Shawn Pelton's clinic emphasized attention to detail and sound. In his demanding arena of work, sound is everything. Clarity of sound was emphasized, simplicity, allowing the instruments to speak without clutter. How to establish a clean clear groove for any group to work with is more important to him than most technical solos. Surrounded by quality instruments, especially Zildjian Cymbals, the beat and the message came through. Shawn also ran a master class environment wherein he worked with 5 students to help them find their own voice at the kit. This was a very energizing aspect of his residency at Fredonia. He was able to find each of the students at their own levels and inspire them to a higher goal or level of realization in a very short period of time. His clinic explained his approach to playing and getting along in the music business. He had several students work with him on stage in a master class setting. Each of those students got to work on their own questions about music and drumming and the students in the audience really benefited from this session big time!