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.
1969: The Shock of the New
As artists developed increasingly ambitious musical concepts, the challenges for instrument designers, engineers, composers, and instrumentalists increased as well.
Led Zeppelin II
Led Zeppelin II was released on October 22, 1969. Although initially panned by some critics, the album became the band’s first number-one album.
Creedence Clearwater Revival’s Doug Clifford
Given the breakneck pace at which CCR operated in 1969, it’s a wonder Clifford and Cook are still out on the road fifty years later.
Tony Williams at a Jazz Crossroads
During his years with Miles Davis, beginning in 1963 at age seventeen, Tony Williams radically changed jazz drumming.
Bruce Rowland
Bruce Rowland racked up numerous recording and touring credits through his extensive work in the pop, folk, blues-rock, and rock worlds.
Theme for an “Imaginary” Drummer
To most, Corky Laing’s drumming is synonymous with the great heavy-rock band Mountain, and vice versa.
Remembering Hal Blaine
He helped pave the way for every great studio musician who came out of L.A., and his influence extends to this very day.
JD Beck
Mentored by Dallas-area drummers like Robert “Sput” Searight, Mike Mitchell, and Cleon Edwards, JD Beck has crafted a style of crooked beats and patterns mixed with over-the-barline fluidity.
Inverted Paradiddle-Diddles
Rudiments can essentially be described as groupings of single and double strokes in different configurations and rhythms.
Advanced Techniques for Jazz Soloing
For four years I’d been studying intensely with Dom Famularo, who suddenly said during one of my lessons, “Steph, you’re now ready for Jim.”
Sam Durkes on Ezra Furman’s Twelve Nudes
Throughout the album drummer Sam Durkes drives Ezra Furman’s distorted up-tempo fervor with a surprising avoidance of cymbals.
The 5/4 Half-Time Shuffle
For those of you who’ve never heard the coveted half-time shuffle, which is also commonly referred to as the Purdie shuffle,...
Septuplet Linear Patterns
The most fun thing about linear concepts is that almost any pattern you play can be modified in multiple ways.
Zimbabwean “Tuku” Music
Combining the traditional Jit, Tsotsa, and other rhythms of Zimbabwe, the late Oliver “Tuku” Mtukudzi’s style could only be defined as distinctly his own.
