If you’ve been playing drums and attending a church for a while, you may be wondering how you can cement your spot on a worship team.
Being the drummer on a worship team is a huge deal. You’ll constantly be playing drums in front of congregations, and you’ll have the important role of driving the music forward to create a meditative atmosphere in the room.
Here are a few tips on how to approach becoming a worship drummer.
Every church worship team has one or a few people that run the worship side of things for the church. They’re in charge of leading the bands and overseeing the spiritual side.
They’re essentially music directors, but they’re also involved with getting to know all the band members personally to make sure that they’re fit for playing in the church worship team.
If you’re keen on joining the team, this is who you need to speak to.
Every church worship team has varying processes for onboarding musicians. Some worship teams have thorough audition methods, while others will let you play in a week’s time if they know you have the skills for it.
With that being said, it’s good to be prepared to do an audition. You should ask the worship leader to give you a few songs to work on, and then you can play those songs in front of them so that they can see how well you do.
Thankfully, church worship teams are easier to get into than music colleges, so don’t think this audition will be as hectic as applying for Berklee.
Whether you pass an audition or not, you should also attend worship practices. Church worship teams typically have rehearsals once a week. If you show your face and get to know everyone on the team while they rehearse, the leader will know that you’re taking this seriously.
While you’re at these practices, you’ll most likely get a chance to play a few of the songs with the team. This is your chance to show them that you have what it takes.
If you’re planning on joining a worship team that plays Christian Contemporary Music, there are a few popular songs that you should learn. Most churches play these songs, so having the ability to play them at any given stage will benefit you greatly.
The cool thing about worship drumming is that most of the same grooves and fills are used across different tracks. By learning these popular songs, you’re also preparing yourself to play other worship tunes with similar drum parts.
Here’s a list of a few songs to learn:
The Blessing – Kari Jobe
This Is Amazing Grace – Phil Wickham
10 000 Reasons – Matt Redman
Oceans – Hillsong United
Build My Life – Matt Redman
One very important thing to note about being a worship drummer is that your heart is more important than your drumming skills. Unlike gigging for a public audience, playing worship music in church isn’t about you and how well you play.
It’s all about creating an environment for the congregation to push into worshipping the Lord. If you overplay, people in the congregation are going to get distracted by what you’re doing.
It’s essential that you play just the right things to push the music forward and create the right atmosphere of worship in the room.
A mediocre drummer with the right heart behind him is more likely to make it into a worship team than a skilled drummer who is there for the wrong reasons.
One of the best things about being a worship drummer is that your drumming skills improve very quickly. You’ll be playing in front of a crowd weekly, and you’ll need to learn new songs often.
The process of learning songs and playing in front of people will boost your confidence. Some of the best drummers in the world started by playing in church when they were kids, and it’s no coincidence that they’re so skilled.
Just remember to have the right heart behind everything you do and be a committed member of a worship team that shows up constantly and practices frequently.
Drum Teacher
Brett Clur has a Drum Performance Diploma from Trinity College London has been playing drums for over 20 years. He is passionate about advanced concepts and uses his years of experience to teach his students about them. While he is a full-time drum teacher, he is also working on growing a YouTube channel where shares his insights. You can see him playing there, or on Instagram where he posts daily videos.
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