Roll Fills

Took the bus to work this morning cause of the rain...which means I listend to the MP3 player.

I was thinking about roll fills and how when I play them they never sound like what I hear other people play. I know this is largely just about me practicing more...but I also feel like I'm missing something. Probably some focused study of songs that I like the rolls on would help. And maybe taking a look at the notation for those rolls.

This seems like one pleasant song to study, one that I largely already know how to play. I think the second guy is a little more accurate to the recording, but you can't see the rolls as well. The third one has a super annoying cymbal sound...the kind I hate. Maybe Ks aren't what I want after all (note that I checked out some other videos the third guy did and the cymbals sound a lot better, though he's using a mix of As and Ks there):




Of course, Green Day isn't the final word on roll fills. In fact, they aren't even the first word. Probably some hard rock or heavy metal out there would be better to get the full, around the kit, thunder roll concept. When you are playing 200 bpm (like GD) there's only so many notes that can be played. A slightly slower hard rock song would have a more complicated, richer roll fill.

I've picked up on some songs, from the Playalong books, that feature Bonham-esque triplet rolls and I've been working on those (We're Not Gonna Take It by Twisted Sister and Smokin in the Boys Room by Motley Crue). That's a piece of it.