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.
Beyond "Funky Drummer"
Great Drum Breaks of the ’60s and Early ’70s Much has been written about Clyde Stubblefield’s legendary drum break on James Brown’s 1969 song “Funky Drummer.” Those few bars laid the groundwork for dozens of hip-hop tracks, and Stubblefield’s playing…
Give The Audience Some
Grounding Odd-Time Grooves With a Quarter-Note Pulse Playing songs in odd times can be challenging to you as a drummer, but one thing that doesn’t get much attention is how tough odd times can be on the audience. It’s called…
Stick Control Revisited Part 4
Part 4: Up-Tempo Studies Welcome to the fourth and final installment in our series on Stick Control drumset applications. This month we’ll explore ways of interpreting author George Lawrence Stone’s exercises while playing up-tempo swing rhythms. As you practice the…
Rhythm And Timing, Part 1
Part 1: Three-Note 16th Groupings In this five-part series we’re going to develop not only timing and rhythmic accuracy with triplets and 16th notes, but also accent/tap control using the four basic strokes (full, down, tap, and up). To some,…
Bebop Syncopation, Part 3: Elvin Jones
Elvin Jones was a driving force behind John Coltrane’s explorations in the 1960s and is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in jazz drumming. This lesson applies the principles of his style to rhythms found in the…
John Clardy On Tera Melos’s Trash Generator
Diving Deep Into the Experimental Trio’s Latest Release
Three Birds With One Stone - Optimize Your Practice Time
Time is tight for many of us. If we had unlimited time to shed, we’d probably spend hours behind the kit. But the reality is that life’s twists and turns can keep us busy. Therefore, I try to practice things…
Shifting Gears
3 Paradiddle Exercises for Strengthening Subdivisions Practice the following subdivision pyramid exercises using a metronome to be sure your timing is accurate and consistent. You may need to work on each line individually before trying the entire thing. Tap your…
Flamacue Variations
26 Ways to Apply the Standard Rudiment to the Drumset In this article we’ll take the flamacue rudiment and apply it to the drumset. Let’s start by playing the flamacue on the snare. Now play it in 3/4. Notice that…
Approaching Standards
A Framework for Musical Practice, Part 3: Language and Vernacular Welcome to the final installment of our series on applying the rhythmic phrasing of jazz standards to the drumset. This time we’re exploring ways to extract themes from the…
Scott Devours
Playing with legendary Who vocalist Roger Daltrey is badass enough. But what happens when an opportunity to play with the Who itself drops in your lap? TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
