< PreviousModern Drummer August 2022 88 BPM based on a quarter note pulse. The effect I am getting from the TIME KNOB set to 8X is a very intentional GLITCH sound, like a burst of 32nd note triplets or 64th notes every time I stomp on my bass drum. The low pass filter and SPACE effect makes the kick drum sound even more ominous. At the very tail end of this video clip, I hit the snare drum to find out how the same effect might work on a snare. This video clip is a good example of “going down that rabbit hole”. I am experimenting with this pedal and adjusting parameters to arrive at new sounds. All of this was recorded into my iPad. That strange bass drum sound could become the basis of a new film cue. With my workflow, I immediately upload all new recordings and samples into my drobox via the iPad. I can come back to that loop next week or next month to use it in a virtual sampler on my computer or import this sound into a Roland SPD-SX sampling Multi-Pad device. This first beat I recorded into the iPad using the Microcosm effect is called “BLOCKS”. Using this effect, incoming audio will trigger glitches or random bursts of notes. Adjusting the “Activity knob” controls the amount of variation and sample manipulation applied to the sound source. There are 4 preset slots, and each preset gets more complex. In the groove example on the video, I am applying EFFECT PRESET D. BLOCKS EFFECTS PRESETS Presets A, B, C and D are described as follows: A. Rearranges your playing and adds bursts of sequenced runs of recent notes B. Rearranges and pitch-shifts incoming signal C. Filtered samples overlap and fade out resulting in a softer, less angular glitch sound D. Rearranges the incoming signal using pitch-shifts and bit- crushing The next groove variation on groove A1 is recorded using the Microcosm effect called “BLOCKS”. I am hitting the drums a bit harder and accenting some of the gongs with a louder hit to see how the Microcosm pedal reacts. You can definitely hear the Microcosm applying aggressive random pitch shifting to the burst of snare hits and gong hits. You can see at the very beginning of this video I am still “learning” what the pedal is capable of by experimenting with some light hits on the roto-tom and Latin percussion. This video clip is a bit longer since I am becoming more comfortable locking into the pulse and random weirdness of this “Blocks” effect. Softer hits on the snare and djembe produce some really nice results. I will easily 18” INCH BASS DRUM TELEFUNKEN M82 KICK DRUM MIC SPECIAL BASS DRUM BEATER GONGS + NEUMANN KM 184 MICAugust 2022 Modern Drummer 89 develop this groove into its own song and/or film cue. At the start of the video clip, I am adjusting the reverb “SPACE” knob. I am playing a light cross stick backbeat. What I discovered is that the burst of glitching/pitch shifted notes are activated by louder velocities. You can hear some of the softer bass drum strikes don’t produce that crazy burst of bass drum glitches. The reverb I added feels nice. This would definitely make an excellent ambient electronic track with a few synths added on top of this groove. In this video clip, I am experimenting with the TIME KNOB to change up the Subdivisions on this “blocks” effect. I was able to cycle through some 1/8th note repeating effects and finally settled on a 16th note subdivision. It takes some getting used to playing with these new effects. As you can see in this video, I am a little hesitant trying out this new funk groove. I am experimenting and trying to figure out what will work well with this new microcosm effects setting. This is a “Four on the Floor” house music groove where I get to explore the 16th note subdivisions on the TIME knob. I played lots of accents on the gongs, djembe and snares. TUNNEL EFFECTS PRESET Microcosm Tunnel effects provides cyclical micro-loops that generate hypnotic drones with unique modifiers. Adjusting the ACTIVITY KNOB determines the depth of each modifier. TUNNEL Pre-sets A, B, C and D are described as follows: A. Drone sample length compresses and lengthens B. Sub-octave drone with filter sweeps C. Drone samples have resonant bandpass filters D. Envelope-triggered compressing and lengthening of drone sample length This last video example is called Microcosm Time Stretch “Tunnell” I used preset variation D and customized it a bit with the envelope shape. The time stretch on this effect is applied to the drone sample which you can clearly hear repeating and locked to the TEMPO. This one was tricky to play along with because it hard to hear the tempo in the pulsing, repetitive drone. I also added a healthy amount of reverb to this groove. It’s also worth noting that any time you arrive at a customized version of a preset, you can save it in one of the 16 user slots that are available. This makes it possible to revisit the exact same settings anytime you need them at the push of a button. I hope you enjoyed this up-close look at the Microcosm pedal by Hologram Electronics. The sound design capability of the Microcosm is innovative and expansive. I could easily do a separate article and series of videos on the Microcosm to demonstrate how it transforms synth sounds. I also have many more effects pedals to explore in future articles. If you have any questions, please visit me, and send comments/feedback via my website, www.tonyverderosa.com or follow me on social media. For