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.
Teacher's Forum - Drumset Applications of The Reed Syncopation
This article is a compilation of exercises by Mr. Breithaupt and two of his advanced students, Karl Ott and Peter Retzlaff.
Concepts - Developing Good Time
Many drummers are capable of playing good time even though they may not know exactly how they developed this ability.
Strictly Technique - Bass Drum Control
When I wrote Bass Drum Control in 1964, it was at the request of drummers who wanted exercises to practice for hands and bass drum.
Show And Studio - Charles Collins: Up Close
Things really started happening for Charles Collins when Nick Ashford and Valerie Simpson pulled him out of Dionne Warwick's road band in 1971.
Jazz Drummer's Workshop - The Music of the Drums - Part 3
This article will cover two related ideas: How to make the study of drum method books musically more useful, and some technical exercises that can he used to aid this development.
Rock Perspectives - Modular Rock
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Hone Your Human GPS - Setting Goals, Defining Problems, and Devising Solutions
I’ve researched how people define GPS as it relates to the human condition, and I think best-selling author Jim Samuels’ philosophy is the simplest and most effective take. Samuels’ formula involves goals, problems, and solutions. We set goals and then…
Septuplet Permutations - Diving Deep Into an Odd Subdivision
I find that the best way to become proficient with a new subdivision is to isolate each partial within the grouping and then combine the partial with all of the other available notes in the subdivision. Using triplets as an…
Playing Melodically - Part 1: “Billie’s Bounce”
In this new series I hope to present my thoughts and pass along some experience and insights on playing jazz. These lessons will largely deal with the symbiotic relationship between playing what the mind hears versus what the hands and…
1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 4: Orchestrated Flams on the Drumset
Last month we learned how to interpret a single page of rhythms using flams. In this lesson we’ll apply this concept to the drumset. We’ll practice a few common ways to orchestrate flams on the kit before diving into some…
Groove Construction - Part 13: Left-Handed Split Grooves
In this workshop we’re expanding a groove concept that I introduced in the January 2017 issue, in which we split the right hand between two voices in various places throughout a phrase. This time we’ll focus on grooves that split…
Hi-Hat Splashes - Spicing Up Your Backbeats
The hi-hat foot splash is an under-used voice, especially among younger players. Performing the splash requires getting the ball of the foot and much of the leg involved in the motion. Legendary players like Steve Gadd and Steve Smith are…
Rock Perspectives - A Practical Application of Swiss Army Triplets
The Swiss Army triplet was shown to me several years ago by Keith Knudsen of The Doobie Brothers.
