Fills

What are they? What are they for? How do you use them? How do you make them? When's the time to use them? What are some good ones?

As I understand it, they're little add-ons or variations to a riff to kinda spice it up a little. 2 Minutes to Midnight by Iron Maiden has some good fills. You'll generally find them at the end of a bar.

Here's a very basic riff...

G----------------
D----------------
A----------------
E-2-0-5-0-2-0-5--

Same riff, with a fill

G----------------
D----------------
A-----------2-----
E-2-0-5-0-2---540--


Something like that. Probably.

The chili peppers use alot of fills, if that helps

Yeah they're just little add-ons.

The type of fill I use depends on what kind of song im playing, the most common things I do is add mutes and extra notes here and there. Just play around and find some stuff that sounds good, then incorporate fittingly.

Fills are little doodley-dadleys you play when there's an empty space that needs to be filled, or to transition to another riff. It's basically a mini-solo and can provide much needed variety.

As David mentioned, RHCP uses a lot of fills. Listen to a few of their songs and you'll get the drift.

Thanks for all the advice! Anyone care to elaborate more? I still don't fully get how to make one/use one properly.

Here's an easy method. Find what scale the song is in. Then when there's an empty spot between a verse and chorus or something like that. Throw in the pentatonic version of the scale real quick. And BOOM, you got yourself a fill.

I think Smells Like Teen Spirit is in F minor, there's a good place to start.

Can you use fills anywhere? Besides between a verse and chorus and stuff? Like in the middle of a verse say it's just 8th notes, you could use a fill, right?

Also, Smells Like Teen Spirit couldn't be in F Minor. Unless the A that is used quite frequently is an accidental.

Yes, you can use it at any time, as long as its appropriate.

A fill is as mentioned a little add on to the "main riff". It can be used anywhere in the riff to make it more interesting. Simple pentatonic scales work well and so do arpeggios. When I am jamming I have a main line. Every now and then I throw in a couple of little notes to make the riff less boring. Just make sure the scale shape relates to the chord or it might not sound as great.

Alright thanks guys!

There is no A in SLTS. At least, I've never played one. There's an E in the bridge, but I put that down to a key change.

All the tabs I've seen for it had an open A. Meh.

Anyways, I'm having trouble switching strings. Like if something is being played like this:

-------5-----55----35---
--------------------------
---3------3------3-------
--------------------------

I know the only advice you guys can probably give me is to practice. But just in case there's something else, I'd figure it's worth asking for.

When I do something fast like that I tend not to move my thumb. I'd just anchor it on the E.

Hmm that post was actually supposed to be in my question thread. Oh well. Whenever I anchor to the E string the bones in my hand feel stretched or something and hurt really bad. Is there a certain angle you do it from?

What I do in a situation like that, when it´s only one or two notes on the higher (G) string, I don´t really anchor my thumb at all as much as I let it float above the strings before moving back to the lower string position.

It's difficult to explain... I only really change the angles of my thumb and elbow. I keep my fingers at more or less the same angle they'd be whether my thumb was anchored on the E, A or D.

Well how do you not hit the other strings when reaching that far? I seem to have very little control when my fingers are that out-stretched.

Yeah but that's the point, nothing's happening to my fingers. It's my thumb that's stretched.

Oh that makes sense! Alright will try both of these, see if I can get it. It's mainly the chorus of Hysteria that I'm having trouble with.

when i do something like that riff i just have my pointer on the lower not and then my pinkie finger on the higher note

pointer?

pointer=index.

There are no A's in Teen Spirit. F, G#, Bb, Db.