Mel Bay's Percussion Sessions | Bill Stuhlly - Grooving and Syncopated Fills Part 2

Grooving and Syncopated Fills Part 2

by Bill Stuhlly

In part 2 we’ll add The 6 Stroke Roll to the syncopated rhythms from the last lesson. To recap here’s the 3 measure syncopation:

As before we’ll isolate the first measure of the phrase:

In the first exercise we’re going to add the 6 stroke roll to the phrase. The 6 stroke roll is from The Swiss Rudiments and is played as such:

Now we’ll use it in the syncopation. Remember to sing and feel the quarter note go by:

Another exercise is to add the remaining 16th notes in the rests and repeat it to help with your double stroke and single stroke switching we’ll break down the syncopations into 3 separate exercises. Repeat until solid then switch to a LH start:

Practice the sticking exercises on a practice pad with a metronome to get the feel and coordination down.
Then move to the drum set and use an orchestration like this:

The final step we’ll turn the syncopation into a linear groove. The 32nds will be split between the HH and the SN and the BD will play the rests:

Use this technique with the other 2 syncopated measures around the drums and remember to experiment with these techniques.
All of these rhythms can be used as fills/grooves or solo ideas. Always use your friend the metronome and start slow to really feel the 32nds in relation to the 16ths. In part 3 we’ll dive into more linear patterns around the drum set.

Bill Stuhlly is a professional drummer in L.A Visit www.myspace.com/stuhlly for resume and recordings and his band The Dirges www.myspace.com/thedirges

About the Author
Bill Stuhlly is a pro drummer in the L.A. area. Check out his playing and resume @ www.myspace.com/stuhlly and his band The Dirges can be heard @ www.myspace.com/thedirges