Fill

What it means

A fill is a short figure that fills a gap in the musical course — usually at the end of a phrase, when the melody pauses, or immediately before the beginning of a new section. Best known is the drum fill, which briefly interrupts the even accompaniment pattern and leads over to the next part of the form; there are equally fills on guitar, piano, bass, or winds.

Musical use

Fills fulfil two tasks at once: they keep the motion up where an empty space would otherwise arise, and they announce that something follows. A fill before the refrain tells the listener and the fellow players that a change is imminent — it is thus a signal of form. At the same time it is the place for personal shaping within an otherwise fixed accompaniment. The art lies in measure: too many or too long fills take the pulse from the music and cover the melody; a terse, well-placed fill works more strongly than an extended figure.

Performance practice

Place fills where the melody leaves room, and not over sung text. Keep the pulse absolutely; the most common mistake is that the fill shifts the tempo — practise it therefore with a metronome and count through. Plan the landing: the first beat of the following section must come securely and together. Shape fills of different length and density, depending on how big the following change is. Listen to the band and refrain from a fill if the spot does not need one.

Remember that a fill should serve the following section: before a loud entry it may be denser, before a quiet passage it stays terse. Plan it therefore from the goal. Practise fills with a metronome and count through, because they easily shift the tempo. Practise fills first in simple figures over one to two beats and increase length and density only when the transition sits securely. On recordings a terse fill usually works better than an extended one; listen to the spot in context before you decide.