more information on the Microcosm FX Pedal, please visit the Hologram Electronics website. https:// www.hologramelectronics.com/about Check out Tony’s Modern Drummer profile page at moderndrummer.com BOING SHEET + DJEMBE SABIAN HHX Thin Complex Crash AKG C414 MICModern Drummer September 2022 90 Joe Morello: Master Studies G eorge Lawrence Stone was a legendary drum teacher and musician, one of his prize pupils was Joe Morello. Joe carried on Stone’s valuable teachings and added his valuable insights in his books Master Studies and Master Studies II. This month, Modern Drummer will start offering some of Joe Morello’s most valuable teaching concepts and wisdom from those books, beginning with an outstanding endurance exercise called The Stone “Killer” from Master Studies. Today, the legendary Joe Morello also has many prize pupils involved in drumming. Many of them are carrying the drumming torch of George Lawrence Stone and Joe Morello in their own teachings. Some of them are even adding to the tradition of Stone and Morello with their own concepts and interpretations. Modern Drummer encourages you to seek out one of Joe’s gifted students who is teaching today, when you are working on Joe’s drumming and musical concepts and exercises. The Stone “Killer” George Lawrence Stone wrote this out for me one day and jokingly said, “This is a killer.” I found it to be tremendous for endurance. Originally, he only wrote out the first four lines of this. I then expanded on it by adding accents and apply- ing the same idea to triplets and duples. The idea, as Stone explained it, was to work each hand individually before you put them together. (Billy Gladstone used this same concept of developing each hand individually.) These exercises are not meant to be practiced all at once. They are grouped into sections. First, start with the eighth note section: the 4s, 8s, 12s, and 16s. Play the 4s fifty times each (counting the right hand.) Then do the 8s fifty times, the 12s fifty times, and the 16s fifty times. The first time you try this, you may not be able to do that many repetitions. If necessary, start by doing each line only 10 times. Gradually work your way up to where you can do fifty repetitions. It may take several weeks; that’s OK. Work at your own pace, depending on your stage of development. But remember: Stay relaxed throughout the entire exercise. The key to speed and endurance is relaxation. Do not allow yourself to tense up in an attempt to play faster or longer. As soon as you become tense, you are defeating the purpose of the exercise. After you have reached a certain proficiency with the first section, go to the section with the accents on the first note of each group. Practice this the same way as the first section- gradually working your way up to more repetitions. At this point, it would be good to continue practicing the first section in addition to the second section. After reaching a proficiency with the second section, move to the third section- accents on the last note of each group. At this point, you might stop working on the first section and concentrate only on the two sections with accents. Once you have worked your way through all six sections of part one that we are including this month, you can move on to the triplet exercises, and then the duple exercises. We will cover them in coming months. Have fun and remember to stay relaxed. The Stone “Killer” Part One ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRLLLL ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLL ? 4 6 . . œœœœœœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLLLLLL ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœœ >> >>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>>> Section 1September 2022 Modern Drummer 91 ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRLLLL >> ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLL >>>> ? 4 6 . . œœœœœœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLLLLLL >>>>>> ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLL œœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLL >>>>>>>> Section 2 ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRLLLL ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLL >>>> ? 4 6 . . œœœœœœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLLLLLL >>>>>> ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœ RRRRRRRR œœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLL œœœœœœœœ LLLLLLLL >>>>>>>> Section 3 >> >>>> >>>>>> >>>>>>>> ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRL ? 4 4 . . œœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRL ? 4 6 . . œœœœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL ? 4 4 . . œœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL œœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRL Section 4Modern Drummer September 2022 92 ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRL >> ? 4 4 . . œœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRL >>>> ? 4 6 . . œœœœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL >>>>>> ? 4 4 . . œœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL œœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRL >>>>>>>> ? 4 4 . . œœœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRL >> ? 4 4 . . œœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRL >>>> ? 4 6 . . œ œœœœœœ RLRL RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL >>>>>> ? 