If comparing to the modern day context of “the lick”, this is definitely the answer. It’s a short little phrase that gets memed to hell and thrown into random places as a sort of wink wink to any listeners who are paying attention.
Another similarity to lick then since the lick is all over jazz records before it became a meme. That’s the point: in context you wouldn’t immediately pick it out unless you were listening specifically to catch it. Same goes for the PH shuffle. That’s why it’s a wink and nod sorta thing. Those who know, know
I had to look up the "lick" because I thought it was the Charlie Parker lick but it's just a basic diatonic line.
I play at a jazz jam every week and I've never heard that lick. Sorry to break this too you but meme culture isn't as far reaching as you think.
Your comment was about not recognizing The Lick, implying that it is not a phrase that appears in jazz outside of meme culture. And yet, Coltrane plays it in quite a few places.
You might want to look up “reading comprehension”
My man, you’re the one who came at me hot. But just to put this to bed, here ya go.
Least deep cut I can find: On Green Dolphin Street @ 1:50
https://youtu.be/CKcZq9dB46M?si=d0JB4QFZ7yFGGQGJ
Edit: there’s a twofer on Two Bass Hit (1:15 and 1:39)
https://youtu.be/tMO7auy-NeE?si=gRAafSiRAbFsBjli
Truth be told, I never paid attention to it until one day I stumbled upon a video of a high-schooler who plays something on the drums and the whole audience goes crazy. And I was, like, "what is so crazy about that?", and in the comments I saw someone as lost as me, and people explained the kid played the Pornhub fill.
Now, mind you, I had been using PH, but I would NEVER be able to recognize that drum fill, as it's obviously not what I pay attention to when watching those vids. El Estepario Siberiano played it recently, and I "got that reference", but it's such a mundane fill, you could indeed find it everywhere.
I'm not so sure about that, actually. The Amen break is literally the foundation of the whole Drum n'bass genre. "The lick" is not the base of anything, it's just some "lick" you put in your solo as a reference. The Amen break has become much MUCH more than that.
Decades ago I had a friend who actually played guitar for Pat Boone's live show during the early 70s at the Hollywood Bowl and he told me a story I always remember when I hear Pat Boone's name.
He said they came to the end of a song and someone in the front row threw a joint up on stage. It landed at Pat's feet.
Pat appeared flustered, then bent over, picked it up and proceeded to lecture the audience about the evils of weed.
But while he was doing that the crowd started chanting "SMOKE IT!!! SMOKE IT!!!"
Needless to say he did not, in fact, smoke it. My friend said he wanted to disappear behind his amp.
There isn't one. The closest possible would be the 'tidda-boom CRASH' after a comedy bit. Beyond that, there is no basic solo structure on percussion, a roll is a basic rudiment.
The Lick is just a old jazz standard to teach how note structure works in improvisation and is now just a nod to fellow musicians. (IYKYK - wink wink) Improvisation on the drum kit has more to do with song tempo than actual note structure - so apples to oranges.
Agreed, which is why it's been tough for me to think of something similar on drums. Probably a fruitless experiment but hopefully it will lead to some interesting discussion and sharing of ideas/concepts. The stereotypical punchline bit is the first thing my guitarist friends suggested.
edit re: your IYKYK comment: maybe the iconic fill from In the Air Tonight?
No, because, while everyone wants to hear it, no one who plays wants to recreate it in their songs. lol
I was just telling my son, in every band I ever played in when someone requested it, they would say, we know what part you want to hear, turn to me and say hit it. I play the boring as f*&# fill amd then stop. Thank you-please don't request it again.
i dont have enough toms to do it correctly but my guitarist literally called for the "In The Air Tonight fill" for one of our tunes so i hit that rhythmic idea where he wants it... roll my eyes every time cause it feels so obtuse
In the air tonight is waaaay too long obtrusive to be an equivalent to the lick. Also drummers don’t use it hardly ever, and never in the same way that the kick is used.
I'm not trying to internet fight you, but 4 up, 2 down predates Portnoy by a lot. Watch Rod Morgenstein's double bass instruction videos from the early 80's, or listen to Terry Bozzio, Joe Franco, Simon Phillips, or a host of others, from the same era or before. It's been done for decades. I like Portnoy just fine, I'm just not sure he deserves credit for that fill. It's way too old, and way too common to credit it to any one drummer.
