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.
The Commandments of the Half-Time Shuffle by Zoro
Welcome to the final installment of my three-part series on the half-time shuffle. I thought it would be fitting to end with some transcriptions of a handful of popular recordings. Immerse yourself in the music so that the grooves envelop…
Samba Songo
The Afro-Cuban songo rhythm was created in the 1970s by the Cuban band Los Van Van and its drummer/percussionist José Luis Quintana, aka Changuito. After many years of studying and playing Afro-Cuban and Brazilian rhythms myself, and participating in a…
Solid Soloing, Part 2: Changing Note Rates
In this miniseries we’re utilizing my “glue” method to gain freedom and flow while soloing. In the first installment we discussed how to connect two ideas without hesitation, using a specific sticking as a transition. In this article we’re going…
Devin Townsend's Ryan Van Poederooyrn
No one’s ever going to accuse Devin Townsend of being a slacker, and you can be damn sure the metal icon’s collaborators work their fingers to the bone just trying to keep up. That goes double for DT’s go-to drummer,…
This is 40
There are forty-year periods…and there are forty-year periods. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Neil Peart
For his (record) ninth MD cover-story interview, Rush’s drummer holds a typically fluid and intense discussion of soloing and set lists, the very real differences between his drumming past and present, and the much-speculated topic of his band’s future. TO…
Eddie Knight: A Living Legend of Leedy Lore
When I walked into the South Bend, Indiana, drum studio of veteran drummer/teacher/collector Eddie Knight, I picked up more sensory input than I could process. On the walls were autographed pictures of past guests and former students. While I looked…
The War on Drugs’ Charlie Hall
The War on Drugs hit the ground running after Lost in the Dream was released in March 2014, and never slowed down in 2015. MD caught up with drummer Charlie Hall while the band was performing in Miami. TO READ…
Up & Coming: Bryan Carter
He’s been tearing it up in New York and well beyond with some bona fide legends of jazz. But he knows as much as anyone that the learning never stops. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Endorsements Part 2: Are You Really Ready?
by Russ Miller Last month we started our discussion of product endorsements with the equipment manufacturers. I encourage you to read through that article again to familiarize yourself with some of the terms we’re using this month. We’ve been joined…
Triplet Fill Concepts Part 2: More Three-Over-Four Fills
Welcome to the second lesson in our series on jazz-style triplet fills. This month we’ll continue with the three-over-four triplet concept. For this version of the fill, you’ll play the first three notes of the phrase on the snare and…
Quintuplets Part 2: Polyrhythms With Fives
Last month we got acquainted with quintuplets by using accent patterns and transitions with familiar rhythms. In this lesson we’ll superimpose quintuplets across two beats using a five-over-two polyrhythm and across three beats using a five-over-three polyrhythm. TO READ THE…
Progressive Drumming Essentials
Part 6: Syncopated Double Bass...the Easy Way. When I began working on double bass, I was inspired by drummers like Gene Hoglan, Raymond Herrera, and Thomas Lang, all of whom seemed to have a never-ending supply of creative parts. I’d…
World Groove Independence Mash-Up
When I began writing my latest book, Groove Freedom, the goal was to gain flexibility both within my students’ grooves and my own. As I practiced the book’s systems, I realized they helped with independence as well as with groove.…
