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March 2014 Issue – Volume 39 • Number 3

Grounding Odd-Time Grooves With a Quarter-Note Pulse Playing songs in odd times can be challenging to you as a drummer, but one thing that doesn’t get much attention is how tough odd times can be on the audience. It’s called “odd” for a reason—because it feels odd. But it doesn’t necessarily have to be this way. A great number of pop tunes are in an odd meter, yet they don’t feel uncomfortable at all. Some examples are “Saint Augustine in Hell” and “I Hung My Head” by Sting (with the great Vinnie Colaiuta on drums), “Dreaming in Metaphors” by Seal, and “Seven” by the Dave Matthews Band. Time signatures can be organized into two groups: common time (4/4, 2/4, and 6/8) and odd time (3/4, 5/8, 7/8, 11/16, etc.). With a song in 5/8 or 7/8, the audience is constantly trying to find the pulse, but as soon as they […]
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Articles in March 2014

Beyond "Funky Drummer"

Great Drum Breaks of the '60s and Early '70s Much has been written about Clyde Stubblefield’s legendary drum break on James Brown’s 1969 song “Funky Drummer.” Those few bars laid the groundwork for dozens of hip-hop tracks, and Stubblefield’s playing…

By Dustin Ransom
Feb 1, 2018

Nate Wood

His playing in the resolutely unclassifiable band Kneebody seems like a match made in heaven. But you might be surprised by what he has―and hasn’t―focused on while perfecting his craft. Is Kneebody the contemporary version of New Orleans’ beat-slaying band…

Story by Ken Micallef | Photos by Paul La Raia
Feb 1, 2018

Rhythm And Timing, Part 1

Part 1: Three-Note 16th Groupings In this five-part series we’re going to develop not only timing and rhythmic accuracy with triplets and 16th notes, but also accent/tap control using the four basic strokes (full, down, tap, and up). To some,…

by Bill Bachman
Feb 1, 2018

The 50 Greatest Drummers of All Time

Whose playing endures through the decades? Whose music do we reach for when we want new ideas? When we want to practice? Who inspires and delights us most? Following are the drummers who, regardless of genre or era, are revered…

Entries written by Adam Budofsky, Michael Dawson, and Michael Parillo
Feb 1, 2018

Alex Rüdinger

The new drummer with the progressive metal band the Faceless has turned heads with a combination of old-world ethics and future-shock techniques. Alex Rudinger has built a great deal of musical momentum on the technical metal scene, all at the…

by Ben Meyer
Feb 1, 2018
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Stick Control Revisited Part 4

Part 4: Up-Tempo Studies Welcome to the fourth and final installment in our series on Stick Control drumset applications. This month we’ll explore ways of interpreting author George Lawrence Stone’s exercises while playing up-tempo swing rhythms. As you practice the…

Modern Drummer
Feb 1, 2018

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