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.
King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard's Eric Moore and Michael Cavanagh
Last month we interviewed drummer Marian Li-Pino of the SoCal indie-surf rock band La Luz, who recently toured Australia alongside that country’s progressive psych ensemble King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard. Marian, the good sport that she is, agreed to put on her journalist cap and report back on what drives this unlikely double-drummer-powered group.
What You Need to Know About Snare Drum Heads
When choosing the ideal heads for your particular needs, you should consider the following: How much sensitivity do you require? (For example, do you play a lot of quick, soft patterns and rolls, or are you mainly hammering backbeats?) How…
Head Over Heels' Dena Tauriello
The veteran drummer has entered a particularly fruitful phase of her career, playing the hot new musical Head Over Heels and ramping up her workload with Matchbox Twenty singer and solo star Rob Thomas. Each, in its own way, is the kind of gig she’s been preparing for forever.
Pheeroan Ak Laff — groovin free
In America, the 1960s were a time when the jazz age made a sincere, although tentative, attempt to establish relations with the up-and-coming members of the R&B and rock generations. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Chris Frantz — Talking tom-toms
Mr. Frantz had good reason to be feeling positive as we sat down to talk in the lounge of San Francisco's Miyako Hotel. Talking Heads, armed with a new record titled Speaking In Tongues, had just broken West Coast attendance…
Keith Copeland
After meeting and interviewing Keith Copeland, there's one word that seems to represent his overall approach to drums: tradition. My dictionary has three definitions for that word. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Percussion Colors, Part 2
Last time we discussed how the use of hand-percussion instruments can add color and spice to the music you create. We outlined a few of the items that make up the percussionist’s “pallet,” including cowbell, tambourine, and the afuche. This…
Latin Jazz Drumming - The Mambo, Part 1
In this lesson series we’ll focus on Latin jazz rhythms and interpret them on the drumset. For the first installment, we’re digging into the Afro-Cuban mambo bell pattern. Mambo is an Afro-Cuban style that’s built upon a clave foundation. Traditionally…
Multilayered Polyrhythms - Rhythmic Puzzles for Your Mind and Body
Last month we concluded our two-part introduction to polyrhythms with an example that combined multiple polyrhythms within one phrase. In this lesson, we’ll continue layering multiple polyrhythms to take the previous ideas to an even deeper level. These exercises will…
Drumset Ergonomics - Part 2: Seat Height
This month we’re going to explore the critically important relationship between the drum throne and the human body. Selecting an appropriate throne height is one of the most overlooked steps of setting up a drumset, yet it could have the…
