These little lessons have opened up a new world of possibilities for me and I thank you very much! I started playing long ago but never progressed past just playing songs in church. I never really explored further. After a hiatus of almost 6 years I couldn't stand it any longer and bought a mid-range electronic kit to peck around on around 6 months ago and have been spending a lot of time behind it learning fundamentals, rudiments, etc. Being self-taught.. learning everything I should've learned long ago. I played brasswind instruments in junior high and highschool and drums at home.. but without formal training. That was 20 years ago. Now, at 38 years old, I've fallen back in love with playing and have throughly enjoyed using the videos you and others put out and have been having a blast doing so. My wife doesn't understand it.. but that's alright. At least it's not on the acoustic kit so I believe she will let me live. Thanks again, friend. :):):):)
"It's short enough that you're not going to get in trouble for it" reminds me of Felix Lehrmann from Martin Miller's studio band, because he is an absolute weapon of a drummer and only sparingly throws in cheeky fills to keep the musos happy
Hi Mike my name is Federico and I live in Sardinia on a small island surrounded by the sea, I constantly follow your video tutorials on youtube and to be honest you explain them clearly and simply, apart from your skill and professionalism in explaining each single step, I really treasure your advice because I am approaching my routine exercises in a different way than before, even on some passages where I have deficiencies at a musical technical level I stop in such a way that I can improve day by day .... so for everything this I thank you infinitely 🙏🙏🙏
I come to Mike Johnston when I wanna learn some new fills. When I commit them to muscle memory I can pull them out of my bag whenever I need to. I'm happy to say they've changed the way I play for the better.
But also, why think in patterns? Why not work on improvising two beat fills in a 16th note triplet context? That way you can practice multiple similar patterns like this, have more content, more freedom, but also work on dynamics, orchestration, etc., in a specific context
@@dejd Because learning doesn't work that way. Were you able to speak freely as a child before you learned any words? Of course not. Language starts with vocabulary, then once you have the words under your belt you can start to speak.
@@mikeslessons Yes, I meant AFTER you learn the building blocks it would be good to stop thinking about "patterns"... I probably didn't make that clear 😅
Nice playing. I’ve been playing this fill for years and I completely forgot about it and never even thought about throwing in some accents and ghost notes. It really does change the overall feel and leaves the listener thinking “wait….wtf? That sounds really cool!!” Great positive video without coming across as cheesy 😊
Wow. I just had a realization that you've been doing this for well over 10 years. I was actually part of the community back in 2010 I believe. I ended up selling my drum kit back in 2014. Haven't played drums since then. You're a fantastic instructor. The passion you have to teach really shines through.
Always something new, fresh, and inspiring sprinkled with humor, and fueled with enthusiasm by matcha leaves, but always ending with me grabbing sticks, embracing the suck, and trying to work it out. Thankful for these TH-cam moments when life has taken over alot of "drumtime" this year for me unfortunately. Thanks for everything you do Mike. 🙏🏻🍵🥁
That fill sounds great! I really like these visual transitions Mike, when you say kick-right-left-kick-right-left and the way the text animates in, the font is really stylish too and the borders complement it nicely. That's a really nice touch!
Well brought and performed Mike! A simple concept turns out to be a beautiful short break and keeping the listener focused because of the alternation between KK and K......K......and the accentuation on the L and at the same time hitting the r as a ghost note.
Yes this is a really gorgeous 2 beat phrase ... You could use it in fusion or jazz if you displace it so the bass drum is played last .... Really dig this I'm off to practice it now:) thank you very much for sharing .... It sounds like a pick up like Weckl would use
I think I’m going to subscribe. Just getting back to drumming after years away. I’ve got a td-50 electronic kit I’m sure it would be good even for sending in videos
Hi Mike, from Athens , Greece. i really enjoy your lessons and thanks for uploading!!! I have discovered that beautifull fill, i have followed your sticking, and then i have tried to reverse the 2nd part. Meaning that i did KKRLRL and then instead of KRLKRL, i played KLRKLR (dividing R on the SN and TT, while i played the L on the TT and the FT) which leads me to crash the first 8th note of the next measure with my left. Little unusual, but i like the feeling and the orchestration. Take care. Vladimiros.
