3 steps to nailing "Worship-Tom" grooves

[@KevinJones-qr2jh]

"You can do this!" Always fills me with confidence at the outset of every lesson. Thanks Stephen, for being so positive 😊

[@ginomorales4672]

I appreciate how you make it as simple as possible in Order for all of us to learn and adapt. God bless. Keep up good work.

[@michaelshigeta5187]

Unlike the last guy; I found your instructions helpful and easy to understand. Thank you for taking time to create this video and for sharing your passion for the drums. I would like to play in church some day.

[@henrymasters8319]

Very cool thanks! Interesting hearing you talk about the tempo ranges. We dont talk about that stuff as much. Lots of creative ideas here.

[@isaacbarkersadu-mensah3865]

Thank you for sharing this knowledge with us 😊

[@mikefloyd5359]

These tom grooves are very cool sounding, and your "hack" to learn to play them looks great. I can't wait to start practicing these in my nightly sessions to add to my progress through your 30 days to 4 way rock coordination program. I'm on lesson 21 of that one and really enjoying the progress I'm seeing.

[@lunaarn6572]

keep us updated mike! that 30 day coordination program works wonders

[@mrmisfit635]

This was a great lesson, been waiting for something like this for a while!

[@byronpillaylivingfree1234]

The Joy - Belonging and Co. This video has help me alot Thanks so much

[@chriswofford]

Thank you for this in-depth lesson. Listening to the worship toms in a track leaves me feeling like I'm searing in the dark for what's being hit and when. I'm already feeling more comfortable with it. "Take You At Your Word" is my current white whale. "Holy Spirit" by Bryan and Katie Torwalt is the favorite.

[@pipeline_advisor]

Lesson starts at 8:38

[@paulvoivodich7457]

" The Blood" by Bethel is one I have really enjoyed playing! Big powerful song, plenty of scope for building etc.

[@KGingeri]

Thanks Stephen! I do play worship exclusively.

[@tmhoutdoors798]

I think the next step to learn after mastering what is in this video is learning to play the same hand pattern but switching to 1/8 notes on the kick. For example: the bridge of “good and gracious king”. The bridge of “what a wonderful name it is” and the Tom part in “another in the fire” have vastly improved my coordination and freedom when I finally learned them.

[@dannorris642]

My favorite one to play, lately, has been Phil Wickham's Hymn of Heaven. We added a transition into Agnus Dei, at the end. I developed a tom pattern/melody where I could add a ride pattern over top of it, for the last chorus and the Agnus Dei tag.

[@JessyDrums]

Great lesson! My fav song is Like Incense by Hillsong especially the drums only chorus part. That sounds heavenly to me.

[@ojay2001]

My all time "worship" fav is "i will remeber" by Toto. Unfortunately without Porcaro already. 😢 But Instantly had to think about it when I heard you play. Love the halftime shuffle also a lot in that song. Besides: Keep up the good work! Love your channel!

[@byronpillaylivingfree1234]

great video

[@glennbeckman7815]

Great timing Steven. My Church looking to add me into rotation at one campus to start. Your friend Cole is worship leader at the A team main campus. I only 2½ years in so my shot at honouring God playing drumset will start at one of our smaller campuses. Holy Forever by Chris Tomlin is a song I been working on this week with plenty of jungle toms. Thanks again.

[@NowOffTheClock]

1992 was I Believe the year when toms Really started to be utilized in church worship. Danny Chambers did a song called, "Christ is King over All Creation" on his "Can't Stop Praisin'" album. (Later Re-released in 2012) To Me at least, this is where it all Began. (along with some Fine percussive fills) Church drumming hasn't been the same since.

[@daves4827]

Hello Stephen. I've been following you for years now. I am a wanna be church drummer and would like to know SO much more about these "worship tom" grooves. Do you have this 4/3 polyrythym transcribed (on a simple music sheet)? This would make it simpler for me and wondering if it is available to use to practice. Thank you, Stephen!

[@timm1139]

This is something that I’ve been struggling with for years. I’ve never had anyone explain the how or why about these patterns that have left me confused and frustrated. To me, these parts are too “busy” for the song and I just don’t get it. I’ve even been asked by leaders to play a straight groove at times. In a word, thanks. Hopefully this will help me.

[@aleithiatoews6452]

My worship director doesn't usually insist we attempt to emulate any one recording, so we have a lot more creative freedom. I agree that the worship toms are way overused these days, so I just don't use them that often. It's good to have it in the toolbox, though.

[@michaeltaylor8937]

You shouldn't copy the recording. Use it as a guide and play the drums the way you play the drums 😁🥁

[@aleithiatoews6452]

​@@michaeltaylor8937 The previous worship director would sometimes say, "Brenda does it this way." (Brenda is the regular drummer on our team. I'm usually on bass and vocals.) I would get irritated by that because I'm not Brenda. I feel music differently than she does. I would have preferred the worship director just say she wants it that way. At least then she isn't comparing me to another drummer.