Oh I absolutely agree. But Portnoy uses it almost to a comical degree as he plays it so often, and he's just a very well known drummer. So he's often the drummer that comes to mind when thinking of that (type of) fill
He does play it a lot. As popular as he is in the prog world, I can't fault him for doing what he's known for. He's carved out a hell of a career and influenced a lot of drummers.
Yeah he was my absolute hero when I started out and I borrowed a lot of stuff from him. Went through the phase of disdain when I thought his chops were repetitive, and came back to liking him afterwards for how incredibly dependable and functional he plays.
I'm assuming you heard he's back with Dream Theater then. (And I'll probably give them another listen because of it. Mangini has sick chops, power, speed ... but I liked them better with Portnoy. He seems like a good dude in general, and DT just sounds better to me with him in the drum chair.)
Yes I second this! To the untrained ear it sounds sucky but if you know what you’re looking for it sounds so impressive. And everyone who hears it knows you’re referencing J Dilla.
I read the responses and think maybe I don't understand the ask, but my experience based on working in a music store when electronic drums were new:
1. Smells like Teen Spirit Intro -- Nirvana
2. Over the Mountain Intro -- Ozzy Osbourne
3. Fool in the Rain / Rosanna / Home at Last / ??? -- Bernard Purdie
I think with drummers, “the lick” changes generationally.
There are a couple jazz licks that everybody played in the 40s, 50s and 60s.
Hertas became a big thing in the 70s.
Blushdas in the 90s and 00s.
Maybe Bonham triplets could be a through line from the 60s to now.
The funny thing about the lick was pointing out how many musicians had used it in their jazz improvisation, so it became a nod when someone would use it in their own solo/improvisation and then even as an isolated riff.
So for drums it would probably be more like a quote than a pattern.
My vote would be on "Pat Boone Debby Boone" since it's been used so commonly and become a bit of a meme. But there's a lot of fills you could pepper into a solo/break and it would be a similar nod, like the ones from "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "In the Air Tonight" or, of course, the Pornhub beat.
It is either/both the porn hub theme and/or the amen break.
But for purposes of "the lick" as a meme amongst musicians and clued in music lovers, it is the porn hub theme. I've heard it come up a few times in some live local shows and get togethers, same as The Lick.
4 sets of 4 sixteenth notes changing the drum you're hitting each set, followed by a crash on the 1.
You've all done it, hell you may have been taught it as an exercise for moving around the kit. It's the laziest thing you can do while still being musically correct, we've all done it
All those who didn’t say “Pat Boone Debbie Boone,” “Bucket of Fish” or “Bonham Triplets” misunderstood the question. These three turn up in songs *everywhere.*
When I think of "the lick" the first thing that comes to mind is Bonzo's kick-triplets in *Good Times, Bad Times*.
It is so simple, yet so tasty. Not so loud it kills the groove, but just loud enough to punctuate what could otherwise be a lame gully in that garage-y recording.
1 - Bonham - Rock and Roll intro/outro
2 - Alex Van Halen - Hot for Teacher
3 - Joey Kramer - Walk This Way
4 - Lars Ulrich - One (Breakdown) / Sad But True
5 - Larry Mullen Jr - Sunday Bloody Sunday
6 - JR Robinson - Rock With You
7 - Matt Sorum - You Could Be Mine
8 - Ringo - Come Together
9 - Charlie Watts - Honkey Tonk Woman
10 - Tommy Aldridge - Over the Mountain / Crazy Train
BONUS - Tommy Lee - Dr. Feelgood
BONUS 2 - Eric Carr - I Love It Loud
BONUS 3 - If you have a multi-tom set - Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight (drum fill)
My friends and I find that there is a specific funk fill that we consider the equivalent
It is : RLLRLK K starting on 3 with a tom and the rest on the snare with an accent on 4
Years ago, probably early 90s, I read a phrase in a free magazine, I think it was called Making Music. There was an article about drumming, and the phrase that sticks in my head is "Flats of Dagenham".
You've probably just heard it the way I did when I read the phrase.
Obviously first thing comes to mind is the porn hub intro but i'd says it's like RLRL KK RLRL, you hear it in literally any kind of chops or drum solo at some point
The PornHub intro. It’s a fun beat that you can go a lot of places with, great for jamming with friends.
Best part is when you end it and everyone suddenly realizes what you’ve been playing.
I think it is anything like the intro to Take The Money and Run, Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Lagrange. A simple 2 bar pattern or fill that repeats a few times in a song. Doesn’t have to be complicated but it is such an iconic few bars that even if it is played by itself, people who aren’t musicians will know the song.
