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1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 5: Challenging Rudimental Approaches
The longer I play the drums, the more I appreciate and value the time I can spend on only a snare or pad. Let’s dive into a few concepts to improve our overall technique. Here’s the rhythm we’ll be interpreting…
1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 4: Orchestrated Flams on the Drumset
Last month we learned how to interpret a single page of rhythms using flams. In this lesson we’ll apply this concept to the drumset. We’ll practice a few common ways to orchestrate flams on the kit before diving into some…
George Marsh's Inner Drumming
You’re not going to work on any of the standard drum rudiments in this book. The notation is unfamiliar, and awareness of the energy flow within your body is a key component of the method. But Inner Drumming is a…
DISCIPLINE - Small Changes for Massive Progress
MD Pro Panelist Benny Greb suggests that some minor adjustments in habit—and maybe a tweak in your attitude toward practice— can result in unexpectedly large dividends for your playing. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Bass Drum Development - 4 Focused Exercises for Building Raw Speed
One of the most common questions I get asked in clinics is, “How did you develop your foot speed?” And that is often followed by, “What pedal do you use?” I can promise you this: Bass drum speed has almost…
Closed Roll Studies - Exercises for Developing Control of Multiple Rebounds
The closed roll, aka buzz roll, is a mystery to many drummers, and for good reason. This type of roll attempts to imitate the long tone that other instruments, like trumpet or violin, create by sustaining a single pitch. TO…
Raw Speed Bass Drum Workout with Mike Johnston
This bass drum workout is all about developing your raw speed. Raw speed is very different from pattern speed. Pattern speed requires your brain to keep track of a specific sequence of rights, lefts, and kicks, and you have to…
Quintuplets, Part 1: The Basics
Some may think of quintuplets—groups of five notes in the space of a quarter note—as an unusual rhythm reserved for the technical folks playing math music. But quintuplets aren’t that different from triplets (which weren’t always commonplace), and it’s possible…
Ghost Notes 101 with Jim Riley
One thing that separates the novice drummer from the professional is the ability to play grooves that have dimension. Ghost notes are a great way to achieve this, but first you need to understand, on an elemental level, how to…
Stickings That Rock - Part2: Exploring an Additional Hand Pattern
In this lesson we’ll focus on another sticking that I acquired while working through George Lawrence Stone’s classic book Stick Control. The rhythm in the right hand is rooted in the first part of a 3:2 clave rhythm. (Think of…
1,000 Ways to Practice a Single Page - Part 2: More Rhythmic Interpretations
In Part 1 of this series, we began exploring different approaches to utilize and practice a single page of rhythm. We started on the snare with 16th-note subdivisions while accenting the rhythms on the page. In this lesson we’ll take…
Threes and Fives - Fills With Odd Groupings
I’ve always found it fun and interesting to explore the possibilities available when using common subdivisions such as 8ths, 16ths, or 8th-note triplets. For example, we can play a double-stroke roll or paradiddle sticking within 8th-note triplets to create a…
Groove Construction, Part 10: Exploring a Killer Cowbell Pattern
In this lesson we’ll examine a pattern that I get asked about often. I recorded this groove on the song “Rave Against the Machine” with Jan Delay and Disko No. 1 in Germany some time ago... TO READ THE FULL…
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,…
