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: A New Look At The Traditional Rolls
The standard rudimental open rolls, based upon the double-stroke roll, are standard knowledge to most drummers. If we begin the traditional double-stroke roll on its second note, we obtain an open roll with a distinctly different flavor. TO READ THE…
Catching Up With... Chad Smith
It’s apt that Chad Smith is driving along the Pacific Coast Highway in California as he catches us up on his recent activities. Smith recently returned to the West Coast after four years in New York City, and he’s excited…
Catching Up With... Willie Green
Willie Green’s artful grooving mesmerized fans of the New Orleans institution the Neville Brothers for over thirty years, during which time Green likewise elevated music by Dr. John, Bob Dylan, Paul Simon, Edie Brickell, and Elvis Costello. The latest representation…
Catching Up With... Neal Smith
Known for his blistering attack on hits like “School’s Out,” “I’m Eighteen,” and “Billion Dollar Babies” by Alice Cooper, with whom he played between 1967 and 1974, Neal Smith has since expanded his skills to include producing and composing. TO…
Henry Cole
Like everything he plays on the drumset, the name he chose for his debut album as a leader—Roots Before Branches—is intriguing, and no accident. Few players have such a deep understanding of where they come from, or as wide a…
Show & Studio
This article may appear to be very simply written but is by far the most important thing that a musician needs to know for playing arrangements. There is an unwritten code on how to mark charts (arrangements), that only experienced…
Drum Soloist Tony Williams Solo
Skip Shaffer is currently the drummer with the Airmen of Note, U. S. Air Force Jazz Ensemble in Washington, D. C. He is very involved in transcribing the work of Tony Williams and Louie Bellson, and has also just completed…
Krupa In Solo
A special tribute to the late Gene Krupa would certainly be incomplete without a full transcription of a classic Krupa solo. Gene's style was uniqu TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Rudimental Symposium
Execution is probably the primary concern of any drum corps drum line. Outlined here are some tips to aid in attaining a higher level of execution as well as exercises to develop stamina and facility in the drum line. TO…
Dan Needham
For a long time the Nashville music industry was defined—some say hampered—by an imaginary wall dividing session and touring musicians. Each side had its top-call players, but even among these rarified individuals, there were few exceptions to the rules of…
Setting Sights - Greg Saunier
For Deerhoof’s latest album, the band’s drummer says he was trying to express nothing short of pre-apocalyptic sonic abandon. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Diamonds in the Ruff - Part 1: The Mighty Three-Stroke
The first thing I learned when I started taking drum lessons was the three-stroke ruff. I was shown a few ways of playing it, with different accents and stickings, but it wasn’t until I heard Cream drummer Ginger Baker play…
Grooving on the Snare - Six Beats That Break From the Kick/Snare/Hat Cliché
The first grooves that most of us learn are variations of countless rock, R&B, and pop recordings that feature the bass drum on beats 1 and 3, the snare on beats 2 and 4, and the ride or hi-hat chugging…
Rudimental Clave With Inverted Stickings
This month we have a fun and challenging exercise that will do wonders for your Moeller-style whip-and-stop technique. The exercise uses the son clave rhythm as the accent pattern, with inverted stickings underneath it. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE…
