An Editor's Overview
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Words Count
As drummers we’ve long battled identity issues that never seem to go away, no matter how far we advance our art. For years the famed drummer Bill Bruford has pointed out a certain “pitched-instrument bias” on the part of the…
Appreciation and Gratitude
Happy New Year! It’s that time again, when we reflect back on the past year and appreciate all the wonderful opportunities we’ve been blessed with. Time has always fascinated me. Maybe being a drummer has something to do with that.…
Around and Around We Go
It’s hard to believe that we’ve already turned the corner toward another year, and Modern Drummer is celebrating forty-two years of publishing in 2018. While that pales in comparison to the 4.54 billion times this rock we live on has…
Live Vibes
Having somewhat recently moved to northern New Jersey, I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to check out some of the jazz clubs that have long defined New York City culture. Although some of the more prominent venues have moved from their…
Learn to Love Easy
There’s a folksy old saying that goes something like, “People sure do make things more difficult than they need to.” We’ve all made that observation at one time or another about others—and, let’s be honest, at times we even make…
Make Every Second Count
How’s everyone doing? Hopefully life isn’t being too hard on you. Spending time on social media, as so many of us do these days, we become more and more aware of what’s happening in people’s lives—and we communicate the general…
Jazz in the 21st Century
Many scholars argue that jazz, which was first documented on record one hundred years ago by the Original Dixieland Jazz Band, is America’s greatest musical gift to the world. I couldn’t agree more. I mean, what other art form encapsulates…
Your Voice
Each month, as we prepare content for the current issue of Modern Drummer, we post a drumming-related question at our online outlets, sort through responses from MD readers and social media followers, and print some of the answers in our…
Get Your Head Out of the Page
Boy, it was strange typing that title. After all, when you’re in the information biz like Modern Drummer is, you’re generally trying to get people to do the opposite. But we’re also in the music biz, and the aim there,…
1967, the Summer of Love
I was ten years old in 1967. Rolling Stone magazine debuted that year, and I’d just gotten my first “real” drumkit. I started playing when I was seven—like most drummers in my age bracket, after seeing Ringo and the Beatles…
MD Archive Online
Hello, longtime subscribers, casual readers, and newcomers to the MD family! We are super-excited to announce that—for the first time in our forty-plus-year history—every single issue of Modern Drummer is now available for viewing via our new iOS and Android…
An Editor's Overview - Honest, Abe
For anyone who’s never caught McCartney live, hearing him sing and play “Blackbird” all by himself is alone enough to make the experience unforgettable. But Paul also has a wonderful band—and you know what its not-at-all-secret weapon is: Abe Laboriel…
An Editor's Overview - Influencers
"If I am an influence, I hope I’m a good one,” said this month’s cover artist, Steve Gadd, in his very first Modern Drummer cover story, in 1978. “I don’t play to be an influence. I feel a responsibility to…
An Editor's Overview - Follow Your Heart
There are multiple reasons we go down particular paths of drumming education. Our first teacher introduces us to Stick Control, and we start getting our hands together. We hear “Achilles Last Stand,” and John Bonham’s right foot becomes the new…
