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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.

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Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Rhythmic Conversions

For this lesson we’ll be focusing on the converted triplet material from Part 1 of this series, which ran in the May, 2016 issue of MD. Specifically, we’ll be using the half-note-triplet accent within each rhythmic conversion as a device…

Modern Drummer
Mar 8, 2017

Bebop Pioneer Stan Levey

The great bebop trumpeter Dizzy Gillespie affectionately referred to Stan Levey as the “original original.” The two met in Philadelphia in the early 1940s, a time when many jazz musicians called this city home, including Gillespie, John Coltrane, Philly Joe…

Steve Fidyk
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Practice Musically

Many serious drummers have at some point in their study, spent a great deal of time on technical exercises of a mechanical nature (rudiments, stick control exercises, reading texts, etc.), all done with only the best intentions and sincere dedication.…

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop - What Does An Arranger, Composer Look For In A Drummer?

Jay Corre is an internationally known composer, arranger, and performer. He has performed with Buddy Rich, Sammy Davis, Jr. and Frank Sinatra to name a few. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Polyrhythms

What is usually meant when one hears a description of the term polyrhythm is a misinterpretation of the term polymeter. Polymeters are two or more meters usually related mathematically, and played simultaneously. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS…

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017
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The Collapsing Concept - Crushing Roll Rudiments to Create Contemporary Swing and Solo Ideas

The late, great author and educator Jim Chapin gave me this exercise in a lesson a number of years ago. It deals with the seven-stroke roll and Jim’s concept of collapsing the rudiment to create a six-note grouping. In our…

Steve Fidyk
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop: A New Look At The Traditional Rolls

The standard rudimental open rolls, based upon the double-stroke roll, are standard knowledge to most drummers. If we begin the traditional double-stroke roll on its second note, we obtain an open roll with a distinctly different flavor. TO READ THE…

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop Metric Modulation

Among the many lessons to be learned from the playing of Max Roach is the concept of musicality in drumming. This is shown no more clearly than in his solo work, particularly in the fact that Max has almost always…

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop: Understanding Time

by Alan S. Kinsey A drummer’s time is probably the single most important factor in deciding whether a group is pushed apart or pulled together. It is necessary to understand that time is a musical feeling. This feeling can be…

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop: Basic Brush Technique

Brushes, like sticks, are instruments of motion in time. It is motion in time which produces sounds and rhythms in time. Smooth, relaxed motions produce smooth, flowing rhythms. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017

Creative Comping - Crossing the Barline Using Seven-Note Groupings

The material in this article is designed to increase your independence and give you some fresh ideas for how to play behind a soloist. It’s important to always use discretion, of course. Make sure to play these advanced figures musically,…

Christian Finger
Feb 23, 2017

Elvin Jones-Style Triplet Fills, Part 1

In this lesson I’m going to show you how to create high-energy Elvin Jones–style triplet fills based on common jazz rhythmic phrases, like those included in Ted Reed’s classic book Syncopation. This approach was first developed by legendary drummer and…

John Xepoleas
Feb 23, 2017
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Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Feet First

We have all heard drummers with terrific hands but with a bass drum foot that could best be described as concrete. We look at the problem. The hands are playing off of the drums using rebound and the control of…

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017

Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Solving Technical Problems

All instruments have several approaches to a foundational technique. These techniques are determined by the physical nature of the instrument, the styles of music to be played on that instrument, and the physical limitations and advantages of the musician. TO…

Modern Drummer
Feb 23, 2017
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