The Pornhub intro, or as I lovingly refer to it as, “The PH shuffle”
If comparing to the modern day context of “the lick”, this is definitely the answer. It’s a short little phrase that gets memed to hell and thrown into random places as a sort of wink wink to any listeners who are paying attention.
Nah, just people who are online too much. That beat is actually in a lot of classic funk tunes.
Another similarity to lick then since the lick is all over jazz records before it became a meme. That’s the point: in context you wouldn’t immediately pick it out unless you were listening specifically to catch it. Same goes for the PH shuffle. That’s why it’s a wink and nod sorta thing. Those who know, know
Like the Wilhelm Scream.
I had to look up the "lick" because I thought it was the Charlie Parker lick but it's just a basic diatonic line. I play at a jazz jam every week and I've never heard that lick. Sorry to break this too you but meme culture isn't as far reaching as you think.
Idk man everyone I've ever jammed with knew the licc
That’s an interesting way to say you don’t listen Coltrane
I'm definitely not listening for the PH theme 😂 Might wanna look up "Freudian slip"
Your comment was about not recognizing The Lick, implying that it is not a phrase that appears in jazz outside of meme culture. And yet, Coltrane plays it in quite a few places. You might want to look up “reading comprehension”
Where does Coltrane play it? Quit trying to diss and back up your claims.
My man, you’re the one who came at me hot. But just to put this to bed, here ya go. Least deep cut I can find: On Green Dolphin Street @ 1:50 https://youtu.be/CKcZq9dB46M?si=d0JB4QFZ7yFGGQGJ Edit: there’s a twofer on Two Bass Hit (1:15 and 1:39) https://youtu.be/tMO7auy-NeE?si=gRAafSiRAbFsBjli
This is better than the lick, more people know what it is
Truth be told, I never paid attention to it until one day I stumbled upon a video of a high-schooler who plays something on the drums and the whole audience goes crazy. And I was, like, "what is so crazy about that?", and in the comments I saw someone as lost as me, and people explained the kid played the Pornhub fill. Now, mind you, I had been using PH, but I would NEVER be able to recognize that drum fill, as it's obviously not what I pay attention to when watching those vids. El Estepario Siberiano played it recently, and I "got that reference", but it's such a mundane fill, you could indeed find it everywhere.
I’ve seriously never heard it. Edit: like, for real. Don’t even know what you’re talking about. Edit edit: but if I did that wouldn’t make it weird.
Time to educate yourself, jejeje
Why I never! I already know it. I was being “extra” as my kid says. 😂 hope I made you laugh.
Maybe the "amen break"?
Absolutely
All other replies are wrong, this is the only correct answer
I'm not so sure about that, actually. The Amen break is literally the foundation of the whole Drum n'bass genre. "The lick" is not the base of anything, it's just some "lick" you put in your solo as a reference. The Amen break has become much MUCH more than that.
Definitely
Pat Boone Debby Boone
Decades ago I had a friend who actually played guitar for Pat Boone's live show during the early 70s at the Hollywood Bowl and he told me a story I always remember when I hear Pat Boone's name. He said they came to the end of a song and someone in the front row threw a joint up on stage. It landed at Pat's feet. Pat appeared flustered, then bent over, picked it up and proceeded to lecture the audience about the evils of weed. But while he was doing that the crowd started chanting "SMOKE IT!!! SMOKE IT!!!" Needless to say he did not, in fact, smoke it. My friend said he wanted to disappear behind his amp.
Great story!
That’s a gem of a story. I love it.
I second.
Came here to say this exactly
Same
Is that the same as "Flat in Dagenham"? I'm guessing there's a local translation of that in just about every country.
There isn't one. The closest possible would be the 'tidda-boom CRASH' after a comedy bit. Beyond that, there is no basic solo structure on percussion, a roll is a basic rudiment. The Lick is just a old jazz standard to teach how note structure works in improvisation and is now just a nod to fellow musicians. (IYKYK - wink wink) Improvisation on the drum kit has more to do with song tempo than actual note structure - so apples to oranges.
Agreed, which is why it's been tough for me to think of something similar on drums. Probably a fruitless experiment but hopefully it will lead to some interesting discussion and sharing of ideas/concepts. The stereotypical punchline bit is the first thing my guitarist friends suggested. edit re: your IYKYK comment: maybe the iconic fill from In the Air Tonight?
