DRUMS
[ 3 ESSENTIALS TO DEVELOP YOUR WORSHIP DRUMMING ]
POWER AND GROOVE | Daniel Hadaway
As worship leaders, we are often asked to strumming were clashing. From a melodic our drumming, which means not getting caught
reinforce the impact of certain moments in a perspective, it made sense to have the acoustic up in focusing too much on the “tiny” parts of
song or set of songs. We also are tasked with guitar in that part of the song... So we couldn’t drum patterns. As drummers, it’s our job to
being sensitive to the “eyes and ears upward” have that part drop out. But it wasn’t necessary prioritize the aspects of our playing that are
posture of worship music, which means we for the hi-hat to be in the song. So, I dropped important to our family of worshippers... and
need to find ways to reinforce the “groove” or out my hi-hat. And not only did the clashing most people in a worship setting aren’t going
“feel” in the music without putting the spotlight rhythms go away, but it allowed the song to to pay attention to that 32nd note ghosted
on ourselves. follow this acoustic guitar players really cool polyrhythm we’re playing with our left hand...
and really odd feel. And it instantly made the
So how can we provide impact to powerful
track feel better.
I’m not saying don’t play that part (but maybe
moments, make every groove “feel” great, don’t), but the focus shouldn’t be on that
and still remain sensitive to the needs of our part of the pattern. Our focus should be
Our focus should on the major kick and snare hits, because
those needs. be on the major going to notice and “latch” on to.
SPACE kick and snare hits, We should put our weight, focus, and
because that’s And if that means sacrificing something
church families? Here are 3 concepts I try
to incorporate into my drumming to meet
I’m sure we’ve all heard the phrase “less is
more” when it comes to drumming. But why?
Why has this phrase been repeated to the
point of becoming a cliché? Well there are a
lot of reasons, but the most important to me
is this: putting SPACE in my drumming is
an acknowledgement that I am not the only
what most of our
congregation is
musician in the song! going to notice and
It is not solely the drummer’s job to provide “latch” on to.
that’s what most of our congregation is
attention on those aspects of our drumming.
“cool” or “impressive”, so be it. Our job is to
lead others in worship, and sometimes that
means not playing “cool” parts.
AWARENESS
It’s easy to get lost in worship sometimes
and lose focus on what we’re playing. I’ve
noticed that many times we play things out
rhythmic elements in a song. The acoustic
of habit without really paying attention to the
guitars, keyboards, other percussion, even
details in our drumming.
the vocals and bass provide a TON of rhythm PURPOSE and contribute to the overall “feel” of any song. As we worship our Creator with music we This means that every single note, down to
By leaving space in our patterns we allow all should always sense the purpose behind our the smallest ghost note, must be played on
of those other instruments to “speak” without playing. We don’t just want to MEAN to hit the purpose and cannot just “happen”. We all have
being covered up by tons of drums. drums, we want to hit them like we MEAN IT. so many habits and quirks built into our playing
And you know what? There are a LOT of guitar How does that translate to actual playing?
that sometimes we don’t even think about half
players, bassists, keyboard players, and others
of what we play - it just comes out- and not in
a good way!
with GREAT rhythmic feel! Allowing those other For starters, we can’t dance around on top of players to have their rhythmic “voice” in a song the drums like we’re scared to have them make Being aware and accurate allows us to choose
is not going to detract from the groove in a sound. Of course, we need to be sensitive to to play certain notes, and to be intentional with
song. In fact, many times the opposite is true. our volume level, but we can hit our drums with how we lead others in worship.
a solid strike, and keep the volume level low.
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve realized
that my hi-hat and an acoustic guitar player’s
And that’s the ultimate goal: leading others in
Basically, we should put some weight behind
November 2017
worshiping the God of the universe!
WorshipMusician.com
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