Filling 3-bar lick
Sun, 12/16/2018 - 18:21
I am working on Improvising Study 1 - chorus forms with fills.
I have a 4-bar lick = 3 active bars + 1 bar rest.
I try to fill the rest bar, and most of my ideas end up rhytmically same as the main lick (i.e not very different in character). I don't feel enough space to fit something "different" except maybe, a "lead up" to another measure.
Would you fill the 1 bar rest, or would you shorten the lick to 2 bars, and then have whole 2 bars for filling?
Another question - given the name of the study is "Improvising" - do I need to come up with different fill ideas all the time, or is it OK if I use ones I wrote beforehand?
Hello RB. The length of a lick can inhibit using fills. You're right, a pickup to the next line can work better than a fill sometimes. In this case, yes, "shorten the lick to 2 bars, and then have whole 2 bars for filling." You can use licks you've used before, just make sure each fill is different within a song.