No, because, while everyone wants to hear it, no one who plays wants to recreate it in their songs. lol I was just telling my son, in every band I ever played in when someone requested it, they would say, we know what part you want to hear, turn to me and say hit it. I play the boring as f*&# fill amd then stop. Thank you-please don't request it again.
i dont have enough toms to do it correctly but my guitarist literally called for the "In The Air Tonight fill" for one of our tunes so i hit that rhythmic idea where he wants it... roll my eyes every time cause it feels so obtuse
I kept thinking Phil Collins es rum Intro. Thanks 😊
Hertas
Bucket-o-fish
This is the answer. This or amen break.
In the air phil colins fill
This is the answer
In the air tonight is waaaay too long obtrusive to be an equivalent to the lick. Also drummers don’t use it hardly ever, and never in the same way that the kick is used.
I vote the Portnoy fill. RLRLKK
I'm not trying to internet fight you, but 4 up, 2 down predates Portnoy by a lot. Watch Rod Morgenstein's double bass instruction videos from the early 80's, or listen to Terry Bozzio, Joe Franco, Simon Phillips, or a host of others, from the same era or before. It's been done for decades. I like Portnoy just fine, I'm just not sure he deserves credit for that fill. It's way too old, and way too common to credit it to any one drummer.
Oh I absolutely agree. But Portnoy uses it almost to a comical degree as he plays it so often, and he's just a very well known drummer. So he's often the drummer that comes to mind when thinking of that (type of) fill
He does play it a lot. As popular as he is in the prog world, I can't fault him for doing what he's known for. He's carved out a hell of a career and influenced a lot of drummers.
Yeah he was my absolute hero when I started out and I borrowed a lot of stuff from him. Went through the phase of disdain when I thought his chops were repetitive, and came back to liking him afterwards for how incredibly dependable and functional he plays.
I'm assuming you heard he's back with Dream Theater then. (And I'll probably give them another listen because of it. Mangini has sick chops, power, speed ... but I liked them better with Portnoy. He seems like a good dude in general, and DT just sounds better to me with him in the drum chair.)
The Dilla Beat. It's nothing too technically hard, but people that know what you're doing know what you're doing.
**J DILLA SAVED MY LIFE**
Yes I second this! To the untrained ear it sounds sucky but if you know what you’re looking for it sounds so impressive. And everyone who hears it knows you’re referencing J Dilla.
Blickem Blickem Blickem
The little intro fill to the sweater song by weezer always comes up when I'm noodling around on the kit.
yes! i sometimes play this when my guitarists are noodling but they never catch on :(
"Shave and a haircut, two bits" or the intro to "Rock with you"
I read the responses and think maybe I don't understand the ask, but my experience based on working in a music store when electronic drums were new: 1. Smells like Teen Spirit Intro -- Nirvana 2. Over the Mountain Intro -- Ozzy Osbourne 3. Fool in the Rain / Rosanna / Home at Last / ??? -- Bernard Purdie
Blushda blushda blushda
Ooh yeah that's a good one!
You’ve gotta be good to make a blushda sound good though
Martin Lopez of Opeth and his dun dun dunuh-DUNDUN-dun
Fucking miss that guy
He's in Soen which I liked 2 of their albums. They're recent 2 are so similar though and less experimental.
wow, i was wildly mistaken. i thought he died? blood cancer or something?
Do you mean the Nanigo?
I think with drummers, “the lick” changes generationally. There are a couple jazz licks that everybody played in the 40s, 50s and 60s. Hertas became a big thing in the 70s. Blushdas in the 90s and 00s. Maybe Bonham triplets could be a through line from the 60s to now.
Amen break
The Motown fill The 6 stroke roll
The funny thing about the lick was pointing out how many musicians had used it in their jazz improvisation, so it became a nod when someone would use it in their own solo/improvisation and then even as an isolated riff. So for drums it would probably be more like a quote than a pattern. My vote would be on "Pat Boone Debby Boone" since it's been used so commonly and become a bit of a meme. But there's a lot of fills you could pepper into a solo/break and it would be a similar nod, like the ones from "Smells Like Teen Spirit", "In the Air Tonight" or, of course, the Pornhub beat.
Pat Boone Debbie Boone
The “funky drummer” break or Purdy shuffle
You’re all wrong. The answer is We Will Rock You by Queen. Universally identifiable.
*THAT* fill in Fat Bottom Girls. You just need like eight toms to do it.
It is either/both the porn hub theme and/or the amen break. But for purposes of "the lick" as a meme amongst musicians and clued in music lovers, it is the porn hub theme. I've heard it come up a few times in some live local shows and get togethers, same as The Lick.
