Modern Worship Drums Q&A with Chris Fox

Corbin and Chris sit down to discuss the special aspects of worship drumming. Everything from gear choices to how to work with your FOH engineer are all essential aspects of drumming for worship. Collaboration between teams helps to enhance the worship experience. Chris gives his insight on the style of playing that is worship music and practical advice on how to select drums, cymbals, and potentially drum shields.

Stylistic Development

As worship music has evolved over time, so has the need for drummers to play differently and change their style. Chris discusses how worship music focuses heavily on lyrics and vocals and how his drumming aims to complement and enhance these elements without being a distraction.
  • Drumming should support the energy of the song
  • Listen and adapt to the nuances of worship music, this comes over time from listening a lot.

Practical Gear Choices

Chris provides insight into his gear choices, specifically his Black Beauty snare drum. He prefers the Black Beauty because of how versatile and reliable it is. Cymbals should be chosen for each room size and it’s important to balance the brightness and washiness of them.

Collaboration with Front of House

Working with the audio engineer is crucial for getting the best sound out of your inputs. Chris explains the need for drummers to be flexible and responsive to feedback.
  • Drum volume should be manageable, not overpowering.
  • Minimizing cymbal noise in vocal mics, especially for recordings and broadcast, is key.

Drum Shields

Sometimes controversial, and sometimes a no brainer… drum shields help manage drum volume and sound quality. Drummers should be open to using a drum shield if it helps the overall sound. Drum shields can improve the vocal mix by reducing drum bleed which is especially helpful for your online services and recordings.

Topics

Categories

Worship
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