He started off by telling us about his rise to the top. Born in Tel Aviv, Israel, Amir began playing drums at the age of 9. At 13, he started accompanying belly dancers on percussion. By the time he was 18, he played on numerous records and performed with top Israeli artists. His real passion for drums started shortly after he was 18, where in Israel, Military Service was mandatory. He took steps to avoid military service, and after narrowly escaping a close-break when Israel was being bombed during the Gulf War, he moved out of Israel into the USA, where he started off life there by drumming in the streets to pay his rent. Highly impressed, he was left with business cards in his hat by people interested in his playing, and went on to do session work, and play a gig at the legendary Madison Square Garden venue. Although he doesn’t recommend you do this to establish yourself, he showed us that being passionate about what you love can help you on your road to success.

He then demonstrated his phenomenal drumming skills, incorporating a mix of Jazz, Latin, and Drum N’ Bass. His playing was awe-inspiring, showing a great sense of dynamics,  a high level of intensity, amazing co-ordination, and speed that most of us couldn’t even keep up with. Polyrhythms were also discussed in the master class, as well as methods of singing them to help students understand them better. He then gave students an interesting insight into studying rebound, including a detailed explanation and demonstrations of natural rebound, the laws of physics, gravity, and how they can effect the sound of your stick hitting the drum.

Before leaving us, Amir got up on the stage to showcase his talents one last time to the highly appreciative audience, who almost cheered the roof off the building before he even sat on the drum stool. Masterclasses like these are even more proof why the Drumtech experience is a once in a lifetime opportunity.