Jonathan Curtis
Silver Member
Hi all,
I just wanted to share my experiences with you. Yesterday, I travelled to London to attend a Dave Weckl One Day Intensive. It's a full day clinic/lesson with 20 people in the class.
A few of my drumming friends have met Dave before, and after hearing their reports, and reading various other accounts, I wasn't really sure what to expect from the man who has influenced my drumming more than anyone else (with the notable exception of Vinnie).
I have to say, I was an absolute pleasure to meet Dave. He was friendly, welcoming, funny, and a patient teacher. He made time for every question, every photograph/autograph request, and made sure that everybody got detailed feedback and a decent chance to play with him.
The day went from 10:00am to just before 7pm with an hour for lunch. He covered the foundations of what he considered to be the core aspects of drumming. We looked at how he approached setting up the drums, technique in all grip styles, wrist/finger/moeller application, and foot technique.
He then moved on to his approach to soloing and grooving, basically applying exactly what we had just been working on. For me, I didn't learn anything new in the way of techniques, but his application really opened my eyes to a few things.
One thing that really struck me was the manner in which he casually brushed off some elements of drumming that I had really thought were important. For example, I asked him about his approach to latin playing, saying that in a lot of his solos and videos, you can't hear a particular style such as a Mozambique, Songo, or whatever. He just sort of shrugged them off, saying he never really bothered to learn the individual styles, and more just emulated what he listened to.
In another instance, someone was asking him about odd note groupings, like quintuplets and septuplets. Again, Dave shrugged them off, saying he wasn't smart enough, and had never bothered to learn them. It was surprising, yet very endearing, as I had always held him to be a sort of machine. It really showed a human side, and in no way diminished my perception of his playing ability. Instead, it opened my eyes to his whole approach, which was so much more musical then I first thought.
I can't really express what I got from that. If you imagine spending the entire day in a room with one of the best players in the world, whose sole intention is to make you better at the drums... it was pretty much like you'd expect. He didn't play much himself, but the things he did were a delight, and delivered with the ease and mastery you would expect. He exuded confidence, ability, and commanded a natural respect and air of authority.
I would highly recommend anyone to attend a similar such day if they get the opportunity, and I'll happily try and answer any questions anyone might have.
Thanks all.
Here are some photos:
I just wanted to share my experiences with you. Yesterday, I travelled to London to attend a Dave Weckl One Day Intensive. It's a full day clinic/lesson with 20 people in the class.
A few of my drumming friends have met Dave before, and after hearing their reports, and reading various other accounts, I wasn't really sure what to expect from the man who has influenced my drumming more than anyone else (with the notable exception of Vinnie).
I have to say, I was an absolute pleasure to meet Dave. He was friendly, welcoming, funny, and a patient teacher. He made time for every question, every photograph/autograph request, and made sure that everybody got detailed feedback and a decent chance to play with him.
The day went from 10:00am to just before 7pm with an hour for lunch. He covered the foundations of what he considered to be the core aspects of drumming. We looked at how he approached setting up the drums, technique in all grip styles, wrist/finger/moeller application, and foot technique.
He then moved on to his approach to soloing and grooving, basically applying exactly what we had just been working on. For me, I didn't learn anything new in the way of techniques, but his application really opened my eyes to a few things.
One thing that really struck me was the manner in which he casually brushed off some elements of drumming that I had really thought were important. For example, I asked him about his approach to latin playing, saying that in a lot of his solos and videos, you can't hear a particular style such as a Mozambique, Songo, or whatever. He just sort of shrugged them off, saying he never really bothered to learn the individual styles, and more just emulated what he listened to.
In another instance, someone was asking him about odd note groupings, like quintuplets and septuplets. Again, Dave shrugged them off, saying he wasn't smart enough, and had never bothered to learn them. It was surprising, yet very endearing, as I had always held him to be a sort of machine. It really showed a human side, and in no way diminished my perception of his playing ability. Instead, it opened my eyes to his whole approach, which was so much more musical then I first thought.
I can't really express what I got from that. If you imagine spending the entire day in a room with one of the best players in the world, whose sole intention is to make you better at the drums... it was pretty much like you'd expect. He didn't play much himself, but the things he did were a delight, and delivered with the ease and mastery you would expect. He exuded confidence, ability, and commanded a natural respect and air of authority.
I would highly recommend anyone to attend a similar such day if they get the opportunity, and I'll happily try and answer any questions anyone might have.
Thanks all.
Here are some photos:
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