Jim Chapin

The mission is simple, but critical: One Beat. One Mission. End Hunger. WhyHunger—a non-profit founded in 1975 by the late Harry Chapin and radio deejay Bill Ayres to “change systems, policies, and institutions that perpetuate hunger and poverty in our world”—enlisted more than 100 drummers and percussionists to perform a …

On behalf of the D’Addario Family, it gives us great sadness to announce the passing of Janet D’Addario, the Co-Founder of D’Addario & Co. and Former President of Providence House, on June 14th, after a fierce battle of cancer for over two years. In lieu of any gifts or flowers, …

Welcome to the first of a four-part series on Swiss rudiments and Basel drumming. In this lesson I’ll focus on some specialties of the Basel style that aren’t usually included in the standard list of forty Percussive Arts Society rudiments. The accompanying video, available at ModernDrummer.com, demonstrates this style’s feel …

Hello “On the Beat??? readers, Lynn Coulter here. I just got back from two weeks out with the fabulous Rita Coolidge doing dates in the New England area. Rita just released her memoir, Delta Lady.

See what’s in the June 2016 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Peter Erskine…

See what’s in the June 2016 Issue of Modern Drummer magazine featuring Peter Erskine…

Greetings fellow drummers, it’s been a few years since my first MD blog and the release of my DVD Concept and Philosophies. My educational passions still continue to forge ahead….

Over the course of his forty-year career traveling the globe to teach, perform, and conduct clinics, Dom Famularo has interacted with some of the finest drummers and drum instructors in the world. The following list contains many of those names, organized by country/continent. If you’re looking for top-notch drum instruction, …

Click here to check out part 1 of a Jazz Drummer’s Workshop series by Steve Fidyk focusing on ways to develop coordination on the drumset using Ted Reed’s classic book Syncopation.

We asked the members of the Modern Drummer Education Team to share their thoughts on their favorite methods for developing independence. Here’s what they had to say.

My name is Luke Roberts, and I’m a drummer, vocalist, and composer based in London. My current drumming post is performing as Ringo in the Broadway and West End show Let It Be.

What makes a great drum book? There’s no single answer, as different books have been written to address a wide variety of styles and techniques. But judging by a recent poll in which Modern Drummer readers were asked to name their favorite volumes, a few characteristics stand out….

We asked the members of the MD Education Team if they think it’s important for their students to study jazz. Here’s what they had to say….

My name is Ian Kaplan, and I’m the drummer for Motel Beds. We’ve been playing together for about nine years, and we’ve just released our new album, Dumb Gold.

Click here to check out a classic Buddy Rich transcription from “West Side Story.???

We asked the members of the MD Education Team if they think that reading skills are crucial. Here’s what they had to say….

[MDEdTop]Claus Hessler currently teaches at the University for Music and Performing Arts in Frankfurt, Germany, and he is a professor at Keimyung University in Daegu, South Korea. He’s an active clinician in Europe, Asia, and the United State, having appeared at the Jim Chapin Memorial event in New York City, …

Welcome once again to the MD Readers Poll, where the greatest drummers on the planet are honored by the most educated drum fans around. Let’s get right to it: the envelope, please….

Modern Drummer’s 2011 Readers Poll Hall of Fame inductee is the late drummer/educator Jim Chapin, who passed away in 2009.

Jimmy Bralower was born to make records. The drummer started playing at a very young age, and by the time he was in his early teens, his first band, the Young Ones, had signed a deal with a major label. In the ensuing years Bralower worked his way from clubs …

by Billy Amendola More—way more—with the fusion and pop maestro. In a continuation of our interview with Narada Michael Walden from the November 2010 issue of Modern Drummer, the fusion and pop drumming/producing maestro reflects on his early days, teaching, spirituality, playing in odd time signatures, and coming full circle …

A year has passed since Jim left us to enter the heavens on July 4, 2009. How proud he would have been, Dom Famularo and Joyce Jacobs of the Harry Chapin Foundation informed me, if he were here to know that I finally earned the title Dr. Julie Grocki after …

I am currently doing dates with Gloria Gaynor. I’m also playing drums for Bajah & the Dry Eye Crew…

The venerable drum teacher passed away this July 4, leaving behind thousands of acolytes–and a million great stories. In this companion to the In Memoriam in the October issue of MD, we hear from some of Chapin’s many friends and drumming disciples.

Growing up on a mix of R&B, pop, rock, and country, David Northrup, originally from Syracuse New York, moved south in the early ’90s playing sessions and gigging the Florida club scene. One of those gigs led him to meeting and working with ace session guitarist Les Dudek…

We first featured Chad Cromwell in the March ’04 issue. There wasn’t quite enough room for all the great stuff Chad had to say, though, so we decided to share the rest of it with you here.

In between those gigs he’ll squeeze in a performance with Ricky Martin, Stevie Nicks, or Jennifer Lopez, among other top acts. But Danny’s brain is always thinking: How do I make my playing better? Equally important to him these days: How do I make the instruments I play better? Enter …

It’s a steamy tropical night in South Florida. I’m sitting out on Jim Chapin’s lanai, watching the eighty-one-year-old drummer rip off amazing licks on his ever-present practice pad while the tree frogs and locusts in the backyard provide a symphonic backdrop.