Basics
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.
Practi-Patterns - A Dozen of the Most Common Kick/Snare Figures
One of the best things you can do in your drumming study is work on practical techniques, stickings, grooves, and fills that can be applied in real-life situations on the bandstand and in the studio. After playing a wide variety…
Stickings That Rock - Part2: Exploring an Additional Hand Pattern
In this lesson we’ll focus on another sticking that I acquired while working through George Lawrence Stone’s classic book Stick Control. The rhythm in the right hand is rooted in the first part of a 3:2 clave rhythm. (Think of…
Threes and Fives - Fills With Odd Groupings
I’ve always found it fun and interesting to explore the possibilities available when using common subdivisions such as 8ths, 16ths, or 8th-note triplets. For example, we can play a double-stroke roll or paradiddle sticking within 8th-note triplets to create a…
The Swampy Double Groove - Grease Up Your Phrases
With double grooves, the left hand plays every 8th note using unaccented strokes in between accented backbeats. I refer to these unaccented notes as “taps.” Combining this snare pattern with a standard 8th-note hi-hat figure results in a locomotive groove…
Stickings That Rock, Part 1: From A Hand Pattern to a Groove
This month we’ll look at a sticking that can be found in the first few pages of George Lawrence Stones’ book Stick Control and apply it to patterns on the drumset. The sticking, RLRR LRRL, is a staple of my…
