September 2023 – Volume 47 • Number 9

Ron Spagnardi 1943-2003 Remembered After Twenty Years

It was twenty years ago this month that Modern Drummer Founder and Publisher Ron Spagnardi succumbed from his battle with cancer. Although Ron wasn’t comfortable with the term “visionary,” that’s exactly what he was. Every drummer around the world owes…

Snare Drum Duets: Duet 3

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…

Vic Firth Terra™ Series

Vic Firth’s new series of drumsticks celebrates the natural beauty our earth gifts us in each drumstick we make. Using a proprietary staining process, the unique and beautiful grains are exposed so that no two pairs are alike. Crafted from…

Jay Weinberg and Max Weinberg: Like Son, Like Father

Photo by Rob DeMartin This month, Modern Drummer is honored to celebrate an MD cover that appeared 14 years ago. That was when Bruce Springsteen chose (E Street Band’s longtime drummer) Max Weinberg’s son Jay Weinberg to replace Max for…

ddrum Dominion Birch 4PC Shell Pack With Paper White Birch Wrap Quality Drums, Compact Price

In 2005 ddrum raised the bar when it comes to drum quality and price when they released their Dominion series drums. They recently introduced an upgraded version of their Dominion Birch series drums, improving upon both quality and aesthetics. This…

Max Weinberg: Back on E Street

Photo by Anthony Scanga To some, he’s “Mighty” Max, the longtime drummer of Bruce Springsteen’s E Street Band. To other, perhaps younger fans, he’s familiar as the bandleader and comic foil to Conan O’ Brien, when the latter hosted NBC-TV’s…

Step Up and Raise Your Standards!

Getting to your next level of excellence comes in evolutions, not revolutions. We all share the battle of fighting self-sabotage from our “shadow selves.” This lesser part of us survives by running to the light of ease and safety. Fighting…

“Chapinism” to Jazz Solos: Solo applications from Advanced Techniques for the Modern Drummer, Vol 1 Coordinated Independence

I had the chance to study with the great Jim Chapin during the last four years of his life. Jim passed away at 90 years of age on Independence Day (July 4, 2009). Ironically, he has been referred to as…

The Bass Drum Owners Manual: Applying the Heel Up Technique to Grooves

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…

Roland Zenology Pro

For decades, Roland sounds have had a massive influence on music. Our legendary instruments have defined genres like techno, house, rap, trap, and hip hop, and deeply influenced pop, rock, and film music. This long legacy has culminated in the…

Dave Sundeen’s Custom Kit

This month’s Kit of the Month comes from Dave Sundeen from Random Lake, Wisconsin. He is the drummer for the Milwaukee based bands Shelly Mack and The ReUnion and Sucker Punch. This is a custom made kit that was built…

Two 1930s Slingerland Green Trap Kits

Here’s a little history of how Slingerland got into the drum business. In the 1920’s the banjo was very popular in music of day. Up until 1927 Slingerland was a banjo company. Ludwig had been a drum company since 1909.…

Latin Percussion Launches New Range of Frame Drums

Latin Percussion continues to develop their collection of world percussion instruments with the introduction of a new range of Frame Drums to include the Tar and Bendir. Based on some of the most ancient musical instruments the new Tar and…

Drumming for the Brain: Unlocking the Neurological and Psychological Benefits of Rhythmic Therapy

I’ve known this month’s guest columnist Karl Sterling for just about as long as I’ve been a professional drummer (fifty years ago his parents used to bring him to gigs when I was the drummer for Stan Kenton). A former…

ProMark Retractable Nylon Brushes

ProMark has introduced two new versions of retractable nylon brushes in heavy and light weight versions. The Heavy Nylon Brush comes in a 2B size handle with black bristles and offers increased volume and attack. This brush might be more…

September 2023 – Volume 47 • Number 9

Jay Weinberg Knot Just A New Generation

Photo by Anthony Scanga Whether you are a fan of Slipknot or not; if you think that you know drummer Jay Weinberg? I guarantee you that you don’t! At the age of 32, his life (so far) reads like a…

Vinnie Paul Replica Pearl “Damage Plan Kit”

This month’s Eye Candy kit is a Pearl set that was custom created by John Douglas. This is a replica of Vinnie Paul’s Damage Plan kit. The kit features two 24 x 26 bass drums, 14 x 14 and 15…

Brent Fitz: His Inspiring Journey

Photo by Ilya Mirman As the rhythmic backbone of some of rock music’s biggest acts, Brent Fitz has established himself as one of the most talented and versatile drummers in the industry. From his thunderous beats to his intricate piano…

African and American Combinations

The next step in our African-American journey is to combine the long-three polyrhythm in bikutsi with mangambe and shuffle-funk elements. Let’s begin by playing the mangambe right-hand pattern on the cymbal and the six over four polyrhythm with the foot…