by Dustin Ransom To coincide with the recent remastered box set of Pink Floyd’s monumental classic Dark Side Of The Moon, this article spotlights Floyd drummer Nick Mason, one of the most well known yet severely underrated rock drummers of the past forty years. The magic of Mason’s playing is not found in flashy chops, [...]

By Chris Munson Concept If you have been following along with the last two articles on polyrhythms and extended phrasing, this is the final phase of these exercises. This represents what is typically referred to as four-way independence. That is, all four limbs playing parts independent of one another. Conceptually it is somewhat similar to [...]

by Michael Green Some more basic independence building blocks that should help get you geared up for studying and playing drum set at school.  This time we’ll be focusing on transitioning between different styles while keeping the tempo constant. Printable Version in Cut Time/Double Time (quarter note = half note) DiggShareShare with StumblersTweet

by Dustin Ransom For nearly fifteen years, Icelandic band Sigur Rós has taken all preconceived notions of the traditional rock and roll blueprint and turned it completely inside out and upside down. Whether conjuring up spacious, beautiful, euphoric soundscapes, or creating gentle strains of melancholy through acoustic instruments, frontman/vocalist/guitarist Jónsi, keyboardist and multi-instrumentalist Kjartan Sveinsson, [...]

By Chris Munson Concept   Now that you have become familiar with the two limb exercises presented in the last article, it is time to move on to three limb (or three voice) exercises.  The accent patterns will be the same as before but you will now be playing them on the snare drum using [...]

by Michael Green Some more basic independence building blocks that should help get you geared up for studying and playing drum set at school.  This time we’ll be honing in our skills on a 16th note rock groove.  First straight, and then swung. Printable Version DiggShareShare with StumblersTweet

By Bill “Stuhlly” Brennenstuhl Most drummers know, or at least know of, the 26 American Rudiments. In this article we’ll take a look at the lesser known Advanced Rudiments. Single Stroke Roll Variations In the 26 rudiments the roll section (5,7,9 etc) is presented using  double strokes.  For these rudiments we’ll use single strokes to [...]

By Chris Munson Concept   As drummers we tend to think about music a little differently than most other instrumentalists.  Our primary focus is typically on rhythm, time, and feel and this can often cause us to compartmentalize our playing into neat and logical phrases.  We think less about factors such as harmonic progressions or [...]

by Michael Green This one is for all the drummers out there who are gearing up to study drums this fall and need to brush up on or get acquainted with jazz independence. Printable Version DiggShareShare with StumblersTweet

­­­­by Michael Green   Join me for Left Foot Clave Part 3 as we apply the skills we’ve developed in the first two installments, using The Drummer’s Workbook for Control and Creativity, to some straight-up Latin beats! Printable Version                            DiggShareShare with StumblersTweet