I Loooove you man.. haven't played drums in over a year but always inspired by your lessons Mike ohh i mean blueprints and i love your site the music accompaniment is something else had tons of fun using that keep up great work you people are doing. i've always loved triplets but only applied them in shuffle grooves. hope to try that in a different grooves soon though
I like this. I have used both of these blocks separately but never tried them together and then the ghost and accents. Great find bro. Thanks for sharing. 😊👍
Great fill, thanks Mike. Gonna need to work on my kick I think in order to pull this off cleanly at speed. I'm so bad at sustained doubles over 100 bpm.
Very nice. I think everyone sounds a bit different while playing this, which is great because everyone has a different feel. Thanks for this awesome lesson.....very catchy!!!
How important are shoes to you when playing? Do you have to have a certain style of shoe or even a specific pair of shoes when you play or can you play in converse or tennis shoes or just whatever?
Your Dynamics are always so clean and the loud and soft notes sound really different. Could you make a lesson about how to work on that and what to foucs on. I can play with dynamics on the snare but on the toms its more difficult. Maybe you already have a lesson about that but it would be a very interesting topic ;-)
It rarely ever happends yes, but i'm in the camp that it should happend more often. The fill should be not one constant spam of notes, but something that glues two parts together, thus the fill should be that one bar, starting alike the beat beneath, but then either accellerating or decellerating to fit the next part. Also musicality is great when making multi bar fills, you divert from the beat, keep the snares the same, but play with the guitar for a fill, then the transition is unison with the other instruments(there has been already gluing for these parts in the writing part).
That is very true, but that's why I have 7 Foot Speed Courses to help anyone out with that: www.mikeslessons.com/courses/foot-speed Hope that helps my friend :) Mike J
You have to have a solid technique to be able to play any pattern you find online. Learning sticking is easy, playing it comfortable and in a context is hard. Add dynamics and that's groovy.
Mike...what's your cymbal set up here? It's slightly different from your Meinl cymbal "pack", and I'm nuts about the sounds of those crashes. The one over your hi-hat sounds a bit bigger/heavier than the one over the floor tom. They're both great, but I am IN LOVE with that slightly smaller one over the FT. Please advise, and thanks for all the support you've given to drummers down the years.
Hey comment section! Is there a ‘word/phrase’ to describe the drum fill he talks about when he goes, ‘Kick kick, right left, right left’ ? How would I Google that? Or like, what what I type into the TH-cam search-bar, to find instructional videos? Does that drum-fill have a name?
I tried this fill. My preferred way to play it is to move the phrasing so the first bass drum hits on partial before the downbeat. That way the bass drum is anticipating the beat. It's more Elvinish that way.
2:31 Why do you hit yourself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when you stop... OK jokes and quotes aside, great video Mike! Gonna see about working this one up 😁
great! I personally see the 16Th note triplet KKRLRL(RLRLRL) without dynamics as two groups of three other than KKRLRL(2&4) big different and it flows better even more with the dynamics you show.
@@mikeslessons it’s an ollld tv show about 2 detectives the show was from the 60-70’s I think… I used to watch it on nick at nite as reruns when I was a kid 30 yrs ago. And it was old then.
@@mikeslessons I’ve been binging your stuff here lately I played when I was younger and fell out of it. Recently I bought a set and said I’m getting back into it. Lost a lot of coordination over the 15 years of not playing but it’s coming back pretty fast with your help. Thanks
These little lessons have opened up a new world of possibilities for me and I thank you very much! I started playing long ago but never progressed past just playing songs in church. I never really explored further. After a hiatus of almost 6 years I couldn't stand it any longer and bought a mid-range electronic kit to peck around on around 6 months ago and have been spending a lot of time behind it learning fundamentals, rudiments, etc. Being self-taught.. learning everything I should've learned long ago. I played brasswind instruments in junior high and highschool and drums at home.. but without formal training. That was 20 years ago. Now, at 38 years old, I've fallen back in love with playing and have throughly enjoyed using the videos you and others put out and have been having a blast doing so. My wife doesn't understand it.. but that's alright. At least it's not on the acoustic kit so I believe she will let me live. Thanks again, friend. :):):):)
"It's short enough that you're not going to get in trouble for it" reminds me of Felix Lehrmann from Martin Miller's studio band, because he is an absolute weapon of a drummer and only sparingly throws in cheeky fills to keep the musos happy
Pop
Hi Mike my name is Federico and I live in Sardinia on a small island surrounded by the sea, I constantly follow your video tutorials on youtube and to be honest you explain them clearly and simply, apart from your skill and professionalism in explaining each single step, I really treasure your advice because I am approaching my routine exercises in a different way than before, even on some passages where I have deficiencies at a musical technical level I stop in such a way that I can improve day by day .... so for everything this I thank you infinitely 🙏🙏🙏
I come to Mike Johnston when I wanna learn some new fills. When I commit them to muscle memory I can pull them out of my bag whenever I need to. I'm happy to say they've changed the way I play for the better.
