Drumming for worship has got to be one of the funnest and most fulfilling activities that a human being can do, in my oh-so-humble opinion. Granted, I do make a living hitting the ol’ skins so I may be a tad biased, but my point still stands. I mean, at drumming’s most basic level, who doesn’t like to hit things really hard and make loud noises? It fulfills a childlike desire to cause chaos…controlled chaos ideally, but thats easier said than done.

Unfortunately, hitting on a drum loud and fast does not qualify one as a good drummer. In fact, I would venture to say that a sign of a good drummer is nearly the opposite: being able to control one’s volume whilst maintaining speed consistency. Let me “unpack” this, as they say.

First and foremost, a drummer’s job is to hold down the tempo for the rest of the band. If the drummer isn’t doing this basic task, everything falls apart in a heap of jumbled notes and missed cues. You can have all the fancy Neil Peart fills and Carter Beauford stick maneuvers, but if you’re not keeping tempo well, you’re showboating your way to a frustrated band. Not only that, but if your primary venue for playing is in a place of worship, you’re not only distracting the band, but you’re distracting congregants from focusing on the real object of their worship: Jesus Christ.

The solution is simple: Play to a click. Some songs may require the click to be set to quarter notes, while others require eighth-note-separation to continue hearing the click through the band. Regardless of note-length-preference, playing to a click will make the task of locking in with a drummer much easier for the rest of the band, and certainly helps lessen distractions for congregants with a musical ear.

Chances are, every drummer has heard the dreaded phrase, “Yeah…if you could play a little softer, that’d be great…” in some fashion. We all hate it, and we all just wish sound guys and complainers would make peace with the fact that music is best heard at ear-piercing decibels. However, as much as we wish the world were a giant rock concert, that’s not realistic for every situation and every venue. To be a truly diverse drummer, one must gain control over their strike velocity, and learn to play just as well with less “umph”.

But it isn’t as simple as just playing softer – there’s more to it than that. For instance, hit cymbals with different strength than you would the snare and toms so they don’t drown everything out. Maintain volume levels when transitioning through a drum fill so you don’t scare the pants off of those around you. Learn the art of Dynamics. I could go on and on about this, but the point is this: volume control, volume control, volume control. It really is the easiest way to identify a seasoned drummer.

In the end, worship drummers should desire two things: To worship Jesus with their playing, and to help others to focus on Jesus in worship as they do so. The former is a matter of the heart, while the latter is a matter of practice…and minimizing the chaos in both the latter and in the former will result in one of the most fulfilling activities that a human being can do (in my oh-so-humble opinion).