In popular music, a 'fill' is a sound (or combination of sounds) which "fills" the brief time between lyrical phrases and lines of melody. From a musical arranger's perspective, a fill serves the dual purpose or sustaining the listener's attention during what would otherwise be a brief "dead time," and intensifying or beautifying the principal melody. A fill may be played by any instrument, from percussion to flute, and may, as in certain types of blues, even be sung. Each type of popular music (such as country, swing, etc.) has its own acceptable types of fill, which would generally sound badly misplaced in music of a different genre (such as hip-hop). Look up melody in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ... Hip hop is a cultural movement that began among urban African Americans and Latinos in New York City in the early 1970s, and has since spread around the world. ...

The ability to improvise new and interesting fills often distinguishes an instrumentalist with arranging talent from one lacking in such talent. Certain musicians and groups pride themselves at improvising new fills each time a song is played. For example, the blues guitarist Eric Clapton rarely plays the same fill twice, notwithstanding the overwhelming musicality of his recorded guitar fills. The now-deceased Duane Allman of the Allman Brothers was likewise known for his creation of new fills during every live performance. Eric Patrick Clapton. ... Duane Allman Howard Duane Allman (November 20, 1946 – October 29, 1971) was an American guitarist. ... The Allman Brothers Band is a pioneering and innovative Southern rock group from Macon, Georgia originally popular in the 1970s, described by Rolling Stones George Kimball in 1971 as the best . ...

Other groups, consisting mainly of songwriters, notably, The Eagles, masterfully write and record fills that they then consider to be integral to the song. Such groups therefore play fills identically (or nearly so) each time a song is played. A live Eagles performance of songs such as "Hotel California," "Victim of Love," "Life in the Fast Lane, and "Peaceful Easy Feeling," will contain virtually the same fills as the original recording. The Eagles are an American rock music group that originally came together in Los Angeles, California in the early 1970s. ... Hotel California was an album released by The Eagles in 1976 (see 1976 in music). ... Victim of Love is an album and a song on such album by Elton John, released in 1979. ...

A fill should be distinguished from a "lead," which is a passage of at least several measures in which a musical instrument becomes a musical and auditory substitute for the singer or, in the case of purely instrumental music, for the principal melody instrument. Like fills, leads can either be played the same way every time, such as Carlos Santana's guitar lead in "Smooth," or improvised each time, such as Eric Clapton's lead in "Crossroads" (recorded with "Cream.") Carlos Santana in concert, Barcelona 2003 Carlos Augusto Alves Santana (born 20 July 1947 in Autlán de Navarro, Jalisco, Mexico) is a Mexican, Grammy Award-winning musician and Latin-rock guitarist. ... Smooth is a song by Carlos Santana and Rob Thomas. ... Crossroads, from Creams 1968 album Wheels of Fire, is a famous and influential blues-rock song. ... Cream (also The Cream) was a seminal 1960s British rock band which featured guitarist Eric Clapton, bassist Jack Bruce, and drummer Ginger Baker. ...