"Once you learn the pattern, that is when work begins"
THIS. And it is a lot of work
But also, why think in patterns? Why not work on improvising two beat fills in a 16th note triplet context? That way you can practice multiple similar patterns like this, have more content, more freedom, but also work on dynamics, orchestration, etc., in a specific context
@@dejd Because learning doesn't work that way. Were you able to speak freely as a child before you learned any words? Of course not. Language starts with vocabulary, then once you have the words under your belt you can start to speak.
@@mikeslessons Yes, I meant AFTER you learn the building blocks it would be good to stop thinking about "patterns"... I probably didn't make that clear 😅
@@dejd 100%! That’s the most exciting part of all. Collecting the vocabulary, then showing up in a foreign country and trying to speak the language.
7
You talking the groove is smooth hell as man !!
Mike is a great teacher, thanks for the video and for sharing this technical part
You are the best drum teacher on TH-cam. Thanks
Love the fill but daamn those Hi-Hat openings in the Groove. I was hooked by that
Супер вот бы по русски вообще было очень здорово 👏✊👍
Nice playing. I’ve been playing this fill for years and I completely forgot about it and never even thought about throwing in some accents and ghost notes. It really does change the overall feel and leaves the listener thinking “wait….wtf? That sounds really cool!!” Great positive video without coming across as cheesy 😊
Practical indeed!
Thank you Mike.
Wow. I just had a realization that you've been doing this for well over 10 years. I was actually part of the community back in 2010 I believe. I ended up selling my drum kit back in 2014. Haven't played drums since then. You're a fantastic instructor. The passion you have to teach really shines through.
@2:50 the way the crash keeps going under you talking is the coolest editing ever 🙌 Another great video!
I’m in this fills course right now. Getting it up to speed is no joke. I love it! Thanks, Mike, for all this amazing content!!
I'm sorry Mike, but that bark groove at the gold tempo at 6:00 stole the show for me! Jeezus!
Always something new, fresh, and inspiring sprinkled with humor, and fueled with enthusiasm by matcha leaves, but always ending with me grabbing sticks, embracing the suck, and trying to work it out. Thankful for these TH-cam moments when life has taken over alot of "drumtime" this year for me unfortunately. Thanks for everything you do Mike. 🙏🏻🍵🥁
That fill sounds great! I really like these visual transitions Mike, when you say kick-right-left-kick-right-left and the way the text animates in, the font is really stylish too and the borders complement it nicely. That's a really nice touch!
Well brought and performed Mike! A simple concept turns out to be a beautiful short break and keeping the listener focused because of the alternation between KK and K......K......and the accentuation on the L and at the same time hitting the r as a ghost note.
Yes this is a really gorgeous 2 beat phrase ... You could use it in fusion or jazz if you displace it so the bass drum is played last .... Really dig this I'm off to practice it now:) thank you very much for sharing .... It sounds like a pick up like Weckl would use
Your lessons are just the best, man! The making it personal thing is the real deal!! 😎🤘
That means so much Pietro! Thank YOU brother 🍵🙏🍵🙏
I think I’m going to subscribe. Just getting back to drumming after years away. I’ve got a td-50 electronic kit I’m sure it would be good even for sending in videos
Well done!! Sounds sweeeet! Thanks Mike!!
Love it .. love it ... love it!!
