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.
Deep Purple’s Ian Paice
Deep Purple's drummer riffs on Made in Japan, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and the Long Goodbye. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Yuval Lion
A concept will take you far—in this case, across the sea from Israel, through New York City’s labyrinthine underground music scene, and then high above the stage in David Byrne’s Off-Broadway production Joan of Arc: Into the Fire. TO READ…
Triplet Fills - Swinging Your Phrases
Younger drummers sometimes struggle with triplet phrases, as there are few styles of popular music today that employ triplets as a basis for the feel. However, we have to be ready for these musical situations when they arise. Older rock,…
Buddy Harmon: Nashville Superstar
A pioneer of the Nashville recording scene, Harman was really the first full time studio drummer in that area, and he has certainly not limited himself to any one style, having done an excess of 15,000 sessions. TO READ THE…
Swing Interpretations - Modern Groove Applications
There's an interesting relationship between two-note (binary) and three-note (ternary) subdivisions that can help you develop better vocabulary and feel on the drumset. To understand this relationship, play an 8th-note triplet with your right hand while playing a straight 8th-note…
Teacher's Forum - Technique
Drumset technique is the means by which the drummer expresses his musical intellect and feeling. Technique and expression function together as part of the central directive system which incorporates the mind and body (or inner and outer self) in producing…
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…
Shelly Manne
Many of the things that drummers take for granted today would never have come about if someone hadn't dared to try it first; if some pioneer hadn't crossed over into unexplored territory; if some drummer hadn't found a new way of propelling a band.
Jim Chapin - Father of Independence
The Chapin Book. Sooner or later every serious drummer has to master it.
Playing Melodically - Part 2: Freddie Hubbard’s Solo on “Make It Good”
Last month we took a jazz melody, Charlie Parker’s “Billie’s Bounce,” and implied its melodic rhythm on the snare. This month we’ll phrase trumpet great Freddie Hubbard’s solo on “Make It Good” from the 1967 Duke Pearson album The Right…
Terry Bozzio: Burnin'
Terry Bozzio has the chops to be an orchestra percussionist, a jazz fusion burner, or a rock and roll showman, and he's shown off each of those sides of his talent during an eventful career. TO READ THE FULL STORY:…
Concepts - Drum Solos
Most people, including most drummers, like a good drum solo. By good, I mean a solo that is rhythmical, musical, well constructed, well executed, in tempo and relates to the musical context in which it is played. TO READ THE…
A New Perspective - Displacing Three-Over-Four Polyrhythms
A three-over-four polyrhythm is comprised of sets of three equally spaced notes and four equally spaced notes that occupy the same timeframe. Typically both sides of the polyrhythm start together on the same note and utilize the same subdivision. If…
