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October 2020 Issue – Volume 44 • Number 10

Exercises for Internalizing 16th-Note Permutations Displacement is a beat-editing tool that can make a groove sound glitchy. This is achieved by shifting the groove in such a way that what was originally played on beat 1 is now landing somewhere else in the bar. The more recognizable the original pattern, the more tension the displacement causes for the listener, and the more difficult it becomes to continue to feel the quarter-note pulse. For example, if you heard someone play the following bar without a metronome or accompaniment, do you think you would feel the first note as anything other than beat 1? The moment you hear that first bass drum, your brain will insist that it’s beat 1. This is why beat displacement works the way it does. We’re so used to hearing grooves being grounded by the bass drum that it’s difficult to perceive those notes existing anywhere else. […]
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Articles in October 2020

Joe Morello

Chops Master and Musical Poet Joe Morello inspired thousands of drummers during his long career, which spanned from 1957, the year of his first recording session with Dave Brubeck, to 2011, when he passed away. Morello’s legacy reached a wide…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Sugar Percussion Snare Workshop

Transforming Raw Planks to “Perfect” Circles It all started with a few innocuous text messages: “How would you like to attend one of my snare classes and maybe write a little article about it?” asked Jefferson Shallenberger, founder and master…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Gretsch, 64 Audio, Istanbul Mehmet, Latin Percussion, Promuco Percussion, DW

Gretsch Heritage Build Setups USA Custom and Broadkaster drums are now available with a Heritage Build option. This vintage-style look is available in any drum finish and features center-mount, double-ended lugs and extended tension rods of different lengths to suit…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Deep Purple’s Ian Paice

Of all the remarkable rock drummers to have originated in the late 1960s/early 1970s, none was more astonishing than Ian Paice. If John Bonham was the zeppelin, Carl Palmer the tank, and Nick Mason the perpetual clock, Ian Paice was…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Nektar’s Ron Howden

The progressive-rock elder statesman has survived life-threatening medical issues to celebrate his iconic band’s fiftieth anniversary with a fine new album. Throughout its five-decades-long lifespan, Nektar has generated a cult following, sending music listeners on mind-bending conceptual sojourns. Likewise, the…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020
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Samba Funk

Modern Fusion Beats Based on Traditional Brazilian Rhythms Hi, everybody! It’s a pleasure to be back writing for Modern Drummer and sharing some of my Brazilian culture with you. This time I am talking about my application of samba funk…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

RECORDINGS

Haken Virus The U.K. prog-rock sextet’s latest album may adhere to a lyrical narrative, but according to drummer RAY HEARNE, they’re still dedicated to evolving their sound. Embracing the mystery of their curious Cockroach King character, Haken’s new release, Virus…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Philly Joe Jones

Miles Davis was the only group I gave up New York to go out with. That was in ’54, and it was my greatest experience in the music business.I don’t think I’ll ever be associated with four people like Miles,…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

The Next Best Thing

In his cover story this month, Chad Smith says, “It’s great to play in a room and record yourself. But…to me, to truly be playing music you have to be playing with other people. That’s the fun part, the human…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Chad Smith’s Three Basic Beats to Infuse with Your Own Thing

You can get ten different people playing on a basic drumset, playing a basic rock beat, and they will all sound different. We each have a signature, and that’s a beautiful thing. It’s not “my way or the highway”—it’s about…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Iúri Oliveira

The Portuguese percussionist has made an art out of creating unique hybrid sets for each act he supports—but sometimes a lone shaker is all he really needs. During a recent phone conversation, Portuguese percussionist and drummer Iúri Oliveira was a…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

The Great Jazz Drummers

Sidney “Big Sid” Catlett Though Sidney “Big Sid” Catlett came out of the swing era, he is best remembered for a drumming style that had a marked influence on the bop drummers of the 1940s. Catlett bridged the gap between…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020
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John Herndon

The drummer and cofounder of the influential Chicago band Tortoise details the gear and methods he used to get “jagged and weird” on his new solo album. John Herndon is best known as a drummer/percussionist in Chicago’s Tortoise, the instrumental…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

Zildjian - I Family Cymbals

A modernized approach to entry-level bronze. Released earlier this year, Zildjian’s new I Family of cymbals was designed to provide bright and expressive sounds at ultra-affordable prices. These traditionally finished B8 bronze additions replace the discontinued ZBT series and comprise…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

In the Studio With Miles McPherson: Touring Pro Turned Session Ace

Miles McPherson moved to Nashville in 1986, when his father, Jerry, relocated the family there so he could work in the studios as a session guitarist. Miles was expecting to be a guitarist—until he sat at a drumset for the…

Modern Drummer
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Bill Stewart

Striving for Clarity His appearance on the new John Scofield album marks thirty years of one of modern jazz’s great partnerships. But of course that’s only part of what he’s been up to lately. When Bill Stewart made his first…

Modern Drummer
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Chad Smith

The longtime Red Hot Chili Peppers drummer is enjoying a wave of great reviews for his work on the new, critically acclaimed Ozzy Osbourne album, Ordinary Man. The takeaway? If there’s one contemporary drummer on the planet who wholly embodies…

Modern Drummer
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Amy Aileen Wood

The drummer played an outsized part in bringing one of the most anticipated and well-received albums of the year to fruition. Amy Aileen Wood is a comfortable conversationalist, modest and engaging even when she downplays her immense skill as a…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020
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What Song Are You Working on Now?

“Metropolis—Part I” by Dream Theater .@ptrlcc “Chemical Warfare” by Slayer .@nickkcuevas “Hemispheres” by Rush . The first section is so tough on the hi-hat.@mconrad332 “Around the World” by the Red Hot Chili Peppers .@_rywill22 “Just like Heaven” by the Cure…

Modern Drummer
Sep 1, 2020

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