Education

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.

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Snare Drum Independence

Editor’s Note: It’s no secret that Charlie Watts loved jazz, so if you want to put a dollop of “Charlie Vibe” into your playing, consider jumping into some jazz exercises. This book excerpt by Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi is…

By Ron Spagnardi, excerpted from Progressive Independence: Jazz
Oct 29, 2021

Authentic Latin Rhythms

Listening implants music in a person at a very early age. Listening is accepting all different genres of music—from ethnic to jazz, rock, classical, Latin, African, and everything else. This is when we really begin to understand the different essences…

By Alex Acuña
Sep 30, 2021

Rock Pattern Exercises

Excepted from Rudiments to Rock Carmine Appice designed Rudiments to Rock specifically to provide beginning drum students with fresh ideas and procedures. Through the book’s exercises and explanations, Appice takes novice percussionists from basic fundamentals to the more difficult, modern…

By Carmine Appice
Sep 30, 2021

16th-Note-Triplet Hand and Foot Patterns

Excepted from Building Bass Drum Technique The patterns on the following four pages are built around hand and foot coordination with 16th-note triplets. The exercises become increasingly difficult as you work your way through. A slower tempo at the onset…

By Ron Spagnardi
Sep 30, 2021

The Drummer as Entertainer

It doesn’t seem fair. The band is having a hot night. The singer is wailing, guitars are screaming, keyboards are thumping, and you and the bass player are locked in tight. Everything is falling into the pocket. But you look…

By Bruce Matheson, June 1996
Sep 30, 2021
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The Etiquette of Sitting In

The Considerate Guest Let’s assume you are going to sit in with a group—either at your request or their invitation. There are definitely some things you should do before you actually come up on stage to play. The first and…

By Rick Van Horn, October 1984
Aug 31, 2021

Funky Shuffles

Music has changed a lot, but it’s important to see where the shuffle evolved from, because it really has a lot to do with all of the other rhythms that you play. For example, when I was playing “Kissing my…

By James Gadson
Aug 31, 2021

Dynamics Mechanics

Excerpted from Rhythm & Chops Builders I believe that a drummer should be able to pick up sticks and make music on any sound source. The two biggest keys to doing this are having extensive rhythmic and rudimental vocabulary and…

By Bill Bachman
Aug 31, 2021

16th-Note Accents

Excepted from Accent Control Accents add color and dynamic variation to our drumming, and they’re an extremely essential aspect of every drummer’s technique. The 16th-note accent patterns that follow should be practiced using the four stickings shown: (a) alternate sticking…

By Ron Spagnardi
Aug 31, 2021

Introduction to Jazz

Here are a couple of exercises from my Drum Channel course, Introduction to Jazz. There are many different ways to play jazz, just as there are for playing rock, Dixieland, songo, samba, or reggae. One of the things I built…

By Gregg Bissonette
Jul 20, 2021

Rock/Funk Patterns with Single Paradiddles

Excerpted from Paradiddle Power The following exercises are a study in the use of single paradiddles as rock or funk patterns. Note that the right hand is played on closed hi-hat, while the left hand moves from the hi-hat to…

By Ron Spagnardi
Jul 20, 2021

Flams

The traditional flam is a principal note played from a high position preceded by a grace note played from a low position. The sound of a flam is a thick one ranging from “fa-lam” at the slow beginning stage to…

By Joe Morello
Jul 20, 2021
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The Fine Art Of “Faking”

We all, at some time in our careers, have had to perform in front of an audience without the benefit of a rehearsal or a written part. This can happen for a variety of reasons. You might be asked to…

By Simon Goodwin, March 1983
Jul 20, 2021

Syncopated Fills

This month, we’ll explore another type of drum fill—one that incorporates syncopation. Syncopation is displacing the regular metric accent and emphasizing the weak beat. In this context, that means resting on the downbeat. With one or more of the strong…

By Dawn Richardson
Jun 18, 2021
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