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.
Focus on Elimination - The Key to Success
Concepts Focus on Elimination The Key to Success by Russ Miller Here’s one of the topics I get asked about frequently by other players. It probably stems from my work in pressure situations. From sight-reading live on TV on American…
Maxwell Drums - Nesting Kit
Product Close-Up Maxwell Drums Nesting Kit Big, versatile tones in an ultra-compact package. If you’ve ever had to pack up your set and navigate city streets, stairs, and sidewalks, you might agree that bigger is not always better. It’s no…
Paiste - Masters Dark Crashes and Hi-Hats
Product Close-Up Paiste Masters Dark Crashes and Hi-Hats Rich, warm, mix-ready tones from Switzerland’s super-consistent cymbalsmiths. The Masters series started in 2011 as a dozen ride cymbals, made from Paiste’s CuSn20-formula bronze and designed for use in a variety of…
Vic Firth - Barrel 5A and 5B Drumsticks, Split Brushes, and Tala Wand Bamboo Slats
Product Close-Up Vic Firth Barrel 5A and 5B Drumsticks, Split Brushes, and Tala Wand Bamboo Slats Clarity, balance, and control are what’s up with these new implements. Always looking to fill voids in its catalog with products that drummers need,…
The Flaming Lips' Steven Drozd and Kliph Scurlock
Oklahoma’s favorite psychedelic sons take yet another road less traveled. We talk to the group’s main sonic architect and his drummer-in-arms about what went into their ambitious new album, and how it’s being presented on stage. TO READ THE FULL…
Gimmie 10! Brad Mehldua/Chick Corea Regular Jeff Ballard
Big-picture tips from the drummer who’s an integral part of Chick Corea, Joshua Redman, and Brad Mehldau’s trailblazing ensembles. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
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…
