I need help developing a repertoire of fills. I am a solid player but I just have zero fills in my arsenal. Any help with resources is greatly appreciated.
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Need Help with Fills
- Thread starter phaneo
- Start date
The tried and true method is to learn them from songs you like. You can pick an artist that tends to play a lot of fills (Wooten, Flea, Claypool, etc.) or just pick stuff that sounds cool (IE SRV's Crossfire only has one fill but it's a pretty cool one.)
There are tons of songs that are goldmines for fill ideas, but you probably already know a lot of songs and basslines to work with, you just need to take that next step and revisit them to learn the fills in addition to the core bassline itself.
Also remember that a fill doesn't have to be a bass part. You can learn vocal lines, solo licks (on any instrument), keyboard/organ hits, or parts played by any other instrument, fill or not. A fill is really just an embellishment or brief statement, so you can take your inspiration on HOW to embellish a line or make a statement from literally anywhere. The more you dive into each song and learn to break down all the parts from all the instruments, the more you expand your vocabulary and gain new tools to pull from when it's time to rock a fill.
There are tons of songs that are goldmines for fill ideas, but you probably already know a lot of songs and basslines to work with, you just need to take that next step and revisit them to learn the fills in addition to the core bassline itself.
Also remember that a fill doesn't have to be a bass part. You can learn vocal lines, solo licks (on any instrument), keyboard/organ hits, or parts played by any other instrument, fill or not. A fill is really just an embellishment or brief statement, so you can take your inspiration on HOW to embellish a line or make a statement from literally anywhere. The more you dive into each song and learn to break down all the parts from all the instruments, the more you expand your vocabulary and gain new tools to pull from when it's time to rock a fill.
That’s fantastic advice and insight. I’ve just noticed lately that I hold down the song, but miss those key opportunities to accent a change or acknowledge the end of a phrase.
I’ll dig into some of my favorites to see what I can come up with. I’ve always assumed there was some “formula”.
Thanks
I’ll dig into some of my favorites to see what I can come up with. I’ve always assumed there was some “formula”.
Thanks
1. Scales and arpeggios. Start with arpeggios and pentatonic scales if you want to jump start fills. When you get to the point you can combine them while playing it opens up so many more fill options.
2. play along to backing tracks and experiment. There’s an infinite number of them for free on YouTube.
2. play along to backing tracks and experiment. There’s an infinite number of them for free on YouTube.
The thing that helped me most with fills, was learning about keys and chords, and the pentatonic scale. Once you know which notes are possible in the given key and chord, it makes it easier to choose them.
D
In order to "serve" the song, I wonder if we hold back on fills? I think if what your playing is iconic, stick to it. If not, go to town! Everything will be cool.
It might even be something as simple as a rhythmic variation, a single-note syncopation, an octave highlight, grace note or simple ornament or long gliss that adds 'something' without 'stealing the show' or drawing too much attention. The listener senses something without really 'hearing' anything. YMMV
Thank you for a serious bass-playing related question. We don't get a lot of that kinds of questions at TB.
(Don't ask me why.)
It's a good question, but the answer to it is a very long one for numerous reasons.
(I am amazed that my TB colleagues - SteveCS, dreamadream99, JonathanPDX, etc.... - were able to summarize some "ingredients" as the answer to your question.)
My "add-on" (not final) to those summaries on the bass fill-ins would be the following:
1.) You, as a bass player, should have enough knowledge about this/that style, genre.
2.) You, as a bass player, should be (almost) an arranger, navigating the rhythm section parts, other comping instrument lines, main and backup vocal/s.
3.) You, as a bass player creating the "second melody", should be (more or less) like a composer, etc...
...
...
96) Usually, the band leader, the composer, the arranger, the producer, etc... would ask you to play "here and there" fill-ins or not to play any fill-ins.
P.S. It often happens that one musician likes this/that fill-in while another one criticizes the same fill.
Thank you, sir! Great points. I am nowhere near an arranger. I have a long way to go.
I'll throw in a drummer's perspective.
