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.
Product Close-Up – Evans Calftone Drumheads
Evans is celebrating its sixtieth anniversary with a tribute to the calfskin heads drummers used prior to the implementation of Mylar plastics. These new old-school heads, called Calftone, feature a layer of beige, subtly textured synthetic material over a clear…
Product Close-Up - Van Kleef All Titanium and B20 Bronze Snares
Sheffield, England–based VK Drums has quickly risen to the top of the high-end custom-shop heap with its elegant and highly musical range of snare drums. We tested a trio of titanium, stainless-steel, and aluminum models in the March 2016 issue,…
A New Perspective - Displacing Two-Over-Three Polyrhythms
This month we’re going to vary the basic phrasing of polyrhythms. Typically, both sides of a polyrhythm begin together on the first note of the rhythm. We can vary this by displacing one or both sides of the rhythm. We’ll…
Papa Jo Jones Drum Fill - Incorporating a Classic Jazz Lick
In this lesson we’ll explore a versatile and great-sounding fill from jazz legend Papa Jo Jones. The basic pattern is notated in Exercise 1. Pay close attention to the sticking—it’s essential to start and end the fill with your lead…
Fred Pierce's Studio Drum Shop
For forty-five years, Fred Pierce has been serving drummers of the St. Louis area in a cozy space he bought outright back in 1972 after moving from Nashville. In Music City, Pierce was a working musician during the ’60s, serving…
A New Year, A New You? Reviewing and Renewing Your Goals, Part 1
We’ve discussed before how the ability to finish something is much more valuable than the ability to start something. Most people are starters, but the most successful people are the finishers. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…
DW - Collector’s Series Cherry/Mahogany Drumset
The Collector’s Series is DW’s flagship line, comprising a variety of single-species shell types (maple, cherry, and red oak) and hybrid mixtures, such as the poplar/maple Classics, the maple/gum Jazz, and the bamboo/birch Eco-X. Adding deeper- and darker-sounding mahogany to…
Istanbul Mehmet - Sahra and Kirkor Signature Rides
Mehmet recently added two 22" rides to its Signature series, the Sahra and Kirkor, which balance the dark, nuanced sounds of traditional Turkish cymbals with the control and clarity required by today’s drummer. Let’s check them out. TO READ THE…
DrumLite - LED System
Drummers Jeff Sevaldson and Joey Nesbitt established DrumLite in 2011 in an effort to pump up the visual appeal of the drumset. What they created is an easy-to-install LED system comprising RGB light strips with 3M foam-backed adhesive and a…
RBH - 6x14 Poplar Prestige Snare
The Prestige series is Virginia Beach–based custom shop RBH’s line of single-ply, steam-bent snares that are crafted by hand out of premium North American lumber. These drums are finished in hand-rubbed oil and wax to preserve and accentuate the natural,…
Latin Percussion - Americana and Matador Cajons, Cajon Saddle, and Percussion Pack
LP’s catalog of cajons and accessories has become quite expansive over the past few years. New additions have been arriving in various shapes, sizes, and materials. We received a couple new cajons to check out, one of which is shaped…
George Marsh's Inner Drumming
You’re not going to work on any of the standard drum rudiments in this book. The notation is unfamiliar, and awareness of the energy flow within your body is a key component of the method. But Inner Drumming is a…
Korn's Ray Luzier
Over the past ten years, Korn’s drummer has become an increasingly integral component of the band’s uniquely heavy sound. The latest raging slab of proof coming out of Bakersfield, California: The Serenity of Suffering. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
Swiss Rudiments - Basel Drumming, Part 3
In the third installment of our series on Swiss drumming, we’ll continue exploring the European roots of rudiments. In the last lesson we introduced Tagwacht pieces—music that’s typically used to awaken soldiers. The piece “Three Camps” could be considered an…
