Playing in church

peety777

Senior Member
Hi there,

I've just started to play in church and have a couple of questions.

My church is a lively church- newfrontiers. We play music by Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, hillsong, jesus culture, hillsong etc. There are only a couple original songs.

How should I go about learning the songs? Should I listen to the ones that the worship leader has said we are going to do and make drum charts, ie song structure with verse the main groove for each part? Or transpose out the song completely? Or not bother with charts at all and just play what I think/ feel?
Any people with a similar experience to this would be great. Many thanks,

Josh
 
I play drums at my church and I always make drum charts. Not note for note really as we occasionally do our own slightly altered arrangement. But I do listen to the song and get a basic roadmap of it.

I notate the groove for verses, bridge, and chorus. There are also a lot of 'signature fills' in some songs. I write those out as well. They usually aren't that complicated though.

I very rarely play what I feel. The only time I do is when we are working on an original or a completely different arrangement of a song. Fortunately, our worship leader plays a little bit of drums so he can speak our language. If he can't describe it, he can at least play something on the drums like what he hears in his head.

I basically treat it like a recording session. If you come prepared with song charts and are familiar with them already, rehearsal will go so much smoother and everyone will appreciate your professionalism and attention to detail. Plus you won't end up being that church drummer that pounds out a money beat for every song; complete with the same fill every four bars.
 
Hi there,

I've just started to play in church and have a couple of questions.

My church is a lively church- newfrontiers. We play music by Matt Redman, Tim Hughes, hillsong, jesus culture, hillsong etc. There are only a couple original songs.

How should I go about learning the songs? Should I listen to the ones that the worship leader has said we are going to do and make drum charts, ie song structure with verse the main groove for each part? Or transpose out the song completely? Or not bother with charts at all and just play what I think/ feel?
Any people with a similar experience to this would be great. Many thanks,

Josh

I play a lot of the same artists that you do in my church. The answer is -- it depends.

First off, you do what the MD/worship leader wants you to do. If he hands you a link or a CD and says he wants it just like that, take the music to the woodshed and get started. If you have challenges remembering parts, write up at least a simple chart to go by until you have it cold without the chart.

If you have a more open or permissive MD/WL, you may be able to do things a little differently, and at this point the other musicians on stage and their tendencies will play a part. Especially for some of the older songs, they have been covered and re-covered, and you can pick and choose pieces of drum parts from several versions to fit what the rest of the team is doing. Also, keep in mind that dynamics and arrangements may change dramatically depending on the way your MD/WL is feeling led that week.

Sometimes I am handed a song to learn, and when I listen to the specified link or YouTube clip, the drum part is insultingly bad or out-of-place for the worship service environment we have at our church. The MDs generally trust me to do something that will fit our team and church, and if it's not what's on the record, they're okay with that. (One time the WL handed out a song for a reflective worship service; when I looked it up on YouTube the drum part was kick/snare/floor tom, playing quarter notes as loud as possible the whole song. I changed it to a more pulselike feel with ride cymbal and kick playing softly, much more fitting for the mood.) To be fair, if you have an MD who is constantly picking songs with cheesy/bad drum parts, you might want to have a private conversation with them.

The best thing to develop in worship music is ears. Many churches who use this genre of worship music emphasize the moving of the Spirit during the service, and so if the MD decides to go off on a tangent, the whole team needs to be in tune and make the turn on a dime. I have likened it to being on a late-night talk show where anything might happen and you need to be completely tuned in to the host and the MD. Learn the songs, the parts of the songs, and the other team members' parts as well. You should be able to start playing any part of the song at any time, in a manner that supports the feel the MD is going for.

Hope this helps; if you have more questions, fire away.
 
That's great guys. Our worship leaders are fairly relaxed. I think i'll write out basic roadmaps and ask the worship leaders how we will start or finish them.

Thanks again.
 
Play the song as close to written as your skills and equipment allow.

If the band changes how the song will be played with form, instrumentation, etc, obviously follow their lead.

The band leader should give you a lead sheet, if not they are available online or you could do it by hand.
 
Like all of the other music I have played, I memorize the songs. Sometimes, I write a few notes on the music. I do not believe one must play the drum part just like the recording, ever. Most of the bands I like, including praise and worship, do not play the songs just like the studio versions anyway. Peace and goodwill.
 
Praise and worship music is unique because the classics are covered by so many bands, that there are versions all over the map. When I started learning, I listened to the version closest to what we were attempting to play. I would also ask the worship leader what time signature and feel we were attempting to capture. I'd keep a book of all the music and write my notes in the margins. It was particularly helpful to denote stops and starts, and changes from hi-hat to ride, etc.

After many years, I can now replicate a couple hundred songs on a moment's notice. What I like about the music is that I can add interesting parts to the song as I wish, through blocks, mallets, windchimes, tambourine, shakers, etc.
 
