Education
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.
The New Breed: Concepts
Gary Chester’s groundbreaking book The New Breed is legendary. The book, and Gary’s teaching methods are deeply intertwined, it is a lifelong commitment of dedication, study, and development. Gary Chester’s Systems, Reading Exercises, Advanced Systems, Advanced Reading Exercises, Composite Systems,…
Master Studies II: Adventure in Time
As a follow-up to Joe Morello’s legendary Master Studies book, he released Master Studies II in 2006. Joe was a masterful teacher and helped many great drummers with their musicality, technique, and touch. Joe was also masterful at creating exercises,…
The Art of Transcribing Jazz Drums, The Myth of the “Correct” Transcription
Ask ten experienced drummers to transcribe the same 16 bars from a jazz recording made in the 1940s, ‘50s, or early ‘60s, and chances are you won’t get ten identical results. It’s not because nine of them are wrong, or…
Progressive Drumming Essentials: Advanced Overlapping Phrases
Progressive Drumming Essentials is a collection of articles originally written for Modern Drummer magazine. They are exactly what the title says, PROGRESSIVE drumming essentials. This series of articles, and the book that contains them all, represent a great deal of…
The 1% Edge
“If I miss one day of practice, I notice it. If I miss two days, the critics notice it. If I miss three days, the audience notices it.” Franz Liszt Successful people all have one trait in common: a bias…
SILENT DRUM PRACTICE – Part 5
Welcome to Part 5 of my series on practicing drums without a drum set! This episode is all about polyrhythms. Understanding Polyrhythms The term “polyrhythm” describes several different rhythmic subdivisions that occur within the same unit of time. In this…
Buddy Rich, “Love for Sale,” from a 1982 YouTube Performance; and “Apples, (aka Gino,)” from BigSwing Face (1996 CD Reissue)
This month I have the honor of producing two transcriptions for a special issue celebrating the great Buddy Rich. Volumes have been written about this phenomenal drummer over the years, and there is little that I could add to his…
The New Breed: The End of Advanced Reading
Gary Chester’s groundbreaking book The New Breed is legendary. The book, and Gary’s teaching methods are deeply intertwined, it is a lifelong commitment of dedication, study, and development. Gary Chester’s Systems, Reading Exercises, Advanced Systems, Advanced Reading Exercises, Composite Systems,…
Master Studies II: Sticking Variations in Groups of Seven
As a follow-up to Joe Morello’s legendary Master Studies book, he released Master Studies II in 2006. Joe was a masterful teacher and helped many great drummers with their musicality, technique, and touch. Joe was also masterful at creating exercises,…
Progressive Drumming Essentials: Odd Subdivision Offbeats
Progressive Drumming Essentials is a collection of articles originally written for Modern Drummer magazine. They are exactly what the title says, PROGRESSIVE drumming essentials. This series of articles, and the book that contains them all, represent a great deal of…
Ten Practice Hacks for a Busy Day
“I’m late, I’m late for a very important date. No time to say hello, good-bye, I’m late, I’m late, I’m late!” White Rabbit from Alice in Wonderland The following practice hacks are great for days when the whirlwind of life…
Silent Drum Practice - Part 4
I’m very happy to welcome you to part four of my series on practicing drums without a drum set! This episode is all about repetition and shifting patterns. Feel Free to Repeat Yourself Repetition is a very useful stylistic device…
Medeski, Martin & Wood “Chubb Sub,” from Friday Afternoon in the Universe, drummer Billy Martin
This month we take an acid-jazz deep-dive into the work of Billy Martin with Medeski, Martin & Wood. The song “Chubb Sub” comes from the recording Friday Afternoon in the Universe. For me, two things immediately stand out in Billy Martin’s…
The New Breed: (Even More) Advanced Reading
Gary Chester’s groundbreaking book The New Breed is legendary. The book, and Gary’s teaching methods are deeply intertwined, it is a lifelong commitment of dedication, study, and development. Gary Chester’s Systems, Reading Exercises, Advanced Systems, Advanced Reading Exercises, Composite Systems,…
