Media, Videos, Audio &amp; Articles Library

Jon Skaggs

Buying Drums For Worship (A Guide For Churches)

Worship leaders are often less than certain about what kind of drums and cymbals they should buy for their church. In this eBook, Jon Skaggs address this important question by discussing the available options for both electric drums and real drums. About The A

Bread & Butter For Drummers

Drummer: Timekeeper. Groove master. Rhythmic backbone. The drums hold such dynamic and emotional range within their control. Given their sheer volume potential, the drums can make or break any worship gathering. Part of the "Bread and Butter" series, download

How To Use Loops And Laptops In A Small Church

Whiteboard Worship Training with Dan Wilt digs into the role of loops (and their accompanying laptops) in a small church setting, and how to approximate sounds to create a sound that matches the context of your congregation.

7 Steps To Awesome For Drummers

Who locks in the tempo of the song? Who creates the textures and grooves? Who is on their game serving the worship experience through energetic, solid playing? Maybe, just maybe, the Drummers. Part of the 7 Steps To Awesome Series, download 7 STEPS TO AWESOME

Bread & Butter For Bass Players

Bass players: The bass guitar is the anchor of the worship band. It holds both rhythm and harmony together in one instrument. With the drums, the bass helps to provide the rhythmic foundation that everything else rests upon. Part of the "Bread and Butter" seri

Tambourine: Tone, Technique, and Tips

The crisp shimmering sound of the tambourine is at home in modern worship music, traditional hymn arrangements, and choir anthem orchestrations. Brush up on the basics and learn a few advanced techniques as Mark Shelton shares from his wealth of tambourine kno

4 Basic Drum Grooves: The Shuffle

Carl Albrecht teaches us shuffle grooves.

Drums And Percussion - The Next Step

In this video by drummer/percussionist Carl Albrecht, expanding beyond basics becomes the central theme. As you add more drums, cymbals and even percussion instruments to your set, staying in the "comfort zone" is still critical. Carl will show you some colorf

Drum Rudiments and Basic Technique: The ABC's

Once your drums are set up properly, Carl Albrecht teaches us the drumming basics.

Drum Tuning: The Tom Toms

Carl Albrecht teaches us how to get the toms set up for the best sound.

7 Steps To Awesome For Bass Players

Who lays the foundation? Who sets the groove? Who is the most listening, space-creating, musically cross-trained member of the band? Maybe, just maybe, the bass player. Part of the 7 Steps To Awesome Series , download 7 STEPS TO AWESOME FOR BASS PLAYERS, to di

Savvy With The Shaker

After a several hundreds of worship services, professional percussionist Mark Shelton has picked up a fair amount of shaker knowledge worth sharing. This article covers topics such as: Shaker choices Which shaker and when? Techniques Real life grooves and more

Using A Click Track

Using a click track can be an incredibly helpful tool for your band in numerous ways. For example, starting to work with a click track can help address various timing issues that your band may be facing such as rushing drummers, loose sections where there is n

4 Basic Drum Grooves: 8th Note Groove

Carl Albrecht teaches the most popular drum groove, the 8th note.

Winning The Volume War - For Drummers

Mike O'Brien has over 17 years experience leading worship alongside hundreds of different drummers in all types of rooms. Winning the Volume War for Drummers presents 4 simple tips on how to help control volume and perceived volume in our services. The drum se

Joyful Living: Do You Need Balance Or Rhythm?

Part of the 2 MINUTE WORSHIP ILLUSTRATIONS: STORIES & METAPHORS FOR MESSAGES series. Each audio illustration is a short story tool that can be used to inspire you as a leader, use as an illustration for a message, or put to music for a special event. Shared by

Worship Drums: Preparation

Professional Christian drummer, Jon Skaggs offers some points to help you prepare for a performance. Other Media In This Course Series Worship Drums eBook (full download) Worship Drums: Preparation - FREE Worship Drums: Listening And Charting Worship Drums: So

Building A Firm Foundation With Drums and Bass

Daniel Ornellas and Ben Showalter share tips on how to build a firm foundation utilizing drums and bass. This video is part of the Conference In A Box course from Christian Musician Summit (CMS) - featuring practical training workshops for every member of your

Simple Carols: Come Thou Long Expected Jesus

In this new video series, worship leader Dan Wilt takes you through the Simple Carols Christmas Chord Charts... on video. Learn 14 favorite carols, with simple chords and basic grooves that work for individuals, or for contemporary bands working with chord cha

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Praise Him With Ringing Metal: Triangle and Suspended Cymbal

Praise Him With Ringing Metal: Triangle and Suspended Cymbal

Two very common members of "The Ringing Metal Percussion Club" are the triangle and suspended cymbal. In this article, professional percussionist Mark Shelton presents some tips and techniques on using the triangle and suspended cymbal in worship.

Coloristic Considerations

While percussion instruments can take on melodic, harmonic, and timekeeping functions, there are those spots where the unique tones are used specifically for the sake of "coloring" the texture of the music. In this article, professional percussionist Mark Shel

The Rise Of The Sticks

Certainly hand percussionists have long employed sticks and mallets on cowbells, woodblocks, timbales, and cymbals, but professional percussionist Mark Shelton perceives a bend toward greater use of stick-struck instruments in modern worship music. This articl

The Art of Not Playing

The art of not playing requires discipline and is an essential element of musical maturity. Percussionist Mark Shelton explains how less percussion can be the right decision.

How To Rock (Percussion)

With a world of percussion from which to pick, what do you play when the worship band is really pumping out some driving straight-eighth ROCK? Percussionist Mark Shelton gives his opinion on what and how to play when you gotta lay down some rock.