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 easy to understand way. It is a fantastic book for drummers looking to learn about the language of music beyond drumming. We are honored to reprint parts of Ron’s book here in Modern Drummer for everyone to read and learn. After learning about chord alterations in December’s Modern Drummer, this month we will be talking about the basic chord progressions that we find in popular music. It is helpful for drummers to know what the chord progression is for any song or music they are playing.

February 2025 Issue