Ashoor Z.Moradian

The gathering took place on March 10, 2016 at Sorna Hall, attended by more than 100 drummers and enthusiasts from across Iran, as well as teachers and musicians active on the country’s music scene.

Veteran master Mr. Keyvan Shokouh opened with a talk on the role of teachers in learning this instrument properly. He does not consider the internet sufficient for the purpose and believes there is no substitute for learning in the presence of a master.

Mr. Alireza Tabatabaei then gave a brief report on Iranian Drummer’s activities in 2015, including the third Iranian Drummer Play-Along featuring bass guitarists; two rounds of the fun “Fastest Iranian Drummer” contest; workshops with Andy Rohde, Antoine Fadavi and Jost Nickel to raise the standard of drumming in Iran; and an article about Iranian Drummer by Andy Rohde published in the German-language magazine Rock Hard.

After the report came the educational part of the gathering, which opened with “Recording Electronic Drums at Home.” Mr. Ashoor Moradian (Roland company artist in Iran) walked the audience through every step of recording the drum track of a piece, demonstrating it live with video projection. Using a Roland V-Drums kit, he recorded a piece by the band “Haman” while explaining in simple terms how to record drums in Cubase.

After a 30-minute break, spent mostly chatting among drummers, it was time for the second educational session. This time Iranian Drummer was proud to host pianist and accordionist Mr. Davoud Jafari, a professor at the University of Tehran. He began his session, “Rhythm Revolution,” by handing out sheets to the audience and then, playing the piano, taught some of the most complex rhythmic figures. Participants in the tenth gathering joined in with their questions and by reading the figures aloud. With his help, light was shed on hidden corners of rhythm, and working on them will surely help any musician progress.