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.
Trey Anastasio Band’s Russ Lawton
A pair of late-2012 releases—one crackling with live energy, the other conjuring plenty of studio magic—shows two sides of one crafty drummer. TO READ THE FULL STORY: SUBSCRIBE TO ACCESS LOG IN
Drum Athletes Part 4: Dynamic Stretching
Talk to any professional drummer who travels on a regular basis, and he or she will testify to the benefits of staying healthy on the road. Many touring musicians understand the value of getting enough sleep, drinking a lot of…
Compound Rudiments The Blam
Many of the basic drum rudiments can be combined. If you analyze a paradiddle, you’ll see that it’s really just two single strokes and a double. With that in mind, I’ve decided to blend two of my favorite sounds on…
Indian Clave
Building a Bridge Between Two Rhythmic Cultures Indian Clave Every piece of music has a story to tell, and the one we’re looking at this month, “Indian Clave,” started at a festival in Croatia, when I performed with Horacio “el…
Popular Play-Alongs Part: 5: Rap-Metal
In this series of articles we’ve focused on developing the proper performance technique, groove vocabulary, and sound to play a wide variety of tunes. In our final installment, we’ll be combining two types of grooves in a rap-metal tune titled…
Latin Rhythms in Pop Music
Part 1: Bossa Nova and Samba I often meet drummers who just aren’t interested in studying Latin rhythms. I’ve heard the same thing many times: “I’m never going to play a samba, mambo, songo, or 6/8 groove, so why…
Be the Driver!
Ask any musician, especially a non-drummer, “What’s the number one role of the drummer?”
THIN LIZZY Live And Dangerous
An apt title for one of rock’s most fierce and formidable concert albums. With Live and Dangerous, the crushing aggregate of drummer Brian Downey, singer/ bassist Phil Lynott, and lead guitarist/ vocalists Brian Robertson and Scott Gorham delivered one…
Korey Horn
The ska and reggae vet may be exploring new musical paths, but he remains true to his rhythmic roots. As an aspiring drummer, reggae and ska stalwart Korey Horn received a piece of advice from his father, jazz singer…
Papa Jo Jones: The Bridge
Simply put, jazz drumming eras could arguably be viewed as pre-Papa and post- Papa. Such was the immeasurable contribution of Jo Jones, whose elegant touch, feel, and sound marked a connecting bridge to our modern sense of jazz swing. …
Daughtry's Robin Diaz Interview April 2013
On April 16, 2010, the chart-topping band Daughtry announced that original drummer Joey Barnes had left the group, and that L.A. session drummer Robin Diaz was filling in on tour. The arrangement was intended to be temporary…. TO READ THE…
Mark Egan
Mark Egan is one of the most highly regarded bassists in the history of electric jazz. Performing and recording with many of the prominent drummers of our time—a short list would include Steve Gadd, Jack DeJohnette, Vinnie Colaiuta, Jeff “Tain”…
Physical Hazards Of The Throne
13 Exercises to Minimize the Wear and Tear of Drumming Drummers play thousands—maybe even millions—of strokes throughout the course of their careers. With that amount of repetitive activity, mechanical wear can occur, which can then cause pain or injury. Over…
Dexterity in Odd Rhythms: Quintuplet Variations
In this article we’re going to cover how to feel quintuplets using an Indian counting system. There are many different variations, but the syllables I like to use are ta, ka, din, ah, and gah, which are easy to pronounce…