4 4 . . œœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLRL œœœœœ RLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR œœœœœ LRLRLRLRLRLRLRL >>>>>>>> Section 5 Section 6 Check out Joe’s Modern Drummer profile page and get your copy of Master Studies at moderndrummer.comSince 1977, Modern Drummer has been the world’s foremost community builder and a cutting-edge influence on all things related to drums & drumming. A place where young drummers find and follow their drum heroes, gear manufacturers, educators & retailers while actively participating in the drumming community to share their knowledge. To grace the pages of Modern Drummer Magazine is a coveted achievement that even the most iconic musicians hold in highest regard. Modern Drummer is the heartbeat and center of the drumming community. Now Modern Drummer is expanding our community for drummers, fans, beat- makers, music creators, NFT collectors, and yes, even gamers! It's called the Modern Drummer Club (MDC) and begins with our Discord at https://discord.gg/drums. The MDC Discord channel is a place to talk drums, learn & collaborate with others, share ideas, and provide musical feedback. The club represents Modern Drummer's foray into Web3 with a membership token that enables members to participate and be privy to the latest Modern Drummer NFT drops, contests, games, meet & greets, and rare live drum experiences. To learn more and join the conversation, join the Discord and follow us on Twitter at https://twitter.com/drumsnftModern Drummer September 2022 94 Double Bass Drumming by Joe Franco T his month we will continue with a section from Joe Franco’s groundbreaking book, Double Bass Drumming. This month Modern Drummer are including Joe’s explanation of double bass fills using his Single Stroke System, and include several of Joe’s fantastic sounding double bass fills from the book. Double Bass Fills Double Bass Fills patterns are broken up systematically between both hands and both feet. These patterns can be used as one bar fills. They can also be repeated or combined with each other to form extended fills and solos. This section of the book deals with sixteenth notes, later we will deal with eighth note triplets. The top line of each pattern will be labeled HANDS and can be played on different drums. For example, in the following pattern the HANDS are played on the SNARE. The HANDS can also be broken up between the SNARE and TOM. For example, the same pattern can be played as: or on two TOMS as: Try playing these patterns in other ways depending on the different drums in your kit. Every fill pattern is paired with its mirror image in which the feet play the part of the hands and vice versa. For example, the above pattern will be paired as follows. Practice playing these fills together with a beat similar to those suggested in each section. For example, play phrases such as: Three bars of a beat, and a one bar of a fill. One bar of a beat, and one bar of a fill. Two bars of a beat, two bars of a fill. Or… Play a one bar fill two times, or combine two different one bar fills. Once you are familiar with these patterns, try combining them as extended fills or solos of 4, 8, 16 or more measures. Sixteenth Note Fills In this section, fills are formed by breaking up continuous sixteenth notes between both hands and both feet. When playing these fills, use the Single Stroke System for both your hands and feet. That is, start with your lead hand or foot and then alternate strokes. In the following illustration, HAND 1 refers to the lead hand, and HAND 2 to the other. Here is the key to playing these fills: September 2022 Modern Drummer 95 By using this system your lead hand and foot will fall on the 1 of the measure following the fill. For example, for a right- handed player: In both cases the quarter note (beat 1) will be on the right hand and foot after the fill. Although every fill in the following exercises is one bar long and starts on the downbeat of 1, this system can be used regardless of the length of a fill or where it starts. The following examples illustrate fills that start in different places of the measure: Practice playing these fills with a beat similar to this:Modern Drummer September 2022 96 Check out Joe’s Modern Drummer profile page and get your copy of Double Bass Drumming at moderndrummer.comMeet Alex Gonzalez and Maná at the L.A. Forum courtesy of Modern Drummer! Ready to get the rock star treatment for a day? Here’s your chance to hang out with Alex Gonzalez at sound-check* and meet Maná before they play their show at the Forum in Los Angeles on October 22, 2022. See Maná in concert, go backstage, get a photo with Alex Gonzalez and the band, play Alex’s kit, and take home some incredible autographed gear! This Modern Drummer sponsored prize package also includes a LP Alex Gonzalez Maná Cowbell, some Vic Firth drumsticks, and a Remo drumhead . About the Contest Modern Drummer and Alex Gonzalez are teaming up to give one current MD subscriber and guest admission to the venue and backstage VIP access to Maná’s October 22 show at the Forum in Los Angeles, California. Contest entry dates September 1- October 5, 2022 For more about Maná, visit www.mana.com.mx To enter the contest, visit www.moderndrummer.com/VIP *As long as the band has a soundcheck that day, you’ll attend and have the chance to play his kit.Next >