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Amadeus
Trey Songz tour drummer and musical director Antwan J. Thompson always had big plans for himself. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Steven Schick
So strong was his teenage attraction to modern percussion music that he outright defied his parents in order to dive headfirst into the budding genre. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Rachel Fuhrer
If you try to pigeonhole Ume, you’ll fail miserably. The same can be said for the band’s hard-hitting drummer, whose road to rock ’n’ roll glory has been anything but predictable. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…
Open-Handed Playing
Discovering Rhythms Inside the Paradiddle Besides being one of the most popular rudiments, the single paradiddle is a good example to illustrate the overlap between linear and rudimental drumming, and it’s great for working on an open-handed approach (right hand…
Rhythm And Timing Part 3: Single 16ths
This month we’re going to focus on the four different single 16th notes, which are “1,” “e,” “&,” and “a.” Playing just one note may seem simple, but it can be quite a challenge to isolate “e” and “a” and…
Shifting Sands
Rhythmic Transition Examples Transitioning from one time signature, tempo, or musical style to another is a very common technique in modern jazz. These shifts are often referred to as metric modulations, where a specific note value from the current tempo…
Dubstep Drumming Part 1: The Basics
Dubstep is a genre of electronic dance music known for its head-nodding beats, dark atmosphere, and ear-shaking bass. It draws on many other genres, including Jamaican dub, hip-hop, jungle, drum ’n’ bass, and 2-step, while fusing them into a unique…
Ricky Wellman
Ricky “Sugarfoot” Wellman may be most widely known as jazz master Miles Davis’s last touring drummer, but perhaps more important is his role in the genesis of go-go music, a marathon funk style indigenous to the Washington, D.C., area. TO…
Travis Orbin
The tech-metal phenom has made tsunami-like waves on YouTube and continues to lay down mind-bending tracks for artists the world over. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Sandy Gennaro
For decades the journeyman drummer has had one rock ’n’ roll adventure after another, from Cyndi Lauper to Joan Jett to Pat Travers to Johnny Winter to the Monkees. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Stella Mozgawa
Her thoughtful yet exuberant playing with Flea, Kurt Vile, Tom Jones, and especially L.A.’s dreamy groovers Warpaint reveals a sophisticated attitude toward songcraft—and an ability to just plain rip. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
A 5-Step Workout for Building Coordination Over a Pulse
Complete independence is something that we all strive for, but it can be very confusing and frustrating to practice. This workout/challenge will focus on what I would consider to be “practical independence.” In other words, it’s designed to build the…
Rhythm And Timing Part 2: Two-Note 16th Groupings
This month we’re going to focus on the six different two-note 16th-note groupings. We’ll begin with “1-e,” and then we’ll move it to “e-&,” then “&-a,” and finally “1-a.” After those first four variations, we’ll do a separate exercise for…
Mickey Roker Style and Analysis
Mickey Roker was born in Miami in 1932, and at age ten he moved to Philadelphia, where he still resides today. Throughout the 1940s and ’50s, Philadelphia was an epicenter for aspiring musicians, including John Coltrane, Stan Levey, the Heath…
