One of the best examples I can possibly think of applying the money beat is DJ Fontana, drummer for Elvis on all those early great hit songs. Fontana played with Elvis for a long time and was right alongside him during the birth of rock and roll music in Memphis, TN. And when you listen […]…
The soul and R&B hits that came out of Stax Records in the 1960s were some of the biggest hit songs to ever hit the airwaves. And the drummer in the Stax Records house band, the MGs, was none other than Al Jackson, Jr. Al played with Booker T. and the MGs, Otis Redding, and […]…
Here at Play Drums By Ear, I love introducing you to drummers you may not have heard of before, and offering videos and lessons from them that you can enjoy and use in your own playing. Playing the drums is like any other instrument, as there is a lot to learn from other drummers’ playing […]…
One of the drummers I’ve come across recently has been Stanton Moore. I’ve seen his videos online quite a bit where he talks about New Orleans playing and other unique styles, plus how he brings them into pop beats for his group, Galactic and other bands. Stanton has a great way of explaining grooves and […]…
One of the funkiest drummers to ever walk the planet was and is Zigaboo Modeliste, of the Original Meters. This cat defined the New Orleans funk groove as part of one of the funkiest bands out there. Zigaboo created the famous “Cissy Strut” drum groove and countless others. Fortunately, Zigaboo’s still drumming to this day […]…
As the drummer for one of the best funk horn groups in the world, Tower of Power, David Garibaldi is well versed in playing funk beats. But the way is approaches his funk beats if unlike most of the rest. David chooses to incorporate quite a bit of Afro-Cuban drumming into his funk grooves. This […]…
One of the leading drumming educators in the last century has been Jim Chapin. A highly regarded drummer in his own right, Jim also produced a few advanced drumming technique books that are known among the best drummers around the world. Fortunately, Jim has shared a few of his video tutorials online for all of […]…
Joey Kramer, long time drummer for the hit rock band Aerosmith, has built his entire style on the “feel.” I collected an interview with Joey where he talks a little bit about what it means to be a “feel” drummer, and as he explains it, he puts his whole body and mind into what he […]…
One of the heavier drummers to come into the jazz world was Tony Williams. Tony first found success as a member of Miles Davis’ second group, along with Herbie Hancock on piano, Ron Carter on bass, and Wayne Shorter on tenor sax. One of the things I always found cool about Tony was that he […]…
According to a video clip from the Arsenio Hall Show, Terri Lyne Carrington has been playing the drums her whole life. And it definitely shows as she has been been a preferred choice among some of the elite musicians in the jazz and pop music worlds. She is an outstanding drummer that was the house […]…