DRUMS
ONE DRUMMER , MANY WORSHIP LEADERS | Carl Albrecht
So how do you adapt and prepare music for multiple artists or worship leaders ? I ’ ve dealt with this scenario in large churches and festival events . For ten years I was part of Belmont Church in Nashville where we literally had twelve worship leaders on rotation . I ’ m pretty sure , at one time or another , I ended up playing for all of them . Sometimes I even worked with other drummers and I played percussion . I love to do that too . So these ideas can really apply to all players .
My first job in every setting is to serve . Always ! You ’ ve heard me say this a lot , but it ’ s always worth repeating . What can I do to make each artist comfortable with their style and approach to the music ? So this is not about my solo artistic expression , although that is always part of the process . Ultimately all the elements of my playing are focused on partnering with the person I ’ m serving . I become a “ Jonathan for David ”.
In modern worship there are many similarities in the style of music that artists play . Many of the grooves and feels of songs are pretty standard once you know the tunes . And worship leaders , in general , pull from the pool of favorite worship songs now listed in the CCLI top 100 , besides their own written material . So being familiar with the latest popular songs is helpful . But the bottom line is getting with each worship leader to find out what they like .
I will always ask for a song list , charts , and mp3 ’ s so that I can “ woodshed ” their material .
I ’ ll make note of the particular nuances of each artist ’ s music . Some like to have the music really driving and big sounding . Even on slower songs they may like a lot of energy . Others like the dynamics to be a little more subdued . When things are fast and celebratory they may still like the volume lower . This always relates to how hard I play , especially how much I “ dig in ” to the hi-hat or cymbals . I may also play the snare in the middle of the head without doing rim shots . That will definitely take the edge off . And I might tune differently for each artists if needed .
You have to personally expand your musical palette to play contemporary worship . Now days the various styles of worship are extensive . Not only do you have to play rock and pop music , but you also have to be comfortable
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