Thursday evening all Drumtech Students were graced with the presence of Gary
Husband, accomplished drummer, pianist and patron to the school. With everyone
knowing Gary and it being the first master class since Christmas, a great time was
had by all!

To kick things off Gary began by playing along to a sequenced loop where he displayed
strong independence and true dynamic awareness. While watching him play you can see
how his style is rather natural allowing him to improvise without causing any discomfort.

Carrying straight on into the next track, this was off one of the Rhythm CD’s. Gary played
this one open, grooving 16th notes between the hats and ride, whilst placing accents on the
bell! With choppy big fills it was mind blowing from start to finish with a very tight ending,
from which he commented “not something you’d play for a Spice Girls gig!”

Understandably being a little short of breath, Gary took the time to answer the questions
students were eager to ask. This ended up highlighting some key points us drummers
should be aware of. These key points included “drummers are the centre of the music” and
how we should play everything with lots of belief and conviction; to be able to “go for it” in a
performance or recording environment. A subject you could see he was passionate about.

Along with all the professionals that have visited the school. Gary advised playing with as
many other musicians as possible. This is a great way to learn and gain experience and
something new can be learnt from each project you are involved in. For example learning
different styles and the appropriate vocabulary to match them, along with certain dynamic
differences e.g. Rock – Jazz.

It’s also about keeping integrity and making sure the music comes first. The more Gary
talked the more “sense” he made and with his wealth of experience taken into account, there
is a lot that can be learnt from him. Continuing on further Gary touched on Jazz and “Jazz
Real-time” and the importance of the ride cymbal being consistent, talking of other great
players such as Peter Erskine, Tony Williams and Jack DeJohnette. He expressed his
fascination of how we could all play the same thing, but we would each sound different.

With all these point’s raised it was time for more playing, once again along to another
sequenced loop, only this was slower in tempo than those played previously with ghost
notes and the ride line played on the china, giving the groove a very unique sound which
was pleasing to the ear, adding a new dimension to the music. It’s hard to think he’s a
classically trained Pianist as well!

For the last question and answer session of the evening it was not so much about the
playing, but more about the mental and physical aspects. As it is a common question asked
in most master classes, defeating nerves is always a problem. Gary’s approach was through practicing in a certain way. Before we try and play a song or groove etc, we need to listen to it thoroughly first. This way we can figure out difficult area’s, work out different sticking’s to make things easy for ourselves, rather than jumping straight in all guns blazing.

He also explained how the spaces in-between the notes that are played are just as important. We should enjoy the task of bettering performances and our ability to play the instrument. It was on that note, Gary summed up the master class by finishing with a solo performance. He began very basic with lots of nice cymbal work, gradually building up introducing more of the kit. He played for a good 20 minutes solid, demonstrating everything he had discussed, making it more relevant for the students.

As you already know Gary is a great musician, but even better is that he is coming to teach
private lessons at Drumtech! Yet another fantastic master class!

Jason Nicholl (Drumtech 2005 Scholarship Winner)