LITTLE DRUMMER BOY - 5-y-o making sweet music

"I feel a bit nice when I play the drums!" are the words of five-year-old Nathaniel Clarke of Springfield district in Westmoreland, who is drumming his beats into the hearts of members of his church and community.

Little Nathaniel, who attends the Sheffield Primary School, is a self-taught drummer. He has been playing the drums since he was one year old, often practising with a drum set that was gifted to him by a family friend. He told THE STAR that he especially loves playing gospel music.

"I sing songs and I play at my church and other churches, too," Nathaniel said confidently. "I love to play Warrior Hey and Hurry Up (Get Ready to Go)."

Nathaniel, who enhanced his natural drumming technique by watching other talented child drummers on YouTube, serves as the official drummer at the Ketto Pentecostal City Mission Church, where he and his family regularly worship. He has developed a reputation for drumming so hard that he does not need a microphone, and sometimes visitors to the church wonder how he can keep it up with his little hands.

"When I play the drums at church, I feel happy when the people clap for me, and I feel like I want to go again," said Nathaniel, before taking up his drumsticks to give an energetic demonstration of his skill.

T'Ka Whittaker-Hall, Nathaniel's mother, proudly said that her son plays other instruments, such as the guitar and the piano, and also sings. She believes his musical talent comes from her because she is the family's resident singer.

"Before he could walk, we noticed that he was banging his hands on the floor. Sometimes we would worry he would hurt his hands, but we didn't know it was music that he was attaching it to," said Whittaker-Hall. "When the washer would be going, he would be making music with the washing machine; he would make music with you stirring something. Anything that has a sound or any form of beat to it, he would try to make some form of music with it." Whittaker-Hall said that the feedback has been immense.

"When he is here practising on his own, we literally have cars and bikes stopping by just to get a little of the entertainment, and this is a daily thing for us. Sometimes we do have to say, 'All right, little brother sleeping, so let's take a break,''" the proud mother added.

Meanwhile, Nathaniel said he is trying to pass on his drumming techniques to his baby brother, even as he aspires to another profession.

"I teach my little brother to play the drums, but he just plays the drums with his hands and not with the sticks," Nathaniel outlined. "I want to be a firefighter, because if there is a fire I will put out the fire."

Whittaker-Hall explained that