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.

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Professionalism

Being a truly professional drummer involves more than just making all or part of your living playing the drums. It is an attitude that is developed through experience and self-discipline.

by Roy Burns
Apr 4, 2019

Odd-Beat Subdivisions

Almost all styles of music now deviate from normal duple- and triple-beat subdivisions, and use divisions of five, seven, or more.

by Michael Snyder
Apr 4, 2019

John F. Williams: Studio Pioneer

Greatness in music is greatness in character. No more fitting epitaph could pay tribute better than this statement on the loss of drumming great Johnny Williams.

by Rodman A. Sims
Apr 4, 2019

Latin Jazz Drumming Part 3: Mambo Bell Ideas in 3/2 Time

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Modern Drummer
Apr 1, 2019

The Duality of 16th-Note Meters

Time signatures such as 15/16, 17/16, and 29/16 can bring out anxiety in drummers who aren’t familiar with them. The truth of the matter is that they’re only slightly different from quarter-or 8th-note meters, which are far more common.

by Aaron Edgar
Mar 27, 2019
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Funkify Your Swing Feel

Fusing rhythms from one style of music to another can help a player develop new ideas and fresh rhythmic approaches that might not have yet been previously explored.

by Steve Fidyk
Mar 27, 2019

Creative Triplets For The Advanced Player: Part 2

Syncopated figures could be used within an underlying framework of 8th-note triplets.

by Mark Hurley
Mar 26, 2019

Drumming And The Practice Pad

Some drummers hate practice pads; others are never without them. Some teachers recommend practice pads; others say that you should practice on the drums.

by Roy Burns
Mar 26, 2019

Creative Triplets For The Advanced Player: Part 1

The following two-part article has been designed to help you improve your ability to fill or solo using syncopated jazz figures amidst an underlying pulse of 8th-note triplets.

by Mark Hurley
Mar 20, 2019

Teaching By Intimidation

Imagine how you would feel if, on your first drum lesson with a new teacher, the teacher said,

by Roy Burns
Mar 20, 2019

Eights And Sixes

We’re going to build upon the Eights and Sixes exercise that I introduced in Part 1 of this series by adding double strokes and rimshots into the routine.

by Bill Bachman
Feb 27, 2019

Music As A Game

In his book Effortless Mastery, jazz pianist, composer, and author Kenny Werner wrote, “Don’t forget: Music is something we just made up. It doesn’t actually exist as anything but a game for us.”

by Aaron Edgar
Feb 27, 2019
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Five-A-Diddles

Throughout their careers, great drummers such as Zigaboo Modeliste, David Garibaldi, and Dave Weckl have opened our imaginations to the possibilities of paradiddles and their inversions.

by Jayson Brinkworth
Feb 27, 2019

Funk In Five

TO READ THE FULL STORY: LOG IN Digital Access $4.99 /month or $49.99 /year SAVE $10 | Yearly Subscription Digital Monthly Magazine 47 Years of Archives (500+ Issues) 40+ Drum Channel Subscribe Now All Access (Print + Digital) USA $179.99…

by Chuck Kerrigan
Feb 5, 2019
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