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.
Jazz Drummer's Workshop - Double Time Coordination
Often a soloist will play over the rhythm section in either half or double the tempo of the section. Sometimes it is musically effective if the drummer complements the rhythmic direction of the soloist by playing part of the set…
South Of The Border - Afro-Cuban
The African influence in Latin music is evident to the point where certain rhythms and instruments, including those from the Caribbean and Brazil, can be directly traced to a specific African region or tribe. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
Drummer/Percussionist - Larry Bunker: L.A. Studio Pro
Drummer/Percussionist Larry Bunker: L.A. Studio Pro by David Levine Larry Bunker is one of those Los Angeles studio musicians whose playing is constantly heard on TV, movies, and records. Though his name is seldom mentioned, Bunker’s experience, knowledge and musicianship…
Pataflafla Builder - Exercises for Developing a Challenging Yet Musical Rudiment
One of the most beneficial of the forty PAS rudiments is the pataflafla. It’s one of the few where each hand plays a totally different part. The leading hand uses what I call the Moeller whip-and-stop technique, and the secondary…
Jazz Drummer's Workshop: Reading And Jazz Interpretation
A drummer's interpretive powers grow once he has established the foundational techniques of hands and feet. Coordination, which means hearing something and spontaneously reacting to it in a musical manner, develops. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…
Take Your Shuffle to the Max!
The two most common types of shuffles are the jazz and blues shuffle. We won’t get into the history here, but the obvious difference is in the ride pattern. Either version can be used, depending on the song, the band,…
Jojo's Modified Swiss Triplets - A Slick Sticking for Quick Jungle Grooves
Jojo Mayer’s command of the jungle/drum ’n’ bass style took the drumming community by storm. Mayer manages to traverse the blinding tempos and computerized breakbeats effortlessly, thanks to flawless technique and his creative use of rudiments like the Swiss triplet.…
Traditional Percussion on Drumset, Part 2: Bongos
In order to fully understand the function and possibilities of the instrument called bongo, you must explore the Cuban styles of changui, rumba, and son. According to musicologist Fernando Ortiz, the bongo may have originated as ancient drums built specifically…
Rodney Howard - On Tour & On Stage Making It Work
Modern Drummer readers recently spoke loud and clear about their love for New York–based drum sensation Rodney Howard by voting him runner-up in the Pop category of the 2009 MD Readers Poll. Howard’s fashionable flair and passionate playing style have…
Elvin Jones-Style Triplet Fills, Part 1
In this lesson I’m going to show you how to create high-energy Elvin Jones–style triplet fills based on common jazz rhythmic phrases, like those included in Ted Reed’s classic book Syncopation. This approach was first developed by legendary drummer and…
Concepts - Defining Your Role
Music is a team effort, and figuring out our position on the team is key. This will help us better communicate in any scenario, which leads to more contentment on the job. This month we’re going to look at the…
Jazz Drummer’s Workshop - Stick Control Revisited Part 3: 5/4 Variations
Welcome to the third installment in our series on drumset applications of George Lawrence Stone’s classic book Stick Control. The following variations utilize the “72 Single Beat Combinations” found on pages 5 TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS…
Driver's Seat: Controlling The Band
One of the most important points and most often overlooked elements of good big band drumming technique is how the drummer sets himself up within the band. It is extremely important for the band to be able to hear the…
GoPro - Hero3+ Black Edition Music Bundle (Video)
We drummers have tried everything we can think of to record ourselves, whether in individual practice, in band rehearsal, or on the gig. For me, it started with a cassette recorder that captured only audio, and the sound was never…
