Moving around the kit and improvising

As an inexperienced drum I'm finding it difficult to move around the kit to do interesting fills. I'm also not great at improvising music, and my background is very much as music reader. I know this goes against the grain of rock band drumming, where things are usually improvised. I couldn't do any kind of interesting solo at the moment.
To start with though, I'd just like to be able to get off the bass/snare/hi-hat and mix things up a bit. I listen to the tracks we are playing in my band, and basically try to emulate what the drummer is doing, even writing down the rythms they use.

Can you share any good tips for a beginner to improve on these things (mobility and improv). Maybe some practice routines to get more comfortable in moving around the kit?

I used to be REALY bad at this. Just the last few weeks have i been getting it down. What i did was take a different fill every other day and practice it till i could play it in my sleep, then switch it round, so the first one i learnt was.
Snare Snare Tom Tom Snare Snare Snare Snare
easy enough? Then i practiced it till i could play it smoothly at 180 bpm, then practiced it sloowly again, like 50bpm, learning to play it at both extreme ends of the spectrum reeaaly help learning the fill. I intend on learning it up to 220bpm but im not quite fast enough yet hahaa
Then switch it, so it turns into
Tom Tom Snare Snare Tom Tom Tom Tom
This reaaly helps movement around the kit as going straight to the tom for a fill is not usualy used, most begin on the snare anyway, this i found has helped me to use the toms in more creative ways rather than just the basic fills.
THEN practice it left hand lead. That is reealy hard, its taken me a few weeks to get it, but ive nearly learnt it up to around 150bpm left hand lead, long way to go, but its worth working on as it makes everything you do around the kit much easier if your left hand can do everything your right does.

You can use these fills between the snare and hi hat aswell, or replace the tom with the bass drum, so its either
SSHHSSS or
SSBBSSS
Then practice with different accents! ssTTssSS, SSttSSss, sSTtss or any combination you can think of
Sorry if this is a bit basic as i am merely a beginning drummer aswell tbf

It's really just about learning a lot of different 'tools' and then shedding away finding out how you can use them on the kit. And playing from a mental origin, not just bashing out a programmed pattern.

For a beginner the basic ones to get down are single stroke 16ths with kick on each quarter note, followed by the same thing with an accent pattern (try placing your accents in time with the singer, or if he isn't singing when you fill, play the rhythm of the last line he/she sang. I base a lot my creative decisions on what the lead vocal is doing.

Another tool is the old faithful hand-kick-kick-hand-kick-kick-hand-kick, as 8th notes. try using flams, snare+crash, tom+ride bell and fill in with the kicks. After this you can get into irregular sticking patterns (ie not single alternating strokes), linear patterns, Bonham triplets, six stroke rolls, there are a lot of possibilities. And empty space works wonders too. Over time your brain builds the ability to string all of this stuff (or pieces of it) together into a musical statement. I started a similar thread here, about a specific skill I'm trying to get down - http://www.drummerworld.com/forums/showthread.php?t=79947

There are three PDFs at the bottom of this page with good exercises to help with moving around the kit, check them out. http://www.berkleepress.com/catalog/product?product_id=11333

Thanks for the comments and links. Good stuff.
You mentioned a very good point Kettles about empty space. Sometimes less is more. I think when first starting, you feel the need to fill every available beat with something. I don't suppose you have to cram in the paradiddles at every opportunity.
But I've read music for so long, I will really have to work at this. I just don't find inventing things on the fly is a very natural skill for me.

Bradastronaut said:

I used to be REALY bad at this. Just the last few weeks have i been getting it down. What i did was take a different fill every other day and practice it till i could play it in my sleep, then switch it round, so the first one i learnt was.
Snare Snare Tom Tom Snare Snare Snare Snare
easy enough? Then i practiced it till i could play it smoothly at 180 bpm, then practiced it sloowly again, like 50bpm, learning to play it at both extreme ends of the spectrum reeaaly help learning the fill. I intend on learning it up to 220bpm but im not quite fast enough yet hahaa

Click to expand...

Some songs I listen to, and I can't even tell what the drummer is playing. I just know it sounds slick and fits well in the song.
When playing a cover, do people listen to and copy the original almost beat for beat, or do you play around with it a bit. Some rythms in songs just have to be there as the beat forms an integral part of the song.

I spilit things up, singles, accents, stickings, linear patterns. I practice moving around in patterns, different orchestrations.

I think the main thing is not to be to random about, pick a pattern, eg three notes per drum, and practice the same movements over and over. After a few months or so things will really start to take shape. If you just move around in random fashion you will not be getting any command over the instrument, your just be working muscles and not your mind!

cpl_hicks said:

Some songs I listen to, and I can't even tell what the drummer is playing. I just know it sounds slick and fits well in the song.
When playing a cover, do people listen to and copy the original almost beat for beat, or do you play around with it a bit. Some rythms in songs just have to be there as the beat forms an integral part of the song.

Click to expand...

Persnally for me it depends on how good the origional part is. Anything played by Dave Grholl has to note for note, ACDC stuff pretty much note for note. I have been playing in function bands for number of years now, some songs i wont even play to, just get the feel, genral beat and arangment I lock in with the bass and add fills at the gig

Like a alot drummers I have vocab for certain styles, i will bust out a lot of the same stuff on different songs, this enables me to learn songs very quickly anywhere without a drum kit. This is come about from expereince touring and playing a lot of gigs.