{"id":200,"date":"2019-08-20T06:45:00","date_gmt":"2019-08-20T13:45:00","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2023-01-13T13:49:21","modified_gmt":"2023-01-13T21:49:21","slug":"my-favorite-fill","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pianote.com\/blog\/my-favorite-fill\/","title":{"rendered":"The Perfect Beginner Piano Fill (My Favorite)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

I get asked a lot of questions, and one of the most common ones is: “How do I add fills to my right hand when I’m chording?” <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Playing basic chords in root position or inversions<\/a> is fine when you’re starting out, but after a while, you want to be able to make your songs sound more ‘musical’ and complex.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Fills are a great way to do this. We’ve done a few videos on fills in the past, but today I’m going to show you my absolute favorite fill.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s super simple, and something you can start practicing straight away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So let’s go!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’ll start with a song<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So we need a chord progression<\/a> to practice this over, and I like “Sweet But Psycho” by Ava Max.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We’re in the key of C and the chords are: F-C-G-Am-G-F<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It’s a typical 4-1-5-6 chord progression.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And it sounds…fine. But it could sound better.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\ud83c\udfb9 Riffs & Fills \u2728<\/h3><\/center>

Riffs and fills are what take a piano player from good to great<\/i>. Take your playing to the next level with Riffs and Fills. Free with your Pianote membership.<\/p>

CHECK IT OUT<\/a><\/center><\/span>\n\n\n\n
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My Favorite Fill – The Sus Trill<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

So I call this fill the “sus trill” because I’m starting with a sus2 chord and then putting in a quick trill to move from the 2 to the 3.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It sounds a lot more complicated than it is. I’m only shifting one note in the chord. It’s nice and subtle, but it gives the chord (and the progression) a whole new sound!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Like everything, the key is to start slowly, to build up your muscle memory.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Adding a Little Extra – Walking Back Down<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

Once you’re comfortable trilling from the 2nd up to the 3rd, you can change direction and walk back down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

All that’s happening is the sus2 resolves to the 3, and then you just walk back down to the 2 and then the root. The 5 finger never moves.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Try it out! It’s my hope that will inspire some creativity in your playing and allow you to step outside the comfort zone of basic chords.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For more awesome fills and riffs that you can try — check out our previous blog post<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Have fun playing the piano!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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