Accompaniment Study 4, Ex. 2.1

Hi David,

I practice Accompaniment Study 4, Ex. 2.1 and I try to use a lot of various licks as fills. In the track John stops singing at the 1st beat of the 3rd measure (in the 1st line) or 7th measure respectively (in the 2nd line), and the fills in the example you have provided start at the 3rd beat of the 3rd and 7th measures. That means there is a 1-beat space between vocal and the fill.

Is this a strict rule? I experiment with longer licks as the fills, but then I have to start at the first beat and the 1st note of my lick sounds at the same time as John sings his last syllable. Is that OK, or should I use shorter licks to avoid that?

Thank you very much,

Marek