As others have mentioned, rhythm matters too. Listen to drum fills in the music you like. They can give you insights into how you might fill on your own, or also how to layer behind the drum fill. In jazz and big band, drum fills are typically setups to an all-band punch. Listen for the accent pattern in the setup and play on the accents to walk up or down to the punch. For rock and pop, drum fills are typically transitions to new sections of the song. Same idea: play the accents, but also, in some cases, you could rhytically double the drum fill. That can create a really emphatic transition.
It's also important to stay mindful of when to fill, when to support another player's fill, and when to just lay out and leave space.
I kind of joke with myself that I play bass like a drum when it comes to fills. Syncopation and stacatto notes here and there to break things up a bit.
As others have mentioned, rhythm matters too. Listen to drum fills in the music you like. They can give you insights into how you might fill on your own, or also how to layer behind the drum fill. In jazz and big band, drum fills are typically setups to an all-band punch. Listen for the accent pattern in the setup and play on the accents to walk up or down to the punch. For rock and pop, drum fills are typically transitions to new sections of the song. Same idea: play the accents, but also, in some cases, you could rhytically double the drum fill. That can create a really emphatic transition.
It's also important to stay mindful of when to fill, when to support another player's fill, and when to just lay out and leave space.
I kind of joke with myself that I play bass like a drum when it comes to fills. Syncopation and stacatto notes here and there to break things up a bit.
Here is how I'm thinking.
If you play the bass, you are already an arranger.
What kind of arranger?
That kind arranger like your bass-lines you are "producing."
(If you are behind the wheel of the moving vehicle, you are the driver.)
I was just thinking.
What is the difference between the bass fill-in and the groove tail?
Read from here:
PATRICK PFEIFFER CONTINUES HIS LESSON SERIES BY BREAKING DOWN ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT ELEMENTS OF GROOVE: THE TAIL
Beginner Bass Base – Building Blocks Of A Groove: The Groove Tail (Part 3 of 4) — Patrick Pfeiffer Bass
Somehow,
I have watched the ACM Awards 2024 and heard a few interesting songs.Let's look at the simple bass-line from Kane Brown's, Georgia on My Mind.
There are numerous examples in that simple bass-line that could establish some bass-line's (mental) template, including the groove, groove tail, fill-ins, embellishments...
If I could, I would ask the bass player why he sometimes used the root and sometimes the 5th as his "pick-up" note/s before Beat 1.
I would ask him why he sometimes used chromatics, sometimes diatonic notes as his "groove tail" and/or moving to the next chord.
With the first measure of the guitar impro, he added some notes in the bass groove "apex" - it sounded cool.
It was a great idea to change the bass guitar register (higher) as an element of crescendo.
And so on...
Sorry but I've no idea what that means. It sounds like the latest entry in the ever-growing lexicon of non-musical jargon, buzz-words and concepts* that are dominating the world of electric bass in the 21st century. That, or I'm a dinosaur...
* that I've no doubt could just as effectively be encapsulated using existing musical language - just looks like 'resolution' to me.
D
Somehow,
Let's look at the simple bass-line from Kane Brown's, Georgia on My Mind.
There are numerous examples in that simple bass-line that could establish some bass-line's (mental) template, including the groove, groove tail, fill-ins, embellishments...
If I could, I would ask the bass player why he sometimes used the root and sometimes the 5th as his "pick-up" note/s before Beat 1.
I would ask him why he sometimes used chromatics, sometimes diatonic notes as his "groove tail" and/or moving to the next chord.
With the first measure of the guitar impro, he added some notes in the bass groove "apex" - it sounded cool.
It was a great idea to change the bass guitar register (higher) as an element of crescendo.
And so on...
Agreed. I guess every situation/song can call for fills. I just don't feel guilty supplying fills, depending.
buldog5151bass
Kibble, milkbones, and P Basses. And redheads.
In my experience, it's not so much WHAT you play, but when and how often. Most players overplay, and add in frills too often. Yeah, these are old, but listen to My Girl (only a few simple runs at the end), Papa Was a Rolling Stone (no fills) and most classic Jamed Brown (few fills ever). No one ever complained about those lines.
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