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.
Groove Freedom Part 3: 32nd-Note Patterns
Welcome to the third and final installment of my “Groove Freedom” series. For those of you who missed the first two lessons, these articles are based on exercises from my latest book, Groove Freedom. The book is built from the…
Artistry Versus Commerce Balance Is Everything
For this month’s column I’ve chosen to discuss the most-asked question I receive at shows, at clinics, and on the Web: “How do you balance finance and drumming?” The quote by the great Irish playwright Oscar Wilde sums up the…
Words Count
As drummers we’ve long battled identity issues that never seem to go away, no matter how far we advance our art. For years the famed drummer Bill Bruford has pointed out a certain “pitched-instrument bias” on the part of the…
Katy Perry’s Tony Royster Jr.
He grabbed headlines as one of the most talked-about drumming prodigies in the history of the instrument, playing alongside musical icons three times his age and establishing a reputation for blistering clinic appearances. In his first MD interview in years,…
Tim Alexander of Primus
We chat about some big topics in the life of Primus drummer, Tim Alexander. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Crucial Jazz Drumming Recordings, Part 2
Last October we presented fifty albums that show how incredibly far jazz drumming has come since it first appeared on record a century ago. This month we bring you twenty-five more titles as we work toward a clean hundred. The…
Lia Braswell of A Place to Bury Strangers
From an early age the drummer has put her passions and pain into her music, allowing circumstances both within and outside of her control to feed her hungry heart. Like most successful artists, Braswell doesn’t ignore the messy storylines of…
Uptempo Studies - Part 1: Whole Notes and Half Notes
In this series, we’ll focus on exercises that develop flexibility and endurance when playing fast tempos (300 bpm and up). To efficiently play at these speeds, it’s essential to stay relaxed. To gain the confidence and language necessary to handle…
Clem Burke: Pure Pop Power
“Clem was new wave’s premier drum showman, but his showmanship never got in the way of his emphatic, tom-heavy drumming style. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Grizzly Bear's Chris Bear
It turns out that any name similarities between Grizzly Bear and its drummer are purely coincidental. Musically, the seamless match is more like fate.
Linkin Park's Rob Bourdon
Most bands with a winning track record eventually hit a creative wall, where the fork in the road to the future leads either to reinvention or a rehashing of their old hits. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS…
Howard Grimes
He might not share quite the same name recognition as some of his contemporaries, but his deep grooves grace many of the heaviest and most well-known soul recordings of all time. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…
