Jazz Drummer's Workshop
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.
Latin Jazz Drumming Part 3: Mambo Bell Ideas in 3/2 Time
Welcome to the third installment in our series on Latin jazz drumming. In this lesson we’ll focus on mambo bell variations in a 3/2 time signature. The inspiration for this month’s column comes from an audition experience I had several…
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.
Creative Triplets For The Advanced Player: Part 2
Syncopated figures could be used within an underlying framework of 8th-note triplets.
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.
Contemporary Coordination Exercises
The exercises in this month’s lesson are meant to challenge your concentration, coordination, and independence. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Assertions And Evaluations
Time passes, and I become convinced more than ever that the diverse elements comprising the art of drumming all work together to give us drum fanatics as good a shot at happiness and fulfillment as anyone on the planet Earth.…
Latin Jazz Drumming - The Mambo, Part 1
In this lesson series we’ll focus on Latin jazz rhythms and interpret them on the drumset. For the first installment, we’re digging into the Afro-Cuban mambo bell pattern. Mambo is an Afro-Cuban style that’s built upon a clave foundation. Traditionally…
Expanding the Paradiddle – Part 3
As was stated in Part 2, this article will examine ways to obtain polyrhythmic patterns by using paradiddles. These exercises should be practiced with a metronome until a natural feel for the rhythms is achieved. Again, keep the muscles relaxed…
Expanding The Paradiddle – Part II
In Part I we used different placements of accents to expand the paradiddle. In this article, we will expand the paradiddle rhythmically. As I explained in Part I, you must keep your muscles relaxed and concentrate while playing these exercises.…
Jazz Coordination Studies
Jazz-oriented independent coordination is basically the ability to play any rhythmic idea with your left hand and/or right foot, without ever breaking the time flow being played by the right hand on the ride cymbal. Below are some exercises designed…
