Can You Speak Drum? The Art Of Interpretation

Photo by Alexander Andrews

"I feel like the chorus is missing something." "The intro feels really fast." "This song just needs more energy." "Can you do something else right here? I don't like how this feels." - I've heard all of these remarks from different worship leaders. While comments like these are a little helpful, there is still a lot of room for misinterpretation. It seems like that's what drummers have become: interpreters.

Let's take a moment to understand the worship leader's perspective. They don't play drums. They don't know what you do back there. Like anyone else, all they know is how it feels. They are very aware of what vibes the band is putting out. When you do something different than the recording or from what you normally do, it feels different. They may not know what you specifically did differently, but they notice something felt different. In general, worship leaders see and think about the bigger picture.

These are great things to think about. I think worship leaders should definitely think about these things. In some cases, it is better for worship leaders to speak like this if they trust the drummer's interpretations. However, I think that worship leaders can grow in their abilities to understand how drums work and be more analytical in their communication with drummers. Now, I'm not saying that worship leaders should abandon a big picture or feeling mentality when it comes to music. Communicating feelings and dynamic structures are important. But if you really want to change the big picture, you need to change the smaller pictures. Communication is not just a worship leader's problem; it's mostly a drummer's problem.

Drummer's almost have to be very analytical. I mean, you're using all your limbs over here. You've got to know what you're playing after all. Often the problem drummer's have is that we miss the bigger picture because we're too focused on what we're playing. It's hard to take a step back while we're playing and ask, "how does this feel?"

So here's what I propose. 

If you're a drummer here's what you can do:


Learn the feelings your drums create. If something needs to be "bigger" what can you do to create that? If something needs to have "more energy" what can you do to create that? These questions have many right answers. But I challenge you to understand the feelings you create by playing specific notes on specific instruments. If you can figure out how to affect the bigger picture by changing what you play specifically, then you can significantly bridge the gap in the communication with the worship leader. If you know what creates energy, you can just do it when the worship leader asks for it. You don't have to sit there and think, "What does that mean?" By understanding how your instrument creates moods and feelings, you are better equipped to interpret "big picture" terms.

Communicate what you're going to do to make it happen. When the worship leader asks you to do something differently, you can say, "Okay, I'm going to change my kick pattern here to make it feel different." Don't just leave it at, "Okay." This will help the worship leader understand what you do and how to communicate with you.

Don't take criticism personally. If someone is giving you feedback, it's because they care about how it sounds. No one is trying to be a bad guy here. Use criticism as an opportunity to show off your flexibility, humility, patience, and command of your playing.

If you're not a drummer here's what you can do:

One thing I appreciate about Craig - the worship leader I normally play with - is he helps me to think about the bigger picture by intentionally talking in "big picture" terms. He doesn't have to be analytical with me, because he expects me to know how to change what I'm doing to change the bigger picture. He also recognizes that I'm the drummer - not him. So he lets me make the decisions for my instrument, and he trusts my choices. If Craig just speaks in broad terms, I can come up with something that he would never have thought of. He feels good because I'm playing something different than what I was originally, and I feel good because I'm playing something that I thought of - not something he told me to play. I know that seems to contradict what I'm about to say, but not all relationships are like mine and Craig's. In summary, if you are working with a drummer who knows what they're doing, your job is easy. Just continue to focus on the bigger picture and help others see the bigger picture by not focusing on specific details.

But what if the drummer doesn't know what they're doing? Sometimes the bigger picture you're describing is not landing with the drummer. Some drummers are clueless and need you to get specific. So with the understanding that sometimes it's best not to be analytical if you trust your drummer's interpretations, here are some things you can do to help drummers understand what you're trying to say.

Learn the individual instruments of a drum set. At least start there. It's very helpful if you can name the instruments in your communication. For instance, you could say something like, "I don't like the groove you're playing on the toms. Can you play something more straightforward using the ride cymbal like what you did on the bridge?" or "I don't like the 16th notes on the hihat. I think that is making it feel too busy. Can you just play 8th notes there?" That is much more informative than, "I don't like how this feels." If you need help, you can talk with a good producer. Producers really understand other instruments in the studio. They may not be able to play drums, but they definitely know how to communicate with drummers by naming specific instruments.

Use examples. You may not be able to understand how the patterns we play in a song are different. I get that. But you can use the sections of a song as an example of the groove that you want. For example, "I want it to sound like what you did on the verse, but just fuller." Or you can even use a different song's groove! "I want it to sound like what you did on the chorus of this other song." That gives drummers a much better idea of what you're looking for rather than, "Can you do something different here?"




As a reminder, we're all on the same team. We're all working together. Communicating our different opinions in a respectful way is what makes us all better people and is an important life skill. We don't want to say anything that we're going to regret or anything that will put our hearts in a place where we can't worship. I hope this helps!

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