The World's Biggest Drum Competition

"Changing Lives One Beat at a Time"

Drummers For Jesus was formed in Dallas, Texas in 2002. Drummers for Jesus is a world wide network of drummers and percussionists who use their drumming to spread the message of Jesus Christ. 
We promote this message through evangelistic  and fellowship activities from the local level to the international level. Our ministry is built in the HOPE of Jesus Christ, "I have come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay in darkness." - John 12:46
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→ MISSION STATEMENT

Drummers for Jesus mission is to introduce people to the love and hope of knowing Jesus Christ. We believe in the Great Commission, "Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, to the close of the age." Matthew 28:19, 20.

Drummers for Jesus is a 501(c)(3) Nonprofit organization

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Top 10 Greatest Drummers Of All Time

People like to joke about drummers being dumb, but rock would be a poorer world without them. A good drummer keeps the band together, and can build on those simple backbeats with a flair and style of their own - but only if they're good enough. The entrants on this list are a perfect example of that.

We asked Ultimate Guitar readers to nominate and vote for their favorite drummers of all time, and as usual the results were world class. We've counted up thousands of votes, and the results are in - let's find out who the best drummers of all time are.

10. Dave Lombardo (Slayer)

Slayer's fast-paced thrash put them among the all-time great metal acts, and plenty of credit for that is due to Lombardo's insanely tight drumming. Drummer World magazine calls him "the Godfather of double bass," and besides playing with Slayer since the 80s he's been in the lineup for Fantomas,Philm, Testament and other great metal bands.

9. Bill Ward (Black Sabbath)

If Black Sabbath were the founders of metal, Bill Ward is the father of metal drumming. Others on this list might outshine him from a technical standpoint, but they probably wouldn't even be on this list if he hadn't inspired them to pick up a pair of sticks in the first place. It's a real shame the newly reformed Black Sabbath couldn't find a way to get him involved in the current (and potentially final) reunion.

8. Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan (Avenged Sevenfold)

Jimmy died in 2009 after accidentally overdosing on prescription drugs, but his legacy lives on. Raised on a diet of metal and progressive rock, the Rev made his name as a multi-talented songwriter for Avenged Sevenfold. This video shows his school music teacher talking about how the young prodigy was playing and transcribing Metallica drums by the age of 13 - and how she later learned he had been doing it all on a toy drum kit.

7. Keith Moon (The Who)

Keith Moon was insane, in every sense of the word. As a person, people would call him a walking asylum, and it fed straight into his performance. Where other drummers would play a solid backbeat, Moon would explode with an unpredictable style that made the Who one of the most compelling and energetic live acts of their era. He overdosed on an alchohol-withdrawal drug in 1978.

6. Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Adrenaline Mob, Avenged Sevenfold)

Mike Portnoy was a founding and key member of progressive rock titans Dream Theaterfrom the mid-80s to 2010, writing many of their lyrics and concepts. To many prog fans, he's a beacon of musicianship, and it's true that his precision through so many different styles and tempo changes are something to marvel at.

5. Dave Grohl (Nirvana, Queens Of The Stone Age)

This one is pretty simple: the dude played drums for Nirvana. Yeah, the band that flipped the music world on its head in the 90s. You might know him better for his equally stellar career fronting the Foo Fighters, but his dynamic drumming style (inspired by artists like the Pixies, and perhaps Kurt Cobain himself) was an influence on a whole generation sick of the long tail of 80s hair metal drummers. His work on QOTSA's "Songs For The Deaf" could be one of the best drum recordings of the 2000s, but did you know that on this particular album recorded all the cymbals separately from the other drums? Now THAT takes some skill. If you're wondering why, it's because it helps the engineer make all the drums sound louder in the mix.

4. Danny Carey (Tool)

Danny Carey saw that two drummers for his neighbor's band never showed up, so he stepped in. Little did he know that it would lead to him becoming one of the best metal drummers in history. Inspired by geometry, mathematics and the occult, Carey's style is complex but somehow rounded with a hard-hitting grace that few can match. With his help, Tool albums are a feast of polyrhythms. He's featured on albums by Skinny Puppy, King Crimson and the Melvins, among others.