Hi Mike, from Athens , Greece. i really enjoy your lessons and thanks for uploading!!! I have discovered that beautifull fill, i have followed your sticking, and then i have tried to reverse the 2nd part. Meaning that i did KKRLRL and then instead of KRLKRL, i played KLRKLR (dividing R on the SN and TT, while i played the L on the TT and the FT) which leads me to crash the first 8th note of the next measure with my left. Little unusual, but i like the feeling and the orchestration. Take care. Vladimiros.
Love this thankyou bro this is awesome time to get to it
That sounds beautiful,,,ty
Now that's useful. Thanks
Thanks, Mike. You're a brilliant teacher 👏👏👏👏
This is so smooth !!!
This just popped up on my feed. What a sweet fill!!! 🔥 You just earned a sub my Ninja Drum Brutha 🙏
Awesome fill! Let’s try
Your sound effects made this video absolutely incredible 🤣😂
That crash cymbal to your right ❤️ another great lesson.
Ooh that's tasty!! Triplet fills are simply the best. You make it look so easy 😆 ...ok I need to go practice more lol
You do a great job of keeping lessons fun. Ty
I Loooove you man.. haven't played drums in over a year but always inspired by your lessons Mike ohh i mean blueprints and i love your site the music accompaniment is something else had tons of fun using that keep up great work you people are doing. i've always loved triplets but only applied them in shuffle grooves. hope to try that in a different grooves soon though
I like this. I have used both of these blocks separately but never tried them together and then the ghost and accents. Great find bro. Thanks for sharing. 😊👍
LOVE IT! A new fan!
Great fill, thanks Mike. Gonna need to work on my kick I think in order to pull this off cleanly at speed. I'm so bad at sustained doubles over 100 bpm.
yeah Mike ! you are the man ! love your cymbals
Love this🙌
Hey Mike, are you playing the 15" Foundry Reserve hats? Also, what is that crash on your left?
I came to the comment section to see if anyone asked about the hihats haha
Very nice. I think everyone sounds a bit different while playing this, which is great because everyone has a different feel. Thanks for this awesome lesson.....very catchy!!!
Thanks Mike !!! your lesson is great!!!!
Holy sweetness !! that's a fun one .
Most Awesome! Thanks muchly!
Great music song playing drummer. 👍
I really just wanna get a beer with this guy!
good stuff man. Thank you
Another fun lesson. As always. Thanks Mike! 👍
Thanks Mike! 🤩🍵
You are more than welcome my friend!
love u dude
Love ya right back Max!!!
Mike, lovely lesson there! You should also do a konnakol lesson someday. It could end up being a series!😅 I wonder how you come up with those! 😄❤️
Awesome lesson Mike! I don't know what sounds better...You or your kit...Let's call it a draw. HAPPY DRUMMING!
How important are shoes to you when playing? Do you have to have a certain style of shoe or even a specific pair of shoes when you play or can you play in converse or tennis shoes or just whatever?
Your Dynamics are always so clean and the loud and soft notes sound really different.
Could you make a lesson about how to work on that and what to foucs on. I can play with dynamics on the snare but on the toms its more difficult.
Maybe you already have a lesson about that but it would be a very interesting topic ;-)
Nice triplet fill😀👍👍👍
Hi Mike! How can you get that wonderful sound of the snare or toms using only the overhead mic? I can't see the other mic ..
It rarely ever happends yes, but i'm in the camp that it should happend more often. The fill should be not one constant spam of notes, but something that glues two parts together, thus the fill should be that one bar, starting alike the beat beneath, but then either accellerating or decellerating to fit the next part. Also musicality is great when making multi bar fills, you divert from the beat, keep the snares the same, but play with the guitar for a fill, then the transition is unison with the other instruments(there has been already gluing for these parts in the writing part).
Wonderful
Nice Mike
Hey! Cool fill! Btw what kind of kit are you playing? It reminds me of Michael Cavanagh’s old kit.
Mike's konnakol should be somehow introduction into official drummin guides)
"sheeg'dabum" )
Dave Lombardo hold my beer lol hi mike still killing it bra
The only issue is, you have to have a fast single pedal foot technique to execute those doubles with one foot
That is very true, but that's why I have 7 Foot Speed Courses to help anyone out with that: www.mikeslessons.com/courses/foot-speed
Hope that helps my friend :)
Mike J
Good exercise to work on it too with this 👌🏽🥁🎶
You have to have a solid technique to be able to play any pattern you find online. Learning sticking is easy, playing it comfortable and in a context is hard. Add dynamics and that's groovy.
