Punk drumming can seem very difficult to learn due to all of the high-speed grooves and fills that drummers play. The style is often very intense, so the drum parts need to match that sort of energy.
However, I realized that many punk rock drum fills are quite simple when you just slow them down. It’s the speed that makes them sound complicated.
So, here are 12 great drum fills to use in punk rock music. All of them sound fantastic when played at higher speeds, but make sure to perfect them at lower tempos first.
Contents
Punk Drum Fill 1
The first drum fill takes a single stroke roll and just applies it around the drum set. A single stroke roll is when you alternate between playing your right and left hands consistently.
On beat 1, you’re going to play four notes on the snare drum. You’ll move the same pattern to the rack tom on beat 2. Bring it back to the snare for beat 3, and then move it to the floor tom for beat 4.
End the fill off with a crash on beat 1 of the next bar to go back into whatever punk rock drum beats you’ve been playing.
Punk Drum Fill 2
The cool thing about single stroke rolls is that they open up a whole world of possibilities on the drum kit. For this next fill, you’re actually just going to play the same pattern as the last one. However, you’re going to move your hands to different spots on the kit.
Your left hand is going to stay on the snare drum the entire time while your right hand moves around between the snare, rack tom, and floor tom.
You could play this fill with the same intensity across every stroke. You could also make all of your left snare drum strokes a bit quieter to give it more dynamic variety. It sounds cool either way!
Punk Drum Fill 3
For this fill, you’re going to start things off on the kick drum. You’ll then play the snare drum and rack tom in quick succession from the “and” count.
Beat 2 will have the floor tom with your right hand, followed by another kick drum on the “and” count.
You’ll end the fill by playing four snare drum notes in a row in 8th notes.
Punk Drum Fill 4
This next drum fill is a very common one in the punk drumming world. I’ve heard drummers like Travis Barker and Josh Freese play this very regularly.
You’re going to play all of your notes on the snare drum and kick drum. You’ll start by playing two on the hands and then two on the feet.
You’ll then play a flam, followed by a kick drum.
You’re then going to repeat the same phrase again, rounding it off with four snare drum notes from beat 3 of the second bar.
Punk Drum Fill 5
This fill has two sections to it. Firstly, you have a three-note grouping that repeats a few times. To play that, you’ll start with your kick drum. Follow that with your right hand on the floor tom and left hand on the snare drum.
It sounds really cool when you repeat this as a drum fill. However, a repeating three-note phrase won’t complete the bar. So, you need to play the four-note pattern on beat 4 so that you crash on beat 1 of the next bar.
That last group of notes just has you playing a single stroke around the drums.
While this fill is somewhat similar to the last one, you may find it slightly trickier to pull off due to it starting with a bass drum on beat 1.
Punk Drum Fill 6
Let’s boost things up a notch by adding a short rest in the fill. For this one, you’re going to play a crash cymbal and bass drum on beat 1.
You’re then going to have a short rest before starting a single stroke roll on the “and” count of beat 1.
You’ll repeat the single stroke for the rest of the bar, but you’ll move between the snare drum, rack tom, and floor tom.
This is a perfect fill to play at high speeds, as that initial rest in the bar fits incredibly well after playing a fast groove.
Punk Drum Fill 7
Our next fill is going to include a bunch of flams. A flam is when you strike the snare with both hands at the same time, but one hits the snare just before the other.
The first half of the fill alternates between flams and the bass drum. You’ll end that by playing two snare drums from the “and” count of beat 2.
You’ll then play the snare drum, rack tom, floor tom, and kick drum in a sequence on beat 3.
You’ll end the fill off by playing another flam on beat 4. Follow that with a kick drum and two snare drums before crashing on beat 1.
This fill can be very challenging to play at a high tempo, as you need to make sure those flams are clean.
Punk Drum Fill 8
Sticking with the idea of flams, the next fill will have you alternating between flams on the snare and kick drum notes.
This is the type of thing John Bonham would play all the time, but punk drummers molded it a bit over time and sped it up drastically.
To play the fill, you’re going to play a flam on the snare drum and follow that with two kick drum notes. That pattern repeats until beat 4 where you only play one kick drum after the flam. You then end the bar off with two snare notes.
The trickiest part here will be playing the double kicks at high speeds. You’ll need to use some sort of bass drum technique to play that smoothly.
Punk Drum Fill 9
Let’s stick with the idea of playing quick bass drum notes. For this fill, you’re going to play two on the hands on two on the feet. You’ll repeat that phrase around the drums for the entire bar.
Another new aspect here is that you’re going to end the fill with two kick drums, meaning you won’t be able to play a bass drum note on count 1 of the next bar.
So, you’ll play a snare drum with the crash instead. This always sounds amazing in punk drumming, and it’s often more effective than ending with a kick drum.
Punk Drum Fill 10
This next fill will test the accuracy of your bass drum foot, as the doubles come very quickly in the bar. It’s a classic punk fill that you’ll hear being played often, and it fits in so many different punk tunes.
You’ll start by playing two on the hands and two on the feet. You’ll then play four on the hands.
For the second half of the bar, you’ll repeat the phrase of playing two on the feet and two on the hands.
Punk Drum Fill 11
This fill has four on the hands and two on the feet. You’re going to play everything in 16th note triplets, so there will be 24 total notes in the bar.
Like Punk Drum Fill 9, you’ll need to play a snare drum on count 1 of the next bar.
I love playing this drum fill. It has a strong rolling sound that really emphasizes the point that you’re playing a big and heavy drum part. You just need to make sure that your bass drum pattern sounds even.
I’ve sometimes found that my second bass drum note is softer, and that stops the fill from sounding as effective.
Punk Drum Fill 12
Our last fill looks incredibly complicated, but the idea is easily understandable. You’re going to play a pattern called a herta. It’s not classified as a rudiment, but so many drummers play it that you may as well consider it one.
It’s when you play two quick notes and follow them with two longer ones.
You’ll play repeating hertas between your floor tom and snare drum. Every time you start a new herta group, you’ll also play your bass drum.
You’ll then end the bar by playing a single stroke around the drum kit on beat 4.
Conclusion
Once you’ve learned all of these punk drum fills, I recommend putting on some tunes and trying to play along with them.
It’s a good idea to try each one at different tempos to see how comfortable you are with the patterns.
You should also check out popular punk drummers to see how they play the kit. Getting inspiration from drummers like Zac Farro, Atom Willard, and DH Peligro has always helped me when working out new fills for punk drumming.
