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: Understanding Time
by Alan S. Kinsey A drummer’s time is probably the single most important factor in deciding whether a group is pushed apart or pulled together. It is necessary to understand that time is a musical feeling. This feeling can be…
Alan Dawson – Chops And Brains Equal A Boston Master
Dawson hears of Roach's praise midway through a lesson with one of the 30 students he teaches each week in the studio of his rambling split-level home in the Boston suburb of Lexington. "That's real nice of Max", he says…
Rock Perspectives: A Study In Styles
The rock drumming scene has progressed a great deal since the fifties. Those of us who played through that era remember the monotonous eighths and afterbeats, and those relentless right hand triplets. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS…
Drivers Seat: Understanding The Basics
Anyone who hasn't had the thrilling experience of being in the same room with a driving eighteen-piece big band has probably missed one of the more exciting experiences in all music. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG…
Beyond Forever: Lenny White
Lenny White was born in Queens, N. Y. and travelled to Forever. Excuse the forced pun, but it was with Chick Corea's Return to Forever, that Lenny made the reputation that engendered his foray as a solo act."I got a…
North - Directional Drums Strive For Unconventional Sound
The shape of the instruments is the first noticeable departure from conventional drums. Below the head* of each tom-tom, for instance, the drum continues downward in a cylinder then curves ninety degrees to end in a wild looking open flared…
Tabla Talk: Badal Roy - Jazz Tabla Master
After coming to this country from Pakistan in 1968, and meeting up with McLaughlin, Roy has gone on from virtual obscurity to play with some of the major figures in jazz. After achieving notoriety on McLaughlin's breakthrough My Goal's Beyond…
Driver's Seat: Learning The Chart and Phrasing
Last time, we discussed the value of underplaying and keeping the energy level high. This article deals with two of the most important of all the nine tips I've suggested: learning the chart and phrasing. TO READ THE FULL STORY:…
Ehart Energy: Movin' Up
And from out of the state of Kansas, they came. A group of six talented musicians choosing to call themselves, aptly enough-KANSAS, a mixture of high-energy progressive rock and classical music complete with abrupt yet precise key and time signature…
Terri Lyne Carrington: She's Only Just Begun
Why a feature story on a twelve year old little girl in a drummers magazine? Very simple. Terri Lyne Carrington of Medford, Massachusetts first off is not your average twelve-year-old girl; and she's not just an average little drummer. She…
Driver's Seat - Energy and the Ensemble
In my last article I talked about supporting the big band, not getting in the way, and cueing or directing the band. In this article, I’ll be explaining the value of underplaying and the extreme importance of energy levels. For…
Garry Marshall: Hollywood Producer Reminisces
This is a Cinderella story that should bring comfort to any drummer who has feared leaving the music business. It's the story of a man who had to hang up his sticks because fate decreed that he should become something…
Backbeats: Ari Gold's Adventures Of Power
Actor/musician/writer/director Ari Gold (yes, that’s his real name) has had an obsession with air drumming since he was a kid listening to his sister’s Rush records. In the new comedy feature film Adventures Of Power, which he wrote, directed, and…
Krupa: A Musical Perspective
The work of the late Gene Krupa should be obligatory study for today's serious drum student and, indeed, may offer some refresher lessons for a few old pros. For initial study of Gene's drumming, I recommend the album, The Best…
