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.
Eric Boudreault’s Treetop Percussion
Just about every pit gig and live-performance for a multimedia theatrical production can be tough. Negotiating myriad cues, charts, conductors, actors, and other elements can stress out even the most skilled professional. But is your gig, 23-feet-in-the-air-atop-a-tree tough? That is…
Justice James on Swingin’ Surf
It seemed like a pretty normal surf show until it wasn’t. The Young Barons were onstage performing their edgy, modern-primitive style of surf music. Suddenly, the drums exploded like Buddy Rich torturing the squares at a 1940s swing dance with…
Burn, Baby, Burn!
Hello, everyone. I hope your summer has been going as well as it can be. Welcome to another special issue of Modern Drummer. Come on, you have to admit the last few issues have been pretty amazing. (Thank you, MD…
Harvey Mason
Modern Drummer, July 1981 “Artists generally give me creative freedom. Sometimes, I feel that people are intimidated, and they don’t want to tell me what to play—which is too bad. I want everything. I want it both ways. I want…
The Fine Art Of “Faking”
We all, at some time in our careers, have had to perform in front of an audience without the benefit of a rehearsal or a written part. This can happen for a variety of reasons. You might be asked to…
Flams
The traditional flam is a principal note played from a high position preceded by a grace note played from a low position. The sound of a flam is a thick one ranging from “fa-lam” at the slow beginning stage to…
Rock/Funk Patterns with Single Paradiddles
Excerpted from Paradiddle Power The following exercises are a study in the use of single paradiddles as rock or funk patterns. Note that the right hand is played on closed hi-hat, while the left hand moves from the hi-hat to…
Introduction to Jazz
Here are a couple of exercises from my Drum Channel course, Introduction to Jazz. There are many different ways to play jazz, just as there are for playing rock, Dixieland, songo, samba, or reggae. One of the things I built…
Linn 9000, March 1985
Was it annoyingly cheeky, a boon for open-minded early adopters, or just plain wrong to place an ad for a Linn drum machine—the digital device that was “taking” gigs away from drummers in the ‘80s—in a magazine for drummers? Ultimately,…
I’ve learned probably the most from bass players -Tony Williams
I’ve learned probably the most from bass players. Drummers have to work closely with bassists, and I’ve been trying to understand bass players. It’s not just playing your instrument, getting off on how good you are alone. It’s also seeing…
Gretsch | Keith Carlock and Gergo Borlai Signature Snare Drums
The Gretsch “New for 2021” series currently includes two amazing signature snares from two incredible drummers. The extremely versatile Keith Carlock has played with Toto, Steely Dan, Sting, John Mayer, James Taylor, and others, and after winning the 2008 Modern…
Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault
Remembrances of Neil Peart At some point, every drummer has probably engaged in a debate over “Who is the best drummer of all time?” I ran a drum store for almost 20 years, and I heard it countless times. In…
Roland | V-Drums Roundup
Roland knows a thing or two about electronic drums. In the late-’90s, the company’s TD-10 V-Drums were powered by its COSM modeling technology, and, in 2012, their TD-30KV V-Drums featured SuperNATURAL sounds, Behavior Modeling, and upgraded sensing technology. So, it’s…
