Education
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A John Bonham Foot Pattern
Rock Perspectives A John Bonham Foot Pattern Creative Ideas Based on the “Four Sticks” Ostinato by Powell Randolph Led Zeppelin’s John Bonham is considered by many to be rock’s greatest drummer of all time. He’s definitely one of my favorites,…
Traditional Percussion on Drumset
Around The World Traditional Percussion on Drumset Part 3: Timbales by Arturo Stable In a previous article (February 2013) I shared some of the history of the timbales and a few of the main rhythms of the instrument, and I…
Dynamics Mechanics - Loud, Soft, and Everything in Between
Strictly Technique Dynamics Mechanics Loud, Soft, and Everything in Between by Bill Bachman 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…
The Drumset Drag - Orchestration Options for Powerful and Melodic Textures
Rock ‘N’ Jazz Clinic The Drumset Drag Orchestration Options for Powerful and Melodic Textures by Powell Randolph In this lesson we’re focusing on orchestrating the drag rudiment, which is traditionally played on the snare, by moving the two grace notes…
Elvin Jones–Style Triplet Fills
Jazz Drummer’s Workshop Elvin Jones–Style Triplet Fills Part 2: Orchestrating Accent Patterns by John Xepoleas Welcome to our second lesson covering triplet fills based on the playing of jazz great Elvin Jones, who made a huge impact on drumming as…
Strictly Technique: Triplet Gear-Shifter
This month we’re going to apply two alternate stickings to the triplet gear-shifter exercise. To review, 12th notes are 8th-note triplets (twelve notes to a bar of 4/4). In the exercise, a bar of 12th notes is followed by a…
In The Pocket: Funk Drumming Training Camp
In part one of this series (May 2013 MD), we talked about the importance of developing a tight, solid, feel-good groove. Things you can work on to tighten up your playing include gaining an intimate knowledge of the feel of…
Rock 'N' Jazz Clinic: Double Bass Fills
The purpose of this lesson is to show you how to overlap bass drum notes at the end of a phrase into a crash at the beginning of the next phrase, in order to maintain a continuous flow of ideas…
Jazz Drummer's Workshop: Focus On Brushes
Practicing brushes is excellent for building strength in your wrists and fingers. It can help develop muscles and reflexes and also improves your control with sticks. With the exception of the closed roll, any pattern that you play with sticks…
In The Studio: Seeing Sounds
All of us appreciate a signature and stylistically appropriate drum sound. This can range from the perfect overall kit tone on your favorite CD to a uniquely recorded snare tuning. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Strictly Technique - The Missing Stickings
The inspiration for this article came from years of studying out of George Lawrence Stone’s Stick Control for the Snare Drummer. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
In The Pocket - Funk Drumming Training Camp
In the previous two lessons (May and June 2013), we discussed the importance of groove and feel, and we covered ways to develop those concepts. This includes practicing things that are more complex than what you’ll play on the gig,…
Rock 'n' Jazz Clinic - Double Bass Fills Part 2
The purpose of this lesson, which is a continuation of what we explored in part one (June 2013), is to show you how to overlap bass drum notes at the end of a phrase into a crash at the beginning…
Jazz Drummer's Workshop - The Stick Shot
This month we’re spotlighting the stick shot, a technique that’s fairly specific to the jazz lexicon. To obtain this alternate sound, press one drumstick tip against the head at approximately 30 degrees, while striking that stick at the shoulder with…
