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September 2020 Issue – Volume 44 • Number 9

Online music instruction existed long before the coronavirus...
TO READ THE FULL STORY:

Articles in September 2020

The Classic Recordings of Ginger Baker, Part 2: Tilt-a-Whirl

Like the amusement park ride—whose name was pinched for a song by Masters of Reality, one of the many unique projects Ginger Baker involved himself in the post–classic rock era—the variety and exuberance of Ginger’s later output could make your…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

BACK THROUGH THE STACK

Drums…gymnastics…everything I picked, I got really obsessive with. So now that I’m writing and I’m a bandleader, I’m obsessive with that. That obsessiveness helped me a lot when I was getting my stuff together. And, you know, back then there…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

John Dolmayan

The System of a Down drummer and successful comic book publisher has released an album of diverse, reimagined covers as well as an exciting new original comic book with an epic story line. Before the coronavirus lockdown, John Dolmayan was…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Joe Russo

When you search his name on the internet, you’ll be surprised to find a website claiming that he was knighted by Prince Charles some years back because he’d given the royal such inspiring drum lessons. He himself will be the…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Russ Miller

Russ Miller has been a staple of the Los Angeles studio scene for many years, and he’s recorded with everyone from Ray Charles to the Psychedelic Furs and appeared in house bands for television shows. Miller has created his instructional…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020
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Bill Rieflin (1960–2020)

Bill Rieflin did more than just adapt his drumming skills to fit musical settings as vastly different as the Revolting Cocks and Robyn Hitchcock. He used those skills to make significant contributions live and in the studio to three incredibly…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Stick Technique Revisited

Part 3: Downstrokes, Taps, and Upstrokes If we used only free strokes, our playing would become pretty dull, since every note would be played at the same stick height and dynamic level. In order to add accents and dynamic contour…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Beats and Fills

A Smattering of Favorites from a Few Top Pros This month we’ve gathered a collection of favorite beats and fills from some of the top drummers in the world.Each of these transcriptions was pulled from a Modern Drummer exclusive video…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Critique

RECORDINGS Sweet Spirit Trinidad The latest release by one of Austin’s sharpest and most prolific musical troupes finds drummer Danny Blanchard focusing on the groove. Sweet Spirit is the dance floor–friendly pop inverse of fellow Austin band A Giant Dog.…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Odd Groupings on the Offbeats

Alternative Rhythmic Placements for More Adventurous Options If you’ve been working through my articles over the past few years, you’ve been exposed to a good number of odd subdivisions, particularly quintuplets. We almost exclusively start those advanced rhythms on the…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Jojo Mayer Style and Analysis Part 1

The iconic drummer Jojo Mayer and his band Nerve are an anomaly within a sea of artists in the electronic dance music scene. However, their collective influences run much deeper than the genre might suggest. With a pedigree in jazz…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

5 Fun Lessons to Get Today’s Youth into Drumming

If your child is banging his or her dinner utensils around and smacking pillows with plastic lightsabers, it’s likely time to transition your budding rhythmatist to some drum lessons. The challenge is how to maintain the entertainment factor of bashing…

Modern Drummer
Aug 28, 2020
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Mike Johnston

Mike Johnston is a trailblazer in online education, having seen the immense potential within the platform when YouTube first launched in 2005. Today his aesthetic and educational delivery is seen as the benchmark. MD: How long have you been involved…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Dave Weckl

Dave Weckl is one of the most accomplished drummers of his or any generation, having toured and recorded with everyone from Chick Corea to Paul Simon. Inducted in the Modern Drummer Hall of Fame in 2000 and named one of…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Jay Rudolph

MD contributor Lia Braswell catches up with her old friend, who recently toured with the much-admired folk-rock act Weyes Blood. Weyes Blood, the alias of singer, songwriter, and multi-instrumentalist Natalie Mering, has been soaring through the music scene with her…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Live-Streaming Setups

As much of the world continues to be locked down due to COVID-19, professional educators and performers of all ranks are having to quickly adopt new ways to deliver their instruction and art in high-quality digital form. Here we outline…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Istanbul Mehmet, Latin Percussion, Gruv Gear, and more

Istanbul Mehmet Bossa and Crystal Ride Cymbals The Bossa ride has an unlathed top and a fully lathed bottom and is said to have a dark, washy sound and offer clear stick definition. The JB 15" Crystal ride, designed in…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

Remembering Neil Peart

Part 1: “Malignant Narcissism” When it comes to breaking down the drum parts on the instrumental song “Malignant Narcissism” from Rush’s 2007 studio album, Snakes & Arrows, there’s no better place to go than the man who played it, Neil…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

18 Drummers to Follow on Instagram

Worldwide pandemic or not, we’re all spending more time online nowadays, and there’s plenty of drumming action happening on the social media platform Instagram, which allows users to upload photos and videos. With a video length restriction of sixty seconds,…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020
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Roland - TD-27KV V-Drums

A top-quality mid-level kit with next-level components. This year Roland introduced two new configurations of electronic drumsets. One is the Acoustic Design, which features full-size wood shells, wrap finishes, and enhanced response for a more authentic playing experience. We’ll cover…

Modern Drummer
Aug 1, 2020

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