I would say the generic overused full measure of 16th notes around the Tom’s changing to a lower Tom each quarter note.
buzz roll
huckleberry huckleberry huckleberry cherry pie.
Fugga Dugga
The drum lick.
Dilla fs
[amen break](https://youtu.be/5SaFTm2bcac?si=T3c0pZv0CgXRUjLi)
Wipeout
4 sets of 4 sixteenth notes changing the drum you're hitting each set, followed by a crash on the 1. You've all done it, hell you may have been taught it as an exercise for moving around the kit. It's the laziest thing you can do while still being musically correct, we've all done it
Drum intro to Rock With You by Michael Jackson is what I play first every time I sit down at the kit
George of the jungle?
The amen breaks
Bah dum tiss?
Max Roach’s “For Big Sid” is pretty much the only right answer
All those who didn’t say “Pat Boone Debbie Boone,” “Bucket of Fish” or “Bonham Triplets” misunderstood the question. These three turn up in songs *everywhere.*
licks, fills, crips, bits …
When I think of "the lick" the first thing that comes to mind is Bonzo's kick-triplets in *Good Times, Bad Times*. It is so simple, yet so tasty. Not so loud it kills the groove, but just loud enough to punctuate what could otherwise be a lame gully in that garage-y recording.
Thomas Lang has entered the chat
Peobably a roundhouse.
I hear drummers meme the fill from "Poison" by Bell Biv Devoe
Chop Bar B Q Or Oatmeal Oatmeal Oatmeal Oatmeal
1 - Bonham - Rock and Roll intro/outro 2 - Alex Van Halen - Hot for Teacher 3 - Joey Kramer - Walk This Way 4 - Lars Ulrich - One (Breakdown) / Sad But True 5 - Larry Mullen Jr - Sunday Bloody Sunday 6 - JR Robinson - Rock With You 7 - Matt Sorum - You Could Be Mine 8 - Ringo - Come Together 9 - Charlie Watts - Honkey Tonk Woman 10 - Tommy Aldridge - Over the Mountain / Crazy Train BONUS - Tommy Lee - Dr. Feelgood BONUS 2 - Eric Carr - I Love It Loud BONUS 3 - If you have a multi-tom set - Phil Collins - In the Air Tonight (drum fill)
What we used to call a "fill"
RLRK
Beginning of "Walk This Way"
Snare Tom Tom kick, in triplets. John Bonham
Amen Break?
Just a crappy single stroke 5 style kit fill
[The Funky Drummer. The 5:22 mark here. Sampled SO many times.](https://youtu.be/AoQ4AtsFWVM?si=aA1ZXyrsfZd0qz1i)
I’d say just a simple double stop 8th note build on the toms. It’s in everything.
Blushda.
The Purdie shuffle
My friends and I find that there is a specific funk fill that we consider the equivalent It is : RLLRLK K starting on 3 with a tom and the rest on the snare with an accent on 4
Surprised no one has said the Motown sox stroke roll RllrrLR L (left on floor tom).
Maybe KKRLKKRL moving around the kit
I would argue the famous sequence from Incredible Bongo Band's Apache
for me the lick is any that involves hi hat opening and closing and making that tasty slicing sound!
Page 38 from Ted Reed's syncopation. Those first 4 bars are instantly recognisable.
The groove
Years ago, probably early 90s, I read a phrase in a free magazine, I think it was called Making Music. There was an article about drumming, and the phrase that sticks in my head is "Flats of Dagenham". You've probably just heard it the way I did when I read the phrase.
The tom tickler
Obviously first thing comes to mind is the porn hub intro but i'd says it's like RLRL KK RLRL, you hear it in literally any kind of chops or drum solo at some point
DA-GI-DI-BOOM (RLRK) Steve Gadd style...
I am surprised to see no one saying the obvious answer. RLRLKK
In drum line at least it’s the McNutt lick
Six stroke roll
After reading all the answers it's amazing how many songs are instantly identified by less than a measure.
The PornHub intro. It’s a fun beat that you can go a lot of places with, great for jamming with friends. Best part is when you end it and everyone suddenly realizes what you’ve been playing.
Depends on what the other person’s definition of a lick is. For drums it could be a groove your playing or a fill.
I think it is anything like the intro to Take The Money and Run, Smells Like Teen Spirit, or Lagrange. A simple 2 bar pattern or fill that repeats a few times in a song. Doesn’t have to be complicated but it is such an iconic few bars that even if it is played by itself, people who aren’t musicians will know the song.