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 Art & Challenge of Teaching
I am writing this on the last day of 2022, in preparation for my last semester of teaching full-time at the Thornton School of Music at the University of Southern California. Why am I leaving such a coveted job? The…
Phil Seamen: Percussion Genius, Legendary Rebel, and Born Raver By Peter Dawn
One day in late 2022, my phone rang, it was drum industry stalwart John DeChristopher telling me that fellow drum industry vet Colin Schofield was trying to get in touch with me. I emailed Colin only to learn about a…
AJ’s Swampy Outlaw Kit
The most recent Kit of the Month comes to Modern Drummer from AJ Newton, who is the drummer for Nautical Rock Band Rusty Shipp based out of Nashville, TN. Michael explains, “Back in 2019 Michael Outlaw of Outlaw Drums built…
Jerry Shirley’s Humble Pie Ludwig Roses Set
You never know what you’ll find on Craigslist. What initially looked like the crappiest set of drums I’ve ever seen, turned out to be one of the greatest and most iconic rock and roll drum sets of our time with…
Understanding the Language of Music A Drummer’s Guide to Theory and Harmony
Modern Drummer founder Ron Spagnardi wrote an excellent book called Understanding the Language of Music, a Drummer’s Guide to Theory and Harmony. This book spells out the basics of theory and harmony in a very organized and easy to understand…
Persistence
As I read this month’s Modern Drummer, I see a common theme, persistence. Unfortunately, as I look around the musical world (and the world in general,) I see less and less of it. There seems to be a lot of…
Pat Petrillo Groove Breakdowns
Pat Petrillo breaks down some important Roots Grooves that every drummer drummer know. EARL PALMER GROOVE: The great Earl Palmer is one of my favorite drummers. He influenced an entire generation of drummers from Ringo all the way up to…
The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming Two Consecutive 16th Notes
Bobby Rondinelli and Michael Lauren wrote The Encyclopedia of Double Bass Drumming. It takes a slightly different approach from our ongoing studies from the Joe Franco book on double bass drumming. Last month we began with some basics. This month’s…
Six- Against-Four Polyrhythm Exercises in African-American Funk
This month we continue with our excerpts from Jonathan Joseph’s book Exercises in African-American Funk: Mangambe, Biktusi, and the Shuffle. We began with last month’s exploration of the three-against-four polyrhythm, the next step in our exploration of African polyrhythms is…
Double Bass Drumming Accented Rolls and Accented Patterns with Triplets
As we continue to include sections from Joe Franco’s book Double Bass Drumming, this month Joe teaches us about playing accented rolls and accent patterns over a double bass drum roll that uses his Single Stroke System. This is a…
Pat Petrillo’s drum solo on “Runnin”
This month’s transcription is Pat Petrillo’s solo on the song “Runnin’” from his recording Pat Petrillo: The Big Rhythm Band, The Power Station Sessions. He explains, “We do a cool version of Earth Wind and Fire’s “Runnin’.” They were in…
Exercises for the Development of Control and Technique
This month we continue to feature the wonderful exercises from Joe Morello’s book Master Studies. While some teachers talk about speed and chops, Joe Morello focused on control and technique. Proper technique and controlling your hands, movements, and the sticks…
The Four Practice Pockets #1 Release Your INTUITION
“Good practice is fluid and adaptable, it mirrors nature.” The IREC practice model (Modern Drummer Dec. ’22) is when we use the four practice pockets of Intuition, Reps, Edges, and Celebration to get more out of the time we have…
Mark Kelso Expect the Unexpected
Mark Kelso is not your typical Canadian or your typical drummer. He doesn’t follow hockey, root for The Toronto Maple Leafs, live on poutine, or eat all of his meals at Tim Hortons. However, after getting over that initial shock,…