3. Chad Smith (Red Hot Chili Peppers)

Chad Smith is one of the most sought-after session drummers in the world - and probably one of the loudest. In the late 80s, he blew away the newly-formed Red Hot Chilli Peppers lineup, though his hard rock and hell's angels style appearance looked out of place, so singer Anthony Kiedis told him to ditch the bandana and come back the next day. Smith kept it on, but they admired his persistence. Today he's also touring with the supergroup Chickenfoot, when he gets a chance.

2. John Bonham (Led Zeppelin)

Whether he was drumming or drinking, John Bonham liked to do everything as hard as possible. He liked to use the longest, heaviest sticks available, and Led Zeppelinrecordings famously have one of the biggest drums sounds of the analogue recording era - much to the chagrin of modern engineers, who are often asked to emulate Bonham's big kit sound, which can be hard to manage amid modern distorted guitars. Bonham died age 32 after drinking more than 40 shots of Vodka and vomiting in his sleep.

1. Neil Peart (Rush)

As with many drummers from his era, Peart was inspired by hard rock drummers like John Bonham and Keith Moon to pick up the stick, but over time he came to admire older jazz legends like Gene Krupa and Buddy Rich who taught him to introducing jazz and swing to his rock style. Combine that with decades worth of practice with Rush, one of the most respected prog rock acts in the world, and his talent knows no limits. He retired for a while in 1997 after both his wife and only daughter died within a year of each other in the 90s, but after 88,000km of travelling on the road he decided to return to Rush and kickstart their career again.

Ten Tips for Beginner Drummers

So you'd like to be a drummer, eh? Everyone wants to be Gene Krupa or Neil Peart on the first day, but it just isn't going to happen. Learning to drum is a process, and not usually a fast one. The key is patience and trying to emulate what you hear your favorite drummers playing. Then listen to yourself and be critical; be overjoyed when you improve, but also be a tad hard on yourself when you don't. Trust me, if you stick with it, one day it all just clicks and you tell yourself "Hey, I'm not half bad!" Until that day comes, though, please take your time and don't rush your drumming - you'll pick up bad habits that are very hard to change later.

1. Go slow. The speed will come, for sure, but making yourself drum as fast as you can every single time you practice will hurt your play in horrible ways. Take your time, making sure you have great control before you attempt to speed up, your future band will THANK you for it.

2. Work on your meter. Everyone loves a drummer who can do insane rolls and double bass beats, but unless you can actually play in time, all the fancy drum stuff in the world doesn't mean much. Almost every band I've encountered would rather have a simple drummer who keeps great time than a monster who can do 47 different kinds of amazing rolls and solos but can't find the beat to save his life.

3. Play to the radio. Slap some headphones on and put the dial on your favorite station or play a CD. Playing with recordings is a great way to learn because the tempo stays steady no matter what. You'll know real quick what you need to work on when you find yourself drumming way ahead of the beat in an already fast song. Try different stations and styles of music as well, don't just drum what you want to play. In one hour of drumming you could play some oldies, some funk, some punk, some country and some alternative. Heck, when I was learning I'd even play to the Spanish stations because I couldn't understand what they were saying so there were zero cues for when stuff was coming up in the song other than the music itself.

4. Get a video or two. Videos on hand / stick technique, foot positioning, snare work and actual beats are all great to watch if you are just starting. To be honest, I know a few veteran drummers who could use some video time to brush up on their chops. Spending a few dollars NOW on a DVD can prevent you from trying to change a bad habit years from now, when it will be much harder to accomplish.

5. Decide what you will play. If you are a heavy metal fan, you may want thicker, heavier sticks than the drummer who likes to relax with some jazz. If you want to get into classic rock or funk drumming, usually a 5A or 5B size will work, depending of course on the size of the drummer, how hard or soft you play and your technique.

