January 2024 – Volume 48 • Number 01

Aaron Spears 1976-2023

"It’s nice to be important but it is more important to be nice, spread love.” This is what Aaron Spears lived by. When we started to ask his close friends and drummers that Aaron had touched and inspired for quotes,…

January 2024 – Volume 48 • Number 01

It’s a New Year, Twelve Advice’s of the Holidays

Now is a good time to pass along some drumming tips that are important to me, and I hope that you will find these helpful as well. I will list them in numerical sequence, but not necessarily in any order.…

Duet 15

Ron Spagnardi wrote a terrific book called Snare Drum Duets: 25 Duets for Two Snare Drummers. It offers a selection of 25 challenging duets that range in difficulty from relatively simple to more complex. A wide assortment of time signatures…

Don't Compete, Create!

There’s always someone better, stronger, faster. If we didn’t know this already, we’re surrounded by reminders that can doom us to self-doubt. In our hyper connected world, it doesn’t take long before we see someone on the drums half our…

Cooking! Drumming!

As the holidays continue, we continue eating our favorite foods, and as ALL of my students know, I love to use food and cooking as a metaphor for music and drumming. Any musician is like one of your favorite prepared…

Lol Tolhurst and Budgie are Curious Creatures

Photo by: Louis-Rodiger It’s hard to imagine two other drummers from the post-punk era more influential than Lol Tolhurst from The Cure and Budgie from Siouxsie and the Banshees. Still to this day, you can’t turn on any alternative internet…

The Evolution of the Hi-Hat

The history of how the modern day hi-hat was invented is a subject that many drummers and drum historians will continue to debate. In this article, I am going to give you historical facts and present actual examples of the…

Chicago Drum’s Solid Walnut Snare

Classic Vintage Sound with Time Honored Craftsmanship   Chicago Drum was officially born in 2011, but the roots of this amazing drum company go back decades, in fact, generations! Three generations to be precise. Jim Moritz, Chicago Drum’s founder and…

for KING + COUNTRY: A Drummer’s Delight

Photo by: Kadin Tooley The band for KING + COUNTRY is a Christian pop band led by Joel and Luke Smallbone. Joel is a singer-songwriter, and Luke Smallbone is a drummer-singer-songwriter. Both Luke and Joel play drums and percussion during…

Groups of Two with Fill-ins

Joe Morello advanced the idea of endurance studies with his Fill-In studies included in his book Master Studies. These are not “drum fills,” instead they are endurance exercises built on the idea of filling in between the primary rhythms of…

Bruce’s Original Ludwig Vistalite’s

This month’s Kit of the Month comes to us from Bruce DeVino. Bruce tells us, “Last June on Father’s Day, I attended a church rummage sale. I purchased these Ludwig 1976 Vistalite Series E Black and White Pattern drums in…

Chris Karabelas - for KING + COUNTRY Percussionist

  Photo by: Alex Kluft Percussionist Chris Karabelas’ journey is an interesting story. He grew up outside of Baltimore, MD. His father was a big music fan who took him to more concerts than he can even remember. At five,…

CTM CE220 IN-Ear Monitors

Founded by a drummer/sound engineer, Clear Tune Monitors (CTM) out of Orlando, Florida has been manufacturing high-quality custom in-ear monitors for over fifteen years. Their premium custom IEMs have accompanied many well-known touring and performing musicians around the world.  CTM…

Virgil Donati Discusses Designing his New Techra Sticks

Virgil Donati is one of today’s finest and most intelligent drummers. The precision, articulation, and power in his playing is world renowned. When Modern Drummer learned that he was now endorsing Techra Sticks, we were intrigued. We wanted him to…

Take The Money And Run

This month’s transcription comes from the timeless track “Take The Money And Run.” It boasts a fantastic groove with delectable ghost notes that enhance the overall sound. Recorded with Gary Mallaber playing drums, who not only sang but also co-wrote…

Zildjian 400th Anniversary Celebration

Photos & Article by: Bob Campbell The Avedis Zildjian Company has the enviable reputation of being not only the oldest cymbal maker, but also one of the oldest, highly regarded, and most enduring family businesses in the world.  It is…

Garrett Tyler - for KING + COUNTRY and Judah and the Lion

Photo by: Alex Kluft As we move through the for KING + COUNTRY percussion section, we move on to drummer and musical director Garrett Tyler. Garrett has been on the Nashville music scene for quite a while. His musical background…

The Bass Drum Owners Manual: Applying the Moeller Technique to the Bass Drum, Hand and Foot Combinations

This month Modern Drummer will continue to include excerpts from Michael Packer’s essential book on bass drum control and technique The Bass Drum Owners Manual: Applying the Moeller Technique to the Bass Drum. As you will see, this is a…

Out Now - January 2024

Modern Drummer is spotlighting new recordings that have the drums at the center of their sound. These recordings might be drummer-led, or just include a high-quality, special, or unique drumming and musical performance from the drummer and/or musicians in the…