Jazz Drummer's Workshop
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.
Bebop Syncopation - Part 1: Max Roach and Art Blakey
Ted Reed’s Progressive Steps to Syncopation for the Modern Drummer is considered a timeless book by many leading drummers and educators. One page alone can inspire a lifetime’s worth of practice material. In this series of articles we’ll explore new…
Beyond the Noteheads - Benefits and Strategies for Transcribing, Part 1
I recently thought about my first lesson with the great drummer and educator Ed Soph. I was eighteen years old at the time, and my parents drove me from our home in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to see Ed in New Haven,…
Papa Jo Jones Drum Fill - Incorporating a Classic Jazz Lick
In this lesson we’ll explore a versatile and great-sounding fill from jazz legend Papa Jo Jones. The basic pattern is notated in Exercise 1. Pay close attention to the sticking—it’s essential to start and end the fill with your lead…
Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Jazz Comping With Quarter-Note Triplets
In this lesson we’ll liven up our jazz comping with offbeat quarter-note triplets. We’ll incorporate this grouping into a swing feel, apply it to four- and eight-bar phrases, and move it around the drumset. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
Beyond the Noteheads - Benefits and Strategies for Transcribing, Part 2
I lead a lab at Temple University, and at our first meeting of each semester I ask my students what music they have an interest in learning more about. Some want to gain a deeper understanding of a particular style…
