SIX BASIC FILLS TO TRANSFORM YOUR PLAYING

1: ASCENDING BROKEN CHORD FILL

One of the first basic fills we will learn is called the “broken chord fill.”

The way to play a broken chord is to simply “break up” the chord and
play it note by note, one at a time.

To play a C broken chord fill, count 1 – 2 – 3 – (and then play the

following notes on Beat 4) C E G. But play the notes one at a time.
First “C”, then “E”, and then “G.” (Make sure it sounds nice and even
when you play it, don’t rush it, but don’t play it too slow either.)

Then it repeats: 1 – 2 – 3 – (C E G).

Then go to F chord: 1 – 2 – 3 – F A C.

(Hint: This usually sounds better if you hold down the sustain pedal
while you are doing it.)

Now try it on the following song. Every slash / that has parentheses
around it (/), play the broken chord fill.

Exercise Song 1 in C Using the Broken Chord Fill

C / / (/) C / / (/) F / / (/) F / / (/)

C / / (/) C / / (/) G / / (/) G / / (/) C

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 SIX BASIC FILLS TO TRANSFORM YOUR PLAYING

2: DESCENDING BROKEN CHORD FILL

Once you can play this easily, then try it playing the broken chord fill
going down. Instead of playing it up C E G, then play it down instead,
G E C. First G, then E, then C. Practice this C, F, G as well as the
other major and minor chords you know.

And once you’ve got this mastered, then go and try using it on some
songs you know!

3: OCTAVE CHORD FILL

WHAT IS AN OCTAVE?

An octave is simply the same note/chord played eight alphabetical notes

higher on the piano. For example: C D E F G A B C
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
(“Octa” means “eight.”) The second C is an octave higher than the first C.

Now, let’s play a middle “C.” (The 4th C up on the piano)

Now play the 5th “C” up on the piano.

The second “C” you played is one “OCTAVE” higher than the first “C.”

Let’s do the same thing with a C major chord.

Play C E G on middle C. Now play it an “octave” higher.

You simply play the same chord “C E G” but now you are playing it using the
5th C on the piano.

Practice it. 1) Play an F chord. 2) Now play it an octave higher.

3) Play an Am chord. 4) Now play it an octave lower.
Pretty easy, right?

Apostolic Praise©: Richard W. Smith :: www.ApostolicPSOM.com :: 650-877-2473

 SIX BASIC FILLS TO TRANSFORM YOUR PLAYING

This same concept can be used as a fill. Every time there is a [/] play the
chord an octave higher on that beat.

C / / [/] C / / [/] F / / [/] F / / [/]

C / / [/] C / / [/] G / / [/] G / / [/] C

If you used it on a song with only plays the chords two times like “Surround
Me O Lord” in C, you could play it like this:

C [/] Em [/] F [/] G [/]

*Of course, as with any fill or run, do not overuse it. Use it moderately.

4: OCTAVE-BROKEN CHORD COMBO FILL

You can also combine the octave-broken chord fill and instead of just
playing the octave chord as a single chord one or two octaves up, you can
play it as a broken chord...one octave higher.

This concept should be easy to grasp although most folks do not think
of it by themselves! Simply play a broken chord as usual (you can play it
ascending or descending) but play it one octave higher to give a particularly
beautiful sound!

So if you are playing a C E G chord, you would go one octave higher

and play it as a broken chord (one note at a time) C first - then E - then G.

5: THE INVERSION CHORD FILL

This fill is very similar to an octave chord, but instead of playing the
same chord one octave higher, we play an inversion of the same chord a little
higher.

For example, if you are playing a C E G chord, you would go up and

play an E G C chord or a G C E chord. Usually we do this right before the
chord changes!

Apostolic Praise©: Richard W. Smith :: www.ApostolicPSOM.com :: 650-877-2473

 SIX BASIC FILLS TO TRANSFORM YOUR PLAYING

For example on the first line of “Amazing Grace.”

GCE CEG EGC CFA ACF (go down to this one) GCE CEG
C / [/] C / [/] F / [/] C / [/]

So here we have the actual chord progression, while the correct chord
inversions are shown above the chords. In effect, we are basically moving
around a little more to create a more “interesting” sound. The ear naturally
goes a little bored hearing the same sound over and over.

6: The G-A-C fill (the V-VI-I fill)

This is one of the most common fills we use in music. It is usually

used on the last beat right before a new chord as well. Basically, whatever
chord we are on, we use the V - VI - I of that key as fill.

We use a G - A - C fill (going up) over a C chord.

We use a C - D - F fill (going up) over an F chord.
We use a D - E - G fill (going up) over a G chord.

C / / [/] C / / [/] F / / [/] F / / [/]

G / / [/] G / / [/] C / / [/] C

Apostolic Praise©: Richard W. Smith :: www.ApostolicPSOM.com :: 650-877-2473