February 2026 – Volume 50 • Number 2
On 01st Feb 2026
Articles in February 2026
Why Do You Play Drums?
A student recently asked me why I play drums. In my 45 years of playing drums and 25 years of teaching, I have been asked a lot of difficult questions. However, this answer seemed simple. Whenever I heard drumming as…
A Longing After 22 Years of Musical Hibernation
Ian Roberts began drumming at the age of 11 and played passionately for 20 years, until the birth of his son in 2000. At that point, family and work became his top priorities, and he completely stepped away from music…
“Don’t Touch That Dial!”
The expression “don’t touch that dial” was uttered frequently during the heyday of radio in the 1930s when broadcasters wanted to ensure that their listeners would not stray and tune-in to another station (“… and now, a word from our…
NEW PRODUCTS AND ENDORSERS FROM TOCA PERCUSSION, GROVER PRO PERCUSSION, AND THE AKAI MPC XL
NEW FROM TOCA PERCUSSION Toca percussion is proud to announce 15 new products including the Hannah Welton Auxiliary Snare Drum, the Boom-A-Drums, and our new innovation, the Talking Djembe. Toca is also proud to announce Eddie Montalvo as an endorser.…
JK Drum Systems: JK Hooves, Stabilize Your Drum Set!
Direct from the Netherlands comes “The Drum Positioning System of The World!” If you like to set up your kit the same way every time, you need to mark your gig rug with something. JK Drum Systems has an affordable,…
Slingerland Radio King Outfit 13/16/24 with 6.5 x 14 Snare Drum
Last year, after much anticipation, the Slingerland brand officially returned to the scene. Launched not as a reimagined modern version, but as a deliberate effort to reconnect with the brand’s original construction methods, materials, and tonal concepts that have helped define American drumming for decades. For this month’s Product Close-Up, we’re taking a…
Yamaha EAD50
When Yamaha introduced the EAD10 drum recording system, it quietly rewired a lot of drummers’ expectations around recording. Clamp on a sensor, plug in a module, put on headphones, and suddenly you were producing a polished kit sound without fighting with mic placement, cable management, phase issues, and lost inspiration. It was a…
HHHusher
If you’ve ever recorded drums - or watched an engineer wrestle with a drum mix - you know one of the most hard-fought battles is microphone bleed. One particularly common occurrence is the hi-hat cymbals bleeding into the snare mic. Engineers try to squash it with mic placement, drummers adjust their technique, and in the end, everyone accepts a little bleed as “just part…
Josh Freese Gives Us, Just A Minute.
A few years ago, Josh Freese was thrown in the spotlight by joining the Foo Fighters. Then he got even more attention when he was let go by the Foo Fighters. But Josh Freese is so much more than that!…
Tambour Major Khadim Niang: Sabar and Homage to Doudou N’Diaye Rose
As drummers we are always hearing about our connection to Africa, and how the roots of what we do as drummers ultimately leads back to Africa. The African connection to drumming has been emphasized by popular drummers from Art Blakey…
Raphaël Pannier: Breaking Down Borders
Last year, Raphaël Pannier released his recording Live in Saint Louis, Senegal. When I first listened to it, I liked it because it was something new, the combination of a jazz quartet and an African Sabar drumming group was something…
Michael “Cavs” Cavanagh of King Gizzard & The Lizard Wizard
Every band needs a heartbeat. King Gizzard has “Cavs” pushing harder, louder, and bigger until the impossible feels normal. Recently there has been an orchestra at his back, a sold-out crowd in front of him, and nothing slowing him down.…
Rumpus
Rumpus grew up on punk rock and carried that raw, restless energy straight into the DJ booth. With a drum kit wired into his sets, he’s turning dance floors upside down, proving that live drumming can hit just as hard…
“Can’t Stop,” Red Hot Chili Peppers, By The Way, Chad Smith drums
“Can’t Stop” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, from their 2002 album By the Way, provides a compelling example of groove-based drumming rooted in stylistic funk. Performed by Chad Smith, the drum part integrates elements of funk, rock, and hip-hop, forming…
A Constructivist Blueprint for Drum Education
Rudiments sit at the foundation of drumming, yet their relevance is often questioned, ignored, or understated. Still, the world’s greatest drummers consistently return to rudimentary vocabulary as the source of their phrasing, coordination, creativity, and expressive identity. From Buddy Rich…
The Blackbook of You
A lifetime can go by before we realize we’ve only been regurgitating the ideas of others, never giving value to our own. The ‘blackbook of you’ is when we get into the rhythm of practicing our own core motifs over…
Progressive Drumming Essentials: Making Four Sound Like More
Progressive Drumming Essentials is a collection of articles originally written for Modern Drummer magazine. They are exactly what the title says, PROGRESSIVE drumming essentials. This series of articles, and the book that contains them all, represent a great deal of…
Master Studies II: Developing the Single Stroke Roll
As a follow-up to Joe Morello’s legendary Master Studies book, he released Master Studies II in 2006. Joe was a masterful teacher and helped many great drummers with their musicality, technique, and touch. Joe was also masterful at creating exercises,…
The New Breed: Advanced Systems
Gary Chester’s groundbreaking book The New Breed is legendary. The book, and Gary’s teaching methods are deeply intertwined, it is a lifelong commitment of dedication, study, and development. Gary Chester’s Systems, Reading Exercises, Advanced Systems, Advanced Reading Exercises, Composite Systems,…
Out Now February 2026
Modern Drummer enjoys spotlighting new recordings that have the drums at the center of their sound. These recordings might be drummer-led, or just include a high-quality, special, or unique drumming and musical performance from the drummer and/or musicians in the…
Zak Starkey’s Drums
Zak Starkey has long been regarded as the only drummer capable of adequately carrying the torch for The Who’s original drummer, Keith Moon. His 30-year gig with The Who, might have been considered a career highlight, but a lot has…
Thommy Price: A Rebel with A Cause
The fact that Brooklyn born, Staten Island raised rock ‘n’ roll drummer Thommy Price played on records by Joan Jett, Billy Idol, Scandal, Roger Daltrey (The Who,) Rick Ocasek (The Cars,) Debby Harry (Blondie,) Scandal, Blue Oyster Cült, Ron Wood…
Morgan Rose’s Sevendust Touring Drums
Drums: Pearl Music City Custom Reference Pure Series in Red Sparkle: 18 X 22 Kick, 18 x 20 Kick, 9 x 10 Rack, 9 x 12 Rack, 16 x 16 Floor w/ legs, 16 x 18 Floor w/ legs. Snares: Brass 6.5 x 14 Snare, 6.5 x 13 Aux Snare. Cymbals: Sabian-…
