Teacher's Forum
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.
Understanding the Language of Music A Drummer’s Guide to Theory and Harmony Pt II
Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi wrote an excellent book called Understanding the Language of Music, a Drummer’s Guide to Theory and Harmony. This book spells out the basics of theory and harmony in a very organized and easy to understand…
Duet 4
For this month’s Teacher’s Forum, we present another snare drum duet from Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi’s book Snare Drum Duets. This piece is in ¾ and integrates a lot of flam and flam rudiments. The ¾ will nudge a…
Understanding the Language of Music A Drummer’s Guide to Theory and Harmony
Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi wrote an excellent book called Understanding the Language of Music, a Drummer’s Guide to Theory and Harmony. This book spells out the basics of theory and harmony in a very organized and easy to understand…
“Duet 9”
As an ongoing tribute to Ron Spagnardi who founded Modern Drummer Publications in 1977 and was an excellent drum teacher and author in his own right, Modern Drummer is going to include some of the articles, exercises, and pieces that…
Open Handed Drumming is to play ‘Open Hearted’
The ‘Open Handed’ Mindset You might have seen me play and noticed I do things a little differently. By now you know ‘different is good’, because there are no rules! The way I play is called OPEN HANDED DRUMMING, which…
In The Moment, the Art of Active Listening
In The Moment! This is where the magic is. One very important quality every musician requires to really be totally involved in musical expression…is the art of listening. This is a developed skill needed to be inside any song. To…
Past Masters of Rock... Absorb, Adapt & Adopt!
I have the incredible honor of interviewing some of the greatest musicians in the world on the YouTube channel, “The Sessions Panel.” The purpose is to capture the story of these great artists for future generations to learn and be…
Dom’s World of Drumming
I believe to really understand anything, you must be fully involved to experience the journey. There are many music and drumming events worldwide. These conventions, festivals, carnivals, and shows open our minds while opening the doors of opportunity! When I…
Feedback-Balanced Creative Practice
The goal of practice is to improve our technical facility, musicality, and originality, so we want to practice in a way that balances those areas.
Teacher's Forum - Joe Morello On Clinics, Symposiums and Seminars
RM: You’ve been involved with clinics for quite a few years. JM: I’ve been doing clinics since the early ’60s. For a while, I was doing a lot of them—twenty or thirty at a time. In those days, the Brubeck…
Accent Conversions
Most students would like to fly effortlessly around the drum set at high speed producing a dazzling array of solos and fills. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
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.
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…
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…
