Rhythm

Hi, Taylor here… Hope that you are all keeping safe and well out there. As I take over this issue of Rhythm and invite a bunch of my favourite drummers – including Matt Cameron, Phil Gould, Ty Segall, Rufus Taylor, Stewart Copeland, Stephen Perkins,

Video calling and live streaming have become essential skills in the past year, but while this has taken the form of Zoom chats with family and friends for most of us, those kind bods over at Tama used the technology for something far grander. Tama T

2021 marks 10 years since the first Hit Like A Girl competition. Back at its 2011 inception, it was unclear whether a drum talent trawl for female players would get the recognition and respect from the global community that it deserved… The fact that

Dean was touring with Sugar Ray last March when the call came: “You need to fly home. Everything’s cancelled,” he recalls. Now he’s back in LA and back on the practice pad... What lay behind Good Charlotte’s decision to release a single, ‘Last Dece

What have you been doing over lockdown? “I’ve been really busy. I think generally it’s like a triumph for the introverts, the lockdown, because if you’re creative in any way, it’s a great opportunity just to come up with some ideas and work on proje

Our exploration of the various flam rudiments continues this issue with amusingly titled Patafla-fla. And like many rudiments, the name is onomatopoeic: ‘pata’ relating to two single strokes and the ‘fla-fla’ being two flams. With this in mind, you’d

The re-imagination of the classic kit from the ’60s has been reimagined once more for 2021 with maple shells this time for their warm tone and deep bass. The quirky oval bass drum offers different tones depending on where it’s struck. www.voxamps.com

I hope you enjoyed the first installment of the new marching column in Issue 298 – and as we leave the Magic Kingdom, we head across the USA to the Windy City, where we continue in this issue with the Chicago Bears Drumline. The full, official name f

“Rufus has always been like my little brother – even though he is much taller than me now! – and I’m so proud that I’ve been able to play a part in his musical journey. I remember sitting him on my drum riser when he was about 12 – when the Foo Fight

The first time I heard Matt Cameron play was on Soundgarden’s Flower EP,” says Taylor. “I was immediately struck by the military precision of the drumming and the marching snare intro that leads into that badass riff… It just got me. “I quickly found

“With the gospel-type feel and wider groove on this track, I was able to sit right back in the space and have the time to really think about where my kick and snare were landing. This is great to play live!” “We set up a really small kit in the stair

“Like all my favourite drummers, Roger Taylor has a truly individual style, feel and sound,” Taylor says. “You only have to hear that hi-hat open up every time he hits the snare to know that it’s him. It’s all about that feel and that big drum sound,

“Phil Gould’s drumming is in my DNA – every time I sit down at the kit he’s in there somewhere. His playing with Level 42 made such a big impression on me when I was younger – it’s so great but so understated, and he has this crazy pocket... “Back th

“I’m stoked that Ty Segall agreed to be part of this special issue of Rhythm,” Taylor says. “Like me, he grew up in Laguna Beach, California, and it’s really interesting to talk to another musician from that small town who is finding their own path a

Beautiful Wounds is Phil Gould’s first solo release since Watertight in 2009. The album features contributions from Wally Badarou, who worked extensively with Level 42, bassist Yolanda Charles and players from all over the world. “It’s been pieced to

MARKETING AND PERCUSSION PRODUCT SPECIALIST, HEADSTOCK DISTRIBUTION What are the main differences between the Starclassic and Starclassic Performer lines? “The difference is very much the wood they are made from. Our all-maple Starclassic kits have

PRICE: £229.99 American music tech giants Alesis have become a big name in the world of electronic drums. After introducing the Midiverb, one of the world’s first affordable studio-quality effects processors, Alesis ventured into drum machines in 199

PRICE: From £12.49 Code Drum Heads is a Leicester, UK-based brand founded and run by James Potts and Embrace drummer Mike Heaton. The company’s latest addition comes in the form of the Signal Range: single-ply drumheads that Code says are one of its

PRICE: Price: £349 (Pro Gig Pack); £109 (18" China) Zildjian’s entry-level ZBT range of cymbals have been a go-to for beginner and budget-conscientious drummers for the past two decades. This line has now been discontinued and replaced with the newl

PRICE: £923.00 Released at the end of last year, Roland’s TD-07KV bridges the gap between the company’s entry-level TD-1 models and the mid-range TD-17KV. The compact setup features the brand-new TD-07 module, which boasts several features previously

Welcome to Beats Working, the part of the magazine aimed at helping drummers of all abilities to develop and progress. Kicking things off this issue, Colin and Erik and I are all looking at a variety of rhythmic and independence ideas in 3/4 time in

Hello everyone, and welcome to another ‘Getting Started’ lesson, although I must admit this one is a bit tricky and is as much a lesson in problem solving as it is achieving the end result! We are going to play four notes in the space of three, usual

Welcome back. In this issue, we are looking at playing jazz in 3/4 time. In particular, we’ll focus on developing the ability to improvise and comp within this time signature. A time signature is the numerical fraction that appears at the start of ev

The ‘4 over 3’ polyrhythm can be a very effective way of developing coordination in a 16th-note rate. To generate the polyrhythm, we simply need to accent every three 16th notes in 3/4 – this could be thought of or visualised as four dotted eighth no

The four-piece fills we are looking at this issue involve playing triples. It’s important not to get these confused with ‘triplets’, which relate to the note value. Instead, triples are relating to the amount of notes – groups of three, fast 32nd not

It remains a mystery to me why bongos are not, outright, one of the most popular portable percussion instruments out there. They are extremely versatile, cut right through on top of a track, can be used as a rhythm or as a solo instrument and have a

Sometimes it can be tricky deciding exactly which samples to choose for a specific track. Should you go with a hand clap or a tambourine layered over your backbeat? The club kick or the 808 on the bass drum? In this issue’s lesson, we’ll be having ou

It is probably safe to say that every single musician who has ever lived has tried to imitate the work of other musicians who have inspired them. No one exists in a vacuum, and most musicians can point to specific people and credit them with being an

Track: ‘Trip Away’ Album: Jane’s Addiction, 1987 “Me and [Dave, guitarist] Navarro were so young, we wanted to have a lot of events in our parts, a lot of fireworks. Perry [Farrell, vocalist] and Eric [Avery, bass] were 10 years older than us – they