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.
10 Reasons to Love the Kinks' Mick Avory
Features by Patrick Berkery Had it been Mick Avory, not British session ace Bobby Graham, playing on iconic early Kinks singles like “You Really Got Me” and “All Day and All of the Night,” and had the group not been…
Attack of the Juh-Ba with Rich Redmond
Basics Attack of the Juh-Ba Harness the Power of the Flat Flam Followed by a Kick Drum by Rich Redmond Flat flams are executed by playing two limbs simultaneously. My favorite orchestration of the flat flam is on the snare…
Following Groupings and Fill-Ins with Bill Bachman
Strictly Technique Following Groupings and Fill-Ins Exercises for Increased Single-Stroke Control by Bill Bachman This month we’re going to work on playing flowing groupings of notes with one hand while gradually filling in the spaces between the notes with the…
Grooving in Form with Mike Johnston
Rock ‘N’ Jazz Clinic Grooving in Form Part 1: AABA Beats by Mike Johnstonb One of the first things you learn when you begin to play in bands is song form, and one of the most popular forms is AABA.…
Elvin Jones-Style Triplet Fills
Jazz Drummer’s Workshop Elvin Jones-Style Triplet Fills Part 3: More Two-Bar Patterns by John Xepoleas Welcome to the third and final lesson in our series on creating Elvin Jones–style triplet fills. This time we’re creating high-energy two-bar fills. Let’s begin…
TEACHER'S FORUM - Building a Teaching Business
I’ve owned and operated my own teaching school, Jeff Salem’s Music Studio, for eleven years. Prior to that I taught percussion lessons at a local music store for twelve years. When I decided to branch out on my own, the…
Progressive Drumming Essentials, Part 1: Understanding Odd Time Signatures
Rock Perspectives Progressive Drumming Essentials Part 1: Understanding Odd Time Signatures by Aaron Edgar Before we start playing sick proggy grooves in 17/16, let’s start at the beginning and define time signatures. Time signatures tell us the length of a…
PRODUCT CLOSE-UP - Porter & Davies
Porter & Davies is a UK-based company whose silent bass drum monitoring systems are being used by many top touring drummers, such as Ray Luzier (Korn), Billy Cobham (fusion legend), Gavin Harrison (Porcupine Tree/King Crimson), Jojo Mayer (Nerve), and Tomas…
PRODUCT CLOSE-UP - Liberty Drumset
Liberty Drums is a UK-based manufacturer that builds its own shells from nearly limitless timbers and veneers into a wide range of handcrafted drumsets and snares. In addition to allowing drummers to design custom kits online at libertydrums.com, the company…
PRODUCT CLOSE-UP - TRX New DRK Series Cymbals
PRODUCT CLOSE-UP TRX New DRK Series Cymbals Warm, dark, classic sounds with pre-drilled holes for rivets. by Miguel Monroy TRX has released several new options in the past year or so, including the Blends series, which was reviewed in our…
Korn's Ray Luzier
Photos by Alex Solca How does a clean-cut farm boy from western Pennsylvania with few connections and even fewer resources end up becoming a vital component of a dreadlocked, inked-up, multiplatinum nu-metal band? If you ask Ray Luzier, he’ll tell…
TRX - Blends Series Cymbals
Product Close-Up TRX Blends Series Cymbals A best-of-both-worlds approach to achieving power and warmth. Earlier this year, the California-based/Turkish-made cymbal company TRX released what it’s calling a “mash-up” of its medium-weight, traditionally lathed and hammered MDM series and its heavyweight,…
PRODUCT CLOSE-UP - Stone Thrones Drum Seat Covers
Chris Stone, founder of Stone Thrones, has founded a custom shop that offers something very useful and clever: high-quality and durable drum seat covers. I recently ordered a set of covers for my twenty-year-old Roc-n-Soc throne with a backrest. I…
Mike Portnoy
It takes a big pair to be one of a kind. Since leaving the most celebrated prog-metal gig in the world with Dream Theater, the drummer has thrown himself into an impressive number of diverse musical situations, always confident in…