6. Get a practice pad. These little gems are very inexpensive at around twenty dollars and will allow you to practice drumming at night when mom wants a quiet house, when traveling, while watching TV or really anywhere you have a little stick room. They usually consist of a wooden base with a rubber top of varying density and are about the size of a snare drum head. You can set the drum pad on your lap, a table, a chair, a bed or anywhere else that is comfortable and you won't bump into things. I personally find these are especially effective with headphones or while listening to the stereo.

7. Get the basics down first. One-two beats and simple rolls are all over in the music you hear for a reason: they work. Def Leppard and AC/DC are two of the most successful bands in history, and both their drummers incorporated simpler drum technique and solid beats to create a driving sound. If asked to solo, I'm sure either drummer would happily oblige, displaying skill and speed only dreamed of by many drummers. Learn basic fills, rolls and beats and get them down PAT before moving on to more complicated things like off-beats or drum rolls.

8. Learn how to tune your drums. A well tuned drum sounds exponentially better than just slapping a head on and going. In fact, it greatly increases the life of the drum head if you have it installed the way it should be. There are videos all over which can teach you the proper methods, or you can talk to an experienced local drummer.

9. Stay away from the cymbals for a while. Sure, they are fun, and extremely loud. However, until you can play many different kinds of beats and do them respectably, you just aren't ready for them. Same goes with the hi-hats - keep them closed until you are experienced enough to begin using yet another appendage to work them. Your drumming will sound infinitely better in the long run, and you won't break as much stuff.

10. Play a little soft. Yea, I know it's fun to bash the things, and you think it looks cool when drummers break sticks on stage left and right, but it isn't good technique and it can be harmful to the equipment. Play around with this a bit, try really smacking your snare good and hard, then medium, then rather soft. Not barely tapping it, mind you, but softer than a medium hit. I think you'll find that the difference isn't all that great, and if you try playing softer you'll see improvements in speed and endurance almost immediately. Besides, sticks and heads are expensive, why not keep them as long as you can?

I hope that if you are a beginning drummer and reading this, you will take at least a couple things away from the article and try them out. Remember, the most fun isn't always the best way to learn!

What is a drummer?

A drummer is a musician who plays drums, which includes a drum kit ("drum set" or "trap set", including but not limited to cymbals) and accessory based hardware which includes an assortment of pedals and standing support mechanisms, marching percussion and/or any musical instrument that is struck within the context of a wide assortment of musical genres. The termpercussionist applies to a musician who performs struck musical instruments of numerous diverse shapes, sizes and applications. Most contemporary western ensembles bands for rock, pop,jazz, R&B etc. include a drummer for purposes including but not limited to timekeeping. Most drummers of this particular designation work within the context of a larger contingent (aka rhythm section) that may also include, keyboard (a percussion instrument) and/or guitar, auxiliary percussion (often of non western origin) and bass (bass viol or electric). Said ensembles may also include melodic based mallet percussion including but not limited to: vibraphone, marimba and/or xylophone. The rhythm section, being the core metronomic foundation with which other melodic instruments, including voices, may present the harmonic/melodic portion of the material.

First and foremost, a drummer is a musician that performs music on the multi-percussion instrument known as the drum set, which usually consists of a bass drum (with pedal), a floor tom, tom-toms, a snare drum, hi-hats, a ride cymbal, and a crash cymbal.

In popular music, the primary function of the drummer is to "keep time" or provide a steady tempo and rhythmic foundation. However, in other musical styles, such as world, jazz, classical, and electronica, the function of a drummer is often shifted from "time keeper" to soloist, whereby the main melody becomes the rhythmic development generated by the drummer or percussionist.

There are many tools that a drummer can use for either timekeeping or soloing. These include cymbals (china, crash, ride, splash, hi-hats, etc.) auxiliary percussion (bells, Latin drums, cowbells, temple blocks) and many others. Also there are single, double, and triple bass pedals for the bass drum.