NO ONE in the crowd will think it's "dated"....In fact, they'll probably think it's pretty cool!

My bandleader has a name for that sort of thing. He calls it a career-ending drum fill.

 ;)

I think there is the odd dated fill.
16th note fills, taking up a bar or more and split between several different toms, snare and even the ride cymbal. This is the quintessential late 60's fill of the flower power groups.
Doesn't mean to say it's a no go area for modern drummers, but if you're playing late 60's music it can be more applicable than the regimented modern fills we are used to now.

When something is dated?.
Can someone explain this thing? ??? ???

Old Fashioned perhaps.
'Dated' is fairly negative.

Even some people look 'dated'  ;D

dated: out-of-date; old-fashioned: a nostalgic program of dated songs.

It means it is showing its age. It has been over done and everyone has heard it before and is no longer impressed.

But will it serve the music?  THAT's the important question.  Nothing's dated, if it serves the music.

Stephen

that's true. Music recycles so much anyway, like everything we humans do.
A "dated" fill in a new context is not trite.

Fender Rhodes ... Hammond B3 ... now that's dated!

:)

I know there was a smiley there, but ... no it's not. There's Hammond all over stuff like CAB (heck, Brian Auger's middle name could be "Hammond") and Vital Information, and it doesn't sound dated.

Yeah, sorry to point out Rhodes are right back in the mix these days too with Trip Hop, House Music and bands like Radiohead.

Beautiful!!!  ;D ;D ;D ;D

 

what?!?!?!?  you must be joking.  

does this (http://www.jae-ko.com/music/wavetable/8-19-04/8-19-04-reason-drums-bass.mp3)sound dated?  ;)

There are a number of fills that I would place in the "dated fill" catagory ... but not in a negative way.

Motown Fill
A classic drum fill played on numerous hits. It involves the Snare and mounted Tom. There are a number of ways to play this, but here's standard ...

Play a Six Stroke Roll (aka Tap Six) with the first (accented) note on the Tom, the diddles and two accents on the Snare, followed by another Tom hit on the AND of the beat.

It looks like this ...


To get the right (loose) feel, you need to listen to some recordings to get the correct phrasing. It can also be played with more of a triplet pulse, but this is the standard approach. Obviously one can put the accents on any voice (Tom or Snare) that they want to create variations, but this is the basic fill.

I would consider this fill a MUST for the professional drummer; it should be part of your vocabulary.

Here's an audio example of the lick Bart just posted, played by drummer Gene Lake, who has DEFINITELY done his homework on what constitutes classic Motown drumming:

http://www.keithcronin.com/grooves/would_i_lie.mp3 (http://www.keithcronin.com/grooves/would_i_lie.mp3)

Dated? Maybe. Perfect? Absolutely!

YES YES YES!!!

If this thread is all about putting labels on fills in order to suggest that if you use them or play them ... it's bad ... because it's "dated" ... then I couldn't disagree more! A fill is a fill. If it's right for the music, then it's the right fill.

The way I'm viewing this thread, which is different from the original post, is to discuss fills that were birthed in a particular era/genre. If it's "dated" it's only because it was popularized at that time ... it was appropriate for the sound.

If we are looking for WRONG fills ... you don't have to go anywhere, looking to a specific time, place, era or genre. Playing something that doesn't enhance and/or meet the needs of the music ... well, that's not dated, it's just the wrong fill and/or a bad choice!  8)

I heard Jeff Porcaro do some "Motown Style" licks when he recorded with the B52's and to me it was sheer brilliance...

ahhh,

what our newly minted member, Billy Ward, calls the "27th rudiment".  ;D

gene, what a groovin' freak!

but hey why not go straight to the source?  ;)

Aint too Proud to Beg (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B0001XARA4001011/0/002-5858296-1756824)

I believe you hear this (or a subtle variation of this) done about 15 times in Phil Collins's "I Missed Again"!... always sounds great though