educational
Modern Drummer is the world’s most widely read drum magazine, is dedicated entirely to the art of drumming and caters to the needs of amateur, semi-pro, and professional drummers.
Rock & Jazz Clinic: Brush Workshop, Part 1
October 2011 Rock & Jazz Clinic Brush Workshop Part 1: Circular Motions by Florian Alexandru-Zorn A goal of mine has been to play with brushes and think not in terms of patterns but in a more musical way, transferring all…
Pat Gesualdo: Helping to Keep Special-Needs Students Healthy
When teaching special-needs students, drum instructors and Drum Therapists must remember that besides the difficulties that disabilities present to learning, there are often health issues to contend with. Keeping the younger and adult special-needs population healthy can have its challenges.…
Pork Pie 7x14 Cherry/Bubinga Snare
The complete review of the Pork Pie 7x14 cherry/bubinga snare drum is on page 31 of the October issue of Modern Drummer magazine.
Listen as We Test a Slew of New Mic Models From Shure
Beta91A bass drum mic Beta 181 Beta 98AMP tom mic The complete review of the new Shure Beta 91A bass drum mic, Beta 181 side-address condenser, and Beta 98AMP tom mic is on page 32 of the September issue…
Open-Handed Playing, Part 1: Unlocking the Hidden Potential
September 2011 Rock 'N' Jazz Clinic Open-Handed Playing Part 1: Unlocking the Hidden Potential by Claus Hessler One of the biggest advantages to playing open-handed is that you no longer have to deal with the obstructed movement of crossing your…
Advanced Blues: Syncopated and Polyrhythmic Feels
September 2011 In The Pocket Advanced Blues Syncopated and Polyrhythmic Feels by Jim Payne Here are the demo videos that accompany my article on advanced blues drumming.
Ostinato Studies, Part 1: The Building Blocks
September 2011 Drum Soloist Ostinato Studies Part 1: The Building Blocks by Jason Gianni Here is the video that we are using as the basis for the concepts we’re exploring in our Ostinato Studies article series. Check out the first…
Write Creative Drum Parts, Part 3: Interpreting Threes
August 2011 Rock 'N' Jazz Clinic Write Creative Drum Parts Part 3: Interpreting Threes by Chris Prescott For the third installment of this series, I thought it would be appropriate to examine the various ways to interpret music based in…
Relative Tempo: Click-Shifting Exercises to Improve Your Sense of Time
August 2011 Jazz Drummer’s Workshop Relative Tempo: Click-Shifting Exercises to Improve Your Sense of Time by Steve Fidyk This article discusses ways to improve your sense of timing by shifting a quarter-note click to each 8th-note-triplet or 16th-note subdivision. Here’s…
Write Creative Drum Parts, Part 2: Anticipated Rhythms
Original article from the June 2011 issue of Modern Drummer Magazine June 2011 Rock 'N' Jazz Clinic Write Creative Drum Parts Part 2: Anticipated Rhythms by Chris Prescott In part one of this series (April 2011), we discussed various ways…
Joe Morello: 1928–2011
No one has done more to reveal the inner science and outer beauty of odd time signatures than the Dave Brubeck Quartet’s beloved drummer. Friend and student Steve Fidyk created this fitting musical tribute. Click here to view the complete transcription…
Ryan Luciani of Empires
Hey, all, my name is Ryan Luciani, and I play in the Chicago rock band Empires. I’m very grateful to have been asked to write a blog for Modern Drummer, since I’ve been reading the magazine for years. First things first!…
Nate Morton of The Voice
Hi, MD readers. I thought I had faced musical challenges and done difficult gigs. And I believed I knew what it was like to learn a large amount of material in a short time—recording ten songs in a day seemed like…
Dawn Richardson of Mental 99
Hey there, everyone! I’m very excited to be included here on the MD Blog. I’m a long-time reader of Modern Drummer magazine and love most things that are related to drums and drumming. I’ve been playing for quite a while now,…