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.
Alan White June 14, 1949 - May 26, 2022
Alan White is best known as the drummer for the legendary English progressive rock band Yes. But his career was much more than that. Before his days with Yes, Alan contributed his groove to recordings by John Lennon, George Harrison,…
Joey Kramer’s Aerosmith Nine Lives tour kit
The Drum Workshop Collector’s Series kit shown here was created for Joey Kramer’s use on Aerosmith Nine Lives tour. The tour ran from May 1997 to July 1999, and included dates in North America, Canada, Japan, and 14 European countries.…
Donn Bennett’s Drum Vault: Steve Smith’s 1987 Sonor Lite Vital Information Drum Set
This year marks the 45th anniversary of Steve Smith’s relationship with Sonor drums. Steve bought his first set of Sonor drums in 1977 while touring with jazz-fusion violinist, Jean-Luc Ponty. He played the same Sonor set touring with rock guitarist…
Maysun, Everything is Everything.
I view “creative percussion controllers” as three separate categories. Category 1 is a completely self-contained set of electronic drums that are designed by instrument manufacturers that create all the drum and cymbal samples. We simply plug in great headphones and…
Josh Harmon: From Comedy to Drums, Shaping His Unique and Timeless Sound
Josh Harmon is the definition of a boundary breaker. Regarded as one of the world’s most creative drummers, his approach is an unconventional as it is successful. His mega-popular series, Rhythms of Comedy, has garnered love from BILLIONS across the…
In The Moment, the Art of Active Listening
In The Moment! This is where the magic is. One very important quality every musician requires to really be totally involved in musical expression…is the art of listening. This is a developed skill needed to be inside any song. To…
Carmine Appice Ultimate Realistic Rock Sixteenth Note Rhythms
In honor of the 50th Anniversary of Carmine Appice Ultimate Realistic Rock, Modern Drummer is reprinting this classic section of Carmine’s book. In this section Carmine introduces two essential rhythms to rock drumming, and teaches us how to play and…
Double Bass Drumming Part 2
Continuing from last month’s re-introduction of Joe Franco’s classic book Double Bass Drumming, and his concept called the Single Stroke System. Here is Joe’s chapter on Sixteenth Note Double Bass Patterns. There are many more patterns and beats included in…
Bob Moses’ Drum Wisdom, Musical Resolution Points
In the last few last months of Modern Drummer we have included the chapters from Bob Moses’ Drum Wisdom book on the 8/8 Concept and the Sixteen Musical Resolution Points. These two concepts work together and can apply to every…
Up-Tempo Jazz Ride Playing
I use a kind of circular motion to achieve my desired sound, as was taught to me by Sam Woodyard. The quarter note is being accented slightly, yet consistently, creating a driving and danceable feel. Digging in is what we…
The Game Changers Part 1
For this month’s article I’d like to share several different topics that I feel were monumental for my growth as a drummer. I call these “The Game Changers”. There are several topics so this article will be split into two parts.…
MAMMOTH WVH With drummers Wolfgang Van Halen and Garrett Whitlock
The band Mammoth WVH is a musical force to be reckoned with. What else is there besides great songs being played by great musicians. But there is more to this band than meets the eye. True multi-instrumentalists are a unique…
Jonathan Pinson: Asking Questions
With all of the amazing young jazz drummers around these days, it’s got to be tough to set yourself apart. But when you can put names like Seal, Wayne Shorter, Herbie Hancock, Terrace Martin, and Kamasi Washington on your resume,…
Gavin Harrison: Context and Contrast
Who is busier than Gavin Harrison? He is tearing it up on two new records that are coming out and is touring with those two bands within the next year. Porcupine Tree’s new recording Closure/Continuation is a welcome surprise to…
