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.
SJC - Maple/Brass Hybrid Snare
Product Close-Up SJC Maple/Brass Hybrid Snare A powerhouse drum combining the spray and bite of hammered brass with the warmth of maple. When I first started playing, choices for snare drums were a bit more limited than what you see…
Refused's David Sandström
After a wildly successful string of reunion shows in 2012, Sweden’s seminal hardcore act has released its first album in seventeen years. Freedom appears to have dialed in the “liberation frequency” spoken of on the 1998 masterpiece The Shape of…
George "Spanky" McCurdy
His infamous “off time” approach has been the source of many a drummer’s woodshed frustrations. An eye-opening DVD now offers insight. But, as with so many players who live on the front lines of innovation, true understanding becomes clear only…
Basics: Master Time
When I was a college student in Madison, Wisconsin, in the ’80s, I encountered the funk drumming legend Clyde Stubblefield. At that time, Stubblefield himself was not as well known as the classic grooves he played with James Brown, and…
Off The Record: LIFEHOUSE’S Rick Woolstenhulme Jr.
Rick Woolstenhulme Jr. has been the drummer for Lifehouse since 2000. In the ’90s, after high school, he moved to California from his home state of Arizona and attended the Los Angeles Music Academy, where he spent most of his…
ROCK 'N' JAZZ CLINIC - Hidden Rhythms Part 1 Cookin With 16th
The concept of discovering hidden rhythms within common subdivisions reminds me of the first time I removed the back of my boom box when I was about twelve years old. I knew that this simple device must have something fascinating…
Strictly Technique: Top 10 Rudiments
The drag is the tenth and final rudiment in our series. If you’ve been practicing these rudiments and exercises correctly, at a wide variety of tempos, then your hands are now trained with all of the necessary motions required to…
Rock Perspectives: Polyrhythms
In the third part of this series (November ’09), we applied a four-against-three polyrhythm to either the ride cymbal or the bass drum, while the snare drum played the backbeats on 2 and 4. Now let’s take things a step…
Concepts: When To Lead And When To Follow
There are three ways to keep time when you play with an ensemble. One is to lead, another to follow, and the third is something often referred to as “band time.??? Let’s take a look at each of these and…
Jazz Drummer's Workshop: Focus On Brushes
Practicing brushes is excellent for building strength in your wrists and fingers. It can help develop muscles and reflexes and also improves your control with sticks. With the exception of the closed roll, any pattern that you play with sticks…
Buddy Rich: Revisited
It was four years ago, the January, 1977 premier issue of Modern Drummer, that Buddy Rich graced our cover. Rich is back again, with comments that are inspiring and honest. This exclusive interview is filled with anecdotes tracing Rich's early…
Muse's Dominic Howard - On Tour & On Stage Making It Work On The Road
It’s the day before the 2009 MTV Video Music Awards, and Muse—singer/guitarist/ keyboardist Matthew Bellamy, bassist Chris Wolstenholme, and drummer Dominic Howard—is on stage at New York City’s Walter Kerr Theatre, preparing for its U.S. television debut. The plan for…
Concepts - Showing Up: The Key to Success
A young drummer asked me the following question while I was conducting a clinic. "What is the most important thing I have to do to become a successful musician?" I answered, "Show Up!" He smiled and said, "There must be…
Rock Perspectives: A Practical Application of Flams
The exercises that follow will utilize two snare drum rudiments. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