[@michaeltaylor8937]

​@@aleithiatoews6452The worship leader should not be telling you exactly how to play, you are you and you should play how you feel is best for the song. It's OK for them to suggest things for you, but they shouldn't tell you exactly what to play. Don't let it bother you. Just be yourself in what you play

[@BootySweat4491]

As a worship drummer y’all are being a little overly sensitive. The director is, well, directing, and ultimately it’s on them whether the music gels together and sounds good. If you are getting specific directions from your director, it means he/she is doing his/her job and if that irritates you, maybe there’s some introspection that needs to happen there. Now if they’re just being a tyrant that’s a different story and you can disregard.

[@michaeltaylor8937]

​@@BootySweat4491Sure you should follow the worship leaders direction. All the band and singers, should start and end songs at the same time and play dynamics together and direct if you want a quiet verse with no drums etc, however the Churches I have played in, the worship leaders are not drummers so they let you put your spin on it and play how you play freely within those guidelines I mentioned above.

[@StoyanStoyanov88]

Favourite worship song to play on drums is Lion and the Lamb by Bethel ❤❤❤

[@nihaldsilva3787]

1e+A2e+(accented)a3E+a4(accepted)e+a is that right?

[@jamesrobertson6255]

Hi, thanks for some great vidoes. I don’t know why, but I was charged twice for the $7 course. Could you possibly look into this? I just don’t want it to happen on a more expensive course. Than you very much, Capt. Jim Robertson American Airlines Ret.

[@turbojav]

I thought it was clear, but to play the dotted eighths I like to think in my head 1-2-3-4-5-(rest).

[@bearclawshooster2173]

spoken like a true mormon.

[@mikeelliott4898]

PASS THE salt AND pepPER is how I remember it. Caps are the 4.

[@harrysmart6236]

Much as I'd love to be able to do this stuff ... I have a worship leader who loves the old church organist thing of pausing at the end of a verse or a chorus, or sometimes at the end of the line .. then coming in with his own version of the 1. So suddenly the band and the singers are out of the beat and it takes a bar to get everyone back in sync. Or, starts up the chorus at a completely different tempo .. It doesn't matter how well you've nailed the groove, or what sort of groove .. you're constantly having to shift gear. I've tried just keeping the original tempo, but then there are complaints. It's difficult to play in this situation where the two basic jobs, of keeping time, and of signalling shifts into different sections of the song, are taken away from you. But it means if you do try something other than a basic money beat groove, which is very easy to start and stop, the extra bandwidth that you're having to devote to 'did he just change the tempo' throws you out of focusing on the groove. Sorry. It's the bane of my worship drumming life, and not being able to do the kind of stuff you're doing here (I LOVE polyrhythms) is painful. Any other church drummers have this issue? How do you handle it?

[@stevenlee560]

where's the 6 step free gift pls?

[@cafe.cedarbeard]

Bo Diddly beat, Ayub the names I know from my path. Glad this kind of music escaped the church so everyone can enjoy the American back beat. These kind of beats are all over 80's King Crimson and The Cure.

[@cafe.cedarbeard]

Thela Hun Gingeet- King Crimson, Closedown, The Cure.

[@cafe.cedarbeard]

Thanks for the simple exercise. It's good to break down these things to simple and slow coordination to tidy up the groove sense in a live setting.

[@thhaze]

Hey Stephen. Thanks for being open and transparent about your faith (I had no idea you were a Christian until this vid). I started playing (drums) in worship bands in 1982 and haven't looked back. Here's one of my fav tunes: kzbin.info/www/bejne/Znq8c4WfpqmCr8U. Psalm 150, bro!

[@philipramsey5577]

Phil Collins “I don’t care” starts on the “e”.

[@scottdegroot4785]

I know it's good to be able to play worship toms, but they are not my favorite thing.

[@fndrr42]

It’s the least fun drumming I have ever experienced

[@ricardogrijalva8037]

Wipe out

[@yumchild]

Reminds me of the two guitar tracks on this song: kzbin.info/www/bejne/hZrcn2OVopd_kLMsi=mERHzEmCp9sW5phV

[@JO-ti5zp]

Could be great instruction, but way over explained with too much extraneous informationand causing a lot of confusion. 3 steps one would expect something far easier to digest. Sorry man, thank for trying.

[@BootySweat4491]

I have to disagree. Twenty minutes for a lesson about tom grooves seems appropriate.

[@SideDrummer-dm7xs]

Hmmmm! Not simple to follow. A notation in drum music would help. Not the best lesson, sorry Stephen.

[@redbunny22]

I found it easy to follow and I finally can play 4/3 Polly rhythm for the first time. I don't know how you couldn't follow along. Maybe your brain just works different than his or mine.

[@KGingeri]

We all learn differently and by differing methods for sure. I found this easy to follow as well, but I can understand some would love to have the drum notation. I like it as I can put it into Mike Johnson's Grove Scribe and slow it way down.

[@Neal_Schier]

I'm the same way. I need to see the notation. I also have the bad habit of thinking anything in 16th notes that is accented every 3rd note as simple triplets. Makes it very easy but has to end at the proper time.