Yeah, this fill is really called “Bucket of Fish.” Drummers are funny at naming things…It’s an awesome little fill that can really add some color to your music. All it is is a sixteenth note triplet, down your toms (if you have three of them.) If the “sixteenth note triplet” part throws you, think of it this way. A 4/4 measure contains 4 beats. Triplets get a third of a beat. Sixteenth note triplets are two times the amount of notes.
If you’re still having trouble with these tricky buggers, play the sextuplets (“full” sixteenth note triplets, as seen above) with alternating sticking, but accent all right hand strokes. The accents are the “regular” (eight note) triplet pulse.
Maybe you only play with your first and floor tom. Here’s a variation on the fill for you.
The hardest things about the fill are the speed, since you’ll be single-stroking around the toms, and also getting back to the drum groove after the fill. Some fills are easy to move on from, but I think this one’s a bit tricky. Practice it slowly so you can get your crossovers, sticking, and arm-movements down first, because this seemingly-simple fill is pretty physical.
As for how it should sound- well…it should literally sound like “buck-et –of-fish.” “Buck,” “et,” and “of” are the sixteenth note triplets, and “fish” is the crash + bass….I guess there’s a little sense in the name, after all.
~Bianca