For a young musician, drums can seem deceptively easy. After all, all you have to do is beat on things, right? What often happens is you get a kid who learns a basic 4/4 beat in his cousin’s bedroom and the next thing you know he wants to be in the praise team, which may or may not be a good thing for the group. So in this first practice, he plays the same “BOOM, BOOM, CRACK—BOOM, BOOM, CRACK” beat through every song of the set…after all, it’s all he knows. How do you help this young player harness his enthusiasm yet still make an artistic contribution to the group without overpowering? I see three things we can do to help the player and the band.
- Encourage the young drummer to keep time on different elements of the kit. In a typical 4/4 beat, 8th notes are played on a closed hi-hat with snare beats on the the 2 and the 4 count. Add color and texture to the songs by challenging the drummer to play those 8th notes on maybe the ride cymbal (the large 18-20” cymbal that is to heavy and large to make a distinct “crash” sound), or on the floor tom. This doesn’t require any extra effort on the drummer’s part, but will drastically change the feel of the song. Maybe have her play those 8ths on the floor tom on the first verse, open hi-hat on first chorus, closed hi-hat on 2nd verse, and ride cymbal on 2nd chorus. This is no more difficult on the drummer, but will give much more character to the songs
- Help him move the snare beats around within the measures. In a typical rock beat, the snare is played on the 2 and 4 counts. An easy way to let the song breathe is to play the same beat with no snare at all, or maybe just on the 4 count. This is especially effective on the verses where the song is less intense. Then, when you bring back the 2 and 4 backbeat on the chorus, it seems like the song is really rockin’ out, but all you did was hold back on the verse. This requires a little more practice than step one, but it shouldn’t be too difficult for Ringo, Jr. Another thing that can be done is to move the snare count from 2 and 4 to the 3 count. This actually gives the illusion that the time of the song is being cut in half, even though it is going the same speed. This will take longer for the new drummer to master, but when the skill is mastered, it will have a lot of possibilities.
- Teach your drummer when to play and when not to play. A common mistake among many young praise bands (and adult ones, too) is that the musicians don’t begin with the end result of the song in mind, but rather just focus on what part they have to play and making sure they successfully play it throughout the entire song. With the exception of the rhythm acoustic guitar or maybe piano’s lead which are often played all the way through, the song’s intensity is determined by not only how the instruments are played, but also by whether or not they are even played at all. This applies more to drums than anything else. Have your drummer (and maybe your bass player) sit out on the first verse and come in on the chorus or maybe the last 2 lines of the verse and see how much more that chorus seems to scream because it’s contrasted with the silence of the first verse. Then have them cut out on a bridge, or maybe cut all the instruments out on a verse and do it a capella, then really come back and nail the chorus.
These are some simple, easy things that can make your new drummer’s experience in the praise band more rewarding and will help the group sound better. Any time there is a positive result, it will cause her interest to grow and she will begin wanting to learn more and practice more. What do you do to help your young musicians?
Jason Huffman is the Director of Youth Ministries at First United Methodist Church, Palestine, TX
www.reachyouthministries.org
www.fumcpalestine.com
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