For those of you who don’t know about his background, Dave is a highly acclaimed jazz fusion drummer who has been in action for over thirty years, and has inspired a countless number of Drummers around the world and is often called one of, if not the best Modern Drummer in Music today, so to have him hosting a master class was always going to be a very special experience for both students and teachers alike.

Drumtech founder Francis Seriau kicked off the proceedings by introducing Dave to the masses, and once he hit the stage at about 8pm, the applause was deafening. Over the course of two hours, Dave talked in depth about technique, his style and setup changing radically after studying with the legendary Freddie Gruber, and gave students many tips about chops that can be applied to grooves, as well as answering questions.

What was very reassuring for students at the schools was that Dave spoke a lot about setting up the drum kit, the Moeller technique, hand and stick positioning, and various technical applications that are being studied at the schools on all the courses. Dave mainly talked about the importance of stick control and being as relaxed as possible, as he now suffers from a form of arthritis in his hands due to spending many years neglecting it.

The most important thing that Dave stressed on however was musicality. He stated that the
drummers’ job is to keep consistent time and feel, no matter how boring the groove maybe. As he said “music is the bottom line, not technique”. He also earned himself a deafening applause when he said “no” after a student asked him what his favourite style, stating that there is a lot of special qualities in all styles of music, and that its ignorant to limit yourself to just one style stating “Music is not a sports competition, it’s an art”.

After an hour and thirty minutes of inspirational talking and reassuring students of Drumtech that they are in good hands, Dave gave us an awe-inspiring 30 minutes demonstrating his chops and leaving the audience stunned in amazement. Students and teachers at the schools would like to thank Dave Weckl for coming down and doing the masterclass – it was a truly unique and highly inspirational experience, and demonstrates why Drumtech is truly the best school of music in Europe.