Have you ever attended a gospel music church service? The closest I’ve come is on three separate occasions: two gospel brunches at the House of Blues in Las Vegas and Los Angeles (“Praise the Lord and pass the biscuits!”) and a performance of the Black Nativity in Seattle. We’re following a plan to play drums in 4 weeks and this is Lesson 6 of 12. See the complete Plan by clicking here.
The Sunday brunches at the House of Blues both had top-notch gospel groups perform as the crowd ate from a marvelous buffet of food. There was lively crowd participation and it was easy to forget that we were not in a traditional church. The Black Nativity was a live show that reenacted the birth of Jesus through music. The first half of the show was the story about the birth of Jesus and the second half was filled with gospel music as if it were a church service. Incredible musicians and singers made up the live band and large choir. The night we were there, Sanjaya (from American Idol) sang a solo. Very cool!
If you’ve never attended a live performance of gospel music, I would
strongly recommend it. When you go, notice how the audience (the congregation) moves to the music and claps to the beat. People who sing and play gospel music tend to clap their hands on “two” and “four” because it feels good. Remember that you learned to play the snare drum (tapping your left leg with your left hand) on “two” and “four” in the lesson “Your First Drum Beat (No Drums Required).” This is because, in rock and blues music of today,
most songs have a strong emphasis on the second and fourth beats of the measure. For some examples of gospel music that you can clap to, listen to “Souled Out” by Hezekiah Walker & LFC from the “WOW Gospel 2010” CD or “Power” by Marvin Sapp from his award winning “Thirsty” CD. Notice how the crowd in these live recordings continues to clap on “two” and “four” even when the band gets quiet.
Have you ever attended a traditional Protestant church service (such as, Lutheran, Baptist and Methodist)? I grew up in the Lutheran church and some of my earliest memories were of singing hymns next to my 
parents in church. That music made a deep impression and, to this day, when I’m singing some Christmas carols, I can hear my dad singing next to me. The hymns were solemn and reverent. It was a totally different approach than gospel music. The emphasis was more on the melody and words than on the rhythm and feel. Christian hymns emphasize the “down” beat, that is, the “one” and the “three” instead of the “two” and “four” of gospel music. Listen to “Holy, Holy, Holy” by the London Festival Orchestra and The Thomas/Cumberland Choir from “More Than 50 Most Loved Hymns.” The emphasis is on the beat, on “one” and “three.” Or think about the Christmas hymn “Joy To The World.” The emphasis is on every beat: “Joy” “To” and “World” are on beats one, two and three.
One of my gigs is playing in a band at a Lutheran church for what we call “informal worship.” We play a variety of rock oriented praise tunes. Lutherans are not known for showing too much expression and feeling during the church service but occasionally we’ll get the congregation to clap.
Interestingly, the crowd always wants to clap on “one” and “three.” Left on their own, they would always choose to clap on “one” and “three” instead of “two” and “four.” Once the band starts clapping on “two” and “four” the people will usually follow but it’s not natural for them.
A lot of our church members are families who have been “brought up” in the Lutheran church and may be thinking back to those Protestant hymns. Still, it seems that with all the rock music they’ve listened to, they should know about the “two” and “four.” After the service, someone in the band always comments about the congregation clapping on the wrong beat and we all have a chuckle at the expense of the “square” Lutherans.
So, if you want to be hip in the eyes of your fellow musicians, always clap on “two” and “four.” Never clap on “one” and “three.” And look like you know what you’re doing; like you’ve done it before. In fact, it’s worth practicing. Whenever you hear a song, pick out the “two” and “four” and clap with feeling!