Speed is a product of practice! 😊
@@richiecomia3696 yeah guys I mean. I know all that, was just pointing it out
Love the burritos and hot sauce… Very Spicy
HOW DO YOU GET YOUR TOMS TO SOUND THAT GOOD? THEY SOUND INCREDIBLE!
“Crash-Happy-One-Uh-Landed-My-Fill!”
Mike...what's your cymbal set up here? It's slightly different from your Meinl cymbal "pack", and I'm nuts about the sounds of those crashes. The one over your hi-hat sounds a bit bigger/heavier than the one over the floor tom. They're both great, but I am IN LOVE with that slightly smaller one over the FT. Please advise, and thanks for all the support you've given to drummers down the years.
I love 💕 this video
Hey Mike, what’s the cymbal on your far right? Or can anyone tell me what that is?
It a 20" Meinl Byzance Traditional Extra Thin Hammered Crash. Hope that helps :) 🙏🍵🙏🍵
Mitch Mitchell written all over this!
Hey comment section! Is there a ‘word/phrase’ to describe the drum fill he talks about when he goes, ‘Kick kick, right left, right left’ ?
How would I Google that? Or like, what what I type into the TH-cam search-bar, to find instructional videos?
Does that drum-fill have a name?
Grande Mike
Awesome
I tried this fill. My preferred way to play it is to move the phrasing so the first bass drum hits on partial before the downbeat. That way the bass drum is anticipating the beat. It's more Elvinish that way.
Awesome! Way to go Randy!
Hi mike, im a lefty drummer. Is the sticking (L,R,L etx.) for any lesson the same for me or opposite?
Yes sir. Click on the lesson notation link in the description. Then hit the "sticking" button and choose "Reverse Sticking"
@@mikeslessons awesome..those damn lefty's making things backwards
2:31
Why do you hit yourself with a hammer? Because it feels so good when you stop...
OK jokes and quotes aside, great video Mike! Gonna see about working this one up 😁
Mighty joe Friday
I just "Liked" this vid and it went from 2.9K Likes to 3K 😊
I have rotos at church..... LOL! Great fill tho, going on the list!
Question, which metronome does Mike uses? Thx
@@guidoguido7443 Guido, it’s called Click and I always put the link for it in the description of my videos. Hope that helps :)
@@mikeslessons super, thx👍and thx for the good grooves and tips👍👌🥁
Mike you the best, definetly, I wish to be your neighbor to clean your backyard for free.
Greetings from Tampa Bay
i love you
what metronome app do you have ?
It’s called Click. The link is in the description of this video :)
Man that set looks like the Ludwig set I bought in '66.
What type of the cymbals?
Looks like they are Meinl cymbals.
As soon as I saw those white kicks I knew he was serious about this video.
great!
I personally see the 16Th note triplet KKRLRL(RLRLRL) without dynamics as two groups of three other than KKRLRL(2&4) big different and it flows better even more with the dynamics you show.
You really showed your age with the Joe Friday from Dragnet comment actually that’s way beyond your age.
I literally have no idea what you are talking about. Is it a band? A movie? TV Show?
@@mikeslessons it’s an ollld tv show about 2 detectives the show was from the 60-70’s I think… I used to watch it on nick at nite as reruns when I was a kid 30 yrs ago. And it was old then.
@@mikeslessons I’ve been binging your stuff here lately I played when I was younger and fell out of it. Recently I bought a set and said I’m getting back into it. Lost a lot of coordination over the 15 years of not playing but it’s coming back pretty fast with your help. Thanks
James Brown
I still don't understand how the pros can keep the hi-hat step going during the grooves and change ups
Then permutate every version of the fill you can think of!
Am I the only drummer that can comfortably play on my thigh even with accents? lol (gotta know how to do every stroke)
Voice cracking ? Sign of puberty , Mr Johnston ! Thanks for the lesson !
Ah so hitting your legs with the sticks never stops hurting eh? Practice is a lie
LOL!
드럼쌤.
Title is WRONG. It is the MOST useful triplet fill…
YAY! That’s awesome to hear my friend.
TIL my style is monotone.
1st