Drummer Cafe Community Forum

well i go to sort of a medium sized church in a small town. our band leader has experience in blues and rock so the church band is really cool. i've been playing "percussion" (congas/bongos) for the band for a while, and now since one of the drummers is switching to guitar they decided to give me a chance. next thursday i get to play a few songs at rehearsal. it's an electric set, which i've never played before. needless to say i'm excited since i don't have a regular band that i play with. anybody have any tips?

Hey, congrats on moving over to the drum chair.  Since you've been playing with them for awhile, switching over to the kit shouldn't be a big deal:  You should already have a feel for the tunes and how the musicians interact.  I'd say just relax and let it come naturally.  

Since you've never played the electronic kit before, you should expect it to be a little different at first.  See if you can get there early to whack on it for a bit, adjust it around etc.  Ultimately, just let yourself worship and do what comes naturally.  You'll do fine!

Be sure to let us know how it goes!

Don't overthink anything. As Drum4JC said, let yourself worship, play with your heart, and let God guide your notes.

Pipus

Probably wouldn't hurt to read the manual on the drum module.  See if you can play it before Thursday...most churches have something going on Wednesday nights so you can get in.

--David

depending on the kind of E-kit you have, you should expect more bounce/rebound when you play.  I have the urge to hit harder when I don't really need to (because the volume only goes so much).     Once you get the feel of it, then you'll be good to go.  

I 2nd, dmjung's suggestion.  Look up the kind of drum module and know how to tweek it before sitting down. It'll help you in the long run.

Congrats!  I too play percussion in my church and once a month I get to sub on kit.  The biggest tip I can give is "restraint".  

The electronic kit probably has a lot of sounds so don't be too tempted to go nuts.  Then again, you probably know most of what's expected since you've been a sort of apprentice as it is.  

Have fun with it - I know I do!

thanks for all of the suggestions guys. a couple things though: we have a sound guy that sets all the levels for the kit before we start so i don't really think i need to tweak it much. also, i thought i was going to be drumming throughout the entire practice but instead i guess he just wants to try me out on a couple of songs so i'm not sure if i'll get to warm up or test them out at all.

well i'd like to say the practice went well....but then i'd be lying. he wanted to try me out for just one song, so i came up and switched with the drummer. When i tried to play the set, i could barely hear anything but the pads. I tried the headphones, but then i couldn't hear anybody else. i was nervous and just didn't really feel comfortable. Because of all of this, i managed to screwed up a few times during the song. Vince (the leader) kept saying things like "you're doing good, you just need to work on it," "i'll send you an mp3 and you can listen to it," basically all i heard was "you suck".

i know i shouldn't worry about since it was my first time on electrics, but it just felt so demeaning when Vince started saying those things and it didn't help when one of the singers was clapping to help me get the rhythm down. i'm not a very exprienced drummer, but i know i can play a simple 4/4 song. Anyway, Vince said he would throw me up there every now and then to get me used to them. i'll keep practicing on my own and hopefully things will turn out better at future practices.

Well, I'm sorry to hear it didn't work out as well as you hoped.  But, aside from a little "embarassment", getting to work with the band like that will payoff in the end.  Keep practicing and take advantage of the time with the band whenever Vince gives you the opportunity.  It will pay off!  

Keep us posted!

Incu - just one thing. If you can't hear the drums, your soundman needs to give you more in your monitor. Also, and decent module will have a mix in so you can use the headphones as a monitor to hear everyone with the mix you need. He should know this.

well i wasn't supposed to be drumming this week, but the person who was couldn't make it, and they couldn't get a hold of the other drummers, so they called me. since i didn't think i was playing, i hadn't listened to or practiced any of the songs for this week. i still felt a little uncomfortable, and missed the crash a couple of times because it's such a small target. but all in all i didn't do that bad. just a couple of slip ups here and there. i'll practice my but off, and hopefully i'll do a good job on sunday *knocks on wood*

well i did really well, unfortunately hardly anybody came to church today and one of our rhythm guitarists overslept

Allright!  Good to hear that!  Don't worry about how many people were there or if a bandmember couldn't make it.  You went and did what you needed to do and hopefully it was worshipful for you and those who were there.  Congrats!  I hope this gives you a boost and that you'll have more opportunities in the future.

Congrats on the gig!  

I, too, have played and e-kit for church...very challenging.   I'm sure you did well.  

And, remember, music at church is designed to allow people to worship and glorify God, as should you.  Keep it simple.

Don't be afraid to take the sound guy aside, or one of the other drummers, and ask how to get a better mix out of the headphones.  The only way you will be confident is hearing you AND the band...which is not an unreasonable request.

I have to agree with Jermdogg, playing at church is different than other venues and a 100% perfect performance is not necessarily the goal, helping to lead people into worship is the bigger goal.

Also, talking to the sound man/woman may very helpful. If you explain your problem and they can help you get a better monitor mix in your headphones so you can hear both the drums and the others, I think that will help you feel more comfortable all around.

Most of all, keep trying and working on it.

Congrats!

Thanks a lot for your advice and support everybody. I'm still a young musician and i know i have a lot to learn. I'm very glad to have this chance and I hope it helps me to become a better drummer. BTW i like your avatar JW.

My only small piece of advice would be to grab any chance you can. I started playing in my church when I was 7 and now i'm helping the younger drummers along myself.
It also really does help having time to play with the band and to get used to the sound of your kit and where it fits into the overall sound.
Above all, may your playing be to the glory of God.

Hmmm...I remember my first time playing for my church. It's a great experience. Just remember to keep your heart in the worship, and let God use the music you are playing to carry everyone else into the worship as well. Also, just have fun. Do anything you can to make the music sound good. It may seem like you are more of an entertainer there, but it, IMO, makes it easier to worship God when the music is good.

Ask your pastor if you can get a CD with the songs on it so that you can have a basic starting point. That's what we do at my church.

Also, the most important thing you can do is pray and ask God for guidance and a sincere heart of worship.

Above all, rock out for the Lord and his people.
Good luck!

X

Actually an E-kit is easier to play on than on an accoustic set IMO. Anyway I am now familier with both. Just remember that an E-kit is less sensitive. You need to hit harder.

I play with my chuch praise band (youth) the set there is also electric. Its different, but give it about 20 minutes and you dont notice.

Well, I like to think I'm always playing for an audience of One.  ;)

If you can't hear yourself and they can't get it mixed in the way you need, get some earbuds and adapter to hook directly into the headphone out on the drum module...then just play with one earbud in.  You should be able to hear yourself at whatever level you dial up in that one ear...hopefully you can hear everybody else directly in the other ear.  

Our Saturday evening service has an e-kit (and I have one at home.)  I really don't like it that much compared to playing my acoustic set on Sunday morning.

--David