I've been playing drums and bass in church for years and it's always been very relaxed about precise notation. In fact, there's little point in exactly copying say a Hillsong version because sometimes, if the spirit is different in church, you'll be wanting to play it differently anyway.

When I listen to other worship drummers I'm looking for musicality and interpretation. Lots of unnecessary fills and snare beats are quite annoying to me and most band leaders will want you to play the part pretty straight. So pick your moments carefully and remember dynamics. An essential part of playing in church is having the ability to play at low volumes but still with authority. This is tricky. I like to use 3 only or 4 only for the snare hit (or cross stick) in slower songs. This gives the band the beat but leaves lots of space.

Finally, you don't have to bash the hats. Learn which part of the hat to hit for the song and learn to play quietly.

Peace
Davo
 
Been playing in church for quite a few years..we do about half originals and half covers of the usual contemporary Christian artists. I use the song sheets provided and notate the parts I feel need to be exact copies. For the rest I note the bass drum and snare rythms.

I find it is more difficult getting the rest of the band to reproduce the original musicians than it is for myself..I will practice to the original until I am comfortable.

Remember why you are playing and relax.
 
I play a lot of the same artists that you do in my church. The answer is -- it depends.

First off, you do what the MD/worship leader wants you to do. If he hands you a link or a CD and says he wants it just like that, take the music to the woodshed and get started. If you have challenges remembering parts, write up at least a simple chart to go by until you have it cold without the chart.

If you have a more open or permissive MD/WL, you may be able to do things a little differently, and at this point the other musicians on stage and their tendencies will play a part. Especially for some of the older songs, they have been covered and re-covered, and you can pick and choose pieces of drum parts from several versions to fit what the rest of the team is doing. Also, keep in mind that dynamics and arrangements may change dramatically depending on the way your MD/WL is feeling led that week.

Sometimes I am handed a song to learn, and when I listen to the specified link or YouTube clip, the drum part is insultingly bad or out-of-place for the worship service environment we have at our church. The MDs generally trust me to do something that will fit our team and church, and if it's not what's on the record, they're okay with that. (One time the WL handed out a song for a reflective worship service; when I looked it up on YouTube the drum part was kick/snare/floor tom, playing quarter notes as loud as possible the whole song. I changed it to a more pulselike feel with ride cymbal and kick playing softly, much more fitting for the mood.) To be fair, if you have an MD who is constantly picking songs with cheesy/bad drum parts, you might want to have a private conversation with them.

The best thing to develop in worship music is ears. Many churches who use this genre of worship music emphasize the moving of the Spirit during the service, and so if the MD decides to go off on a tangent, the whole team needs to be in tune and make the turn on a dime. I have likened it to being on a late-night talk show where anything might happen and you need to be completely tuned in to the host and the MD. Learn the songs, the parts of the songs, and the other team members' parts as well. You should be able to start playing any part of the song at any time, in a manner that supports the feel the MD is going for.

Hope this helps; if you have more questions, fire away.

Very well put and pretty much the way I approach it as well. Been playing for my church for 11 years. I memorize my parts according to the link or mp3 my WL gives me. Like was said above, if there is a part that I feel doesn't "serve the song or the service" I talk to my WL and change the part. I've never written out parts, I just play from memory, that's how I prefer to do it.
 
Remember why you are playing and relax.

^^^ This.

Thanks, konaboy; about 12 years myself, including some MDs I am not sure how they got the job, but there it is...
 
I don't mean to derail the thread but do churches have to pay royalties to any agency for the right to use songs by christian artists the same way that bar owners have to pay a licensing fee? I would think there would be an ethical dilema if they didn't.
 
I don't mean to derail the thread but do churches have to pay royalties to any agency for the right to use songs by christian artists the same way that bar owners have to pay a licensing fee? I would think there would be an ethical dilema if they didn't.

Most have a membership/license with CCLI (http://www.ccli.com) -- works the same way as a bar license for royalties' sake.
 
Many years ago there was a drummer in church (we used to rotate duties) who had one speed and volume - fast and LOUD! He used to beat the snot out of the drums like we were a marching band. If it was a slow or quiet song, he would just stop playing altogether, which also threw the band off. It was virtually all or nothing, which doesn't work well in this setting. Or any setting for that matter....
 
I've been playing at my local church for a little over two years, but we don't play any of the contemporary music at all. We arrange traditional gospel songs and hymns, and rewrite country and western tunes. I play at a Cowboy Church, which is a fairly new thing, but has caught on pretty well in my neck of the woods.

Anyway, we practice at least once a week, and we hardly ever end up playing the songs at the same speed, volume, or veracity on Sunday. Mainly, this is because we are trying to set a mood specific to that day's message/service, or to follow the mood that's already been set. I practice on my own as well, and learn the "covers" as close to note-for-note as I am capable...sometimes I play them this way, and sometimes I don't...but I make sure I am ready to reproduce them as faithfully as possible to the original.
 
Actually, just keep the beat. It is all about the singing anyway. Peace and goodwill.
 
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