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 - Practice And Jazz Drumming
In my article "The Chorus Form and the Jazz Drummer" (December/January issue of Modern Drummer), I said that all practice material for jazz drumming should be practiced with, and without, records. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…
Concepts - Rudiments: For or Against?
Talking to drummers about the rudiments is much like talking to the average person about politics.
Drum Soloist - Terry Bozzio
Fills A through D were taken from Frank Zappa Live In New York. The song is
Concepts - The World's Greatest Drummer—And Other Hang-Ups
I've been asked many times, while presenting clinics,
Driver's Seat - Hints On Playing With Big Bands
by Charlie Persip The important difference between big bands and small bands is in the orchestration/arrangements. A conventional big band has trumpet, trombone, sax and rhythm sections. These sections will, at times, play the same melodic and rhythmic figures collectively…
Jazz Drummers Workshop - The Music of the Drums, Pt. 2
Today's music has developed to the degree that anything conceived can be used if it's done musically. The basic drum has changed considerably since the days of the stamped pit and the slit log drums of Africa.
Rock Perspectives - Concept for Two Drum Sets
The year following my high school graduation, one of the big favorites was James Brown and the Famous Flames. At least once a year he came to the San Francisco Bay Area and played all the big auditoriums.
Concepts - Drum Solos
Most people, including most drummers, like a good drum solo. By good, I mean a solo that is rhythmical, musical, well constructed, well executed, in tempo and relates to the musical context in which it is played. TO READ THE…
Rock 'N' Jazz Clinic - The Musical Drummer
One of the questions that has come up the most times in conversations is: "What is this about form in music? How do you know where you are? How do you approach playing with other instruments on specific tunes? TO…
Teacher's Forum - Technique
Drumset technique is the means by which the drummer expresses his musical intellect and feeling. Technique and expression function together as part of the central directive system which incorporates the mind and body (or inner and outer self) in producing…
Teacher's Forum - Technique
Drumset technique is the means by which the drummer expresses his musical intellect and feeling. Technique and expression function together as part of the central directive system which incorporates the mind and body (or inner and outer self) in producing…
Do I Need an Attorney? Part 2: Navigating Contract Negotiations
In last month’s column, we discussed whether or not you should hire a lawyer for your business dealings. This time we dive a bit deeper into a few specific topics that you may have to deal with at some point…
Septuplet Fives - Polyrhythmic Permutation
Seven over five can be a challenging polyrhythm to master. We’ll start building this rhythm by playing every fifth septuplet partial in a measure of 5/4. It can take plenty of dedicated practice to master this figure, especially when we…
Beyond the Noteheads - Part 3: Varying Your Transcriptions
This month we’ll apply variations to some of the transcribed phrases from Part 2 of this series (March 2017). This process truly has no limits. I find that being opened-minded to practicing transcriptions with this method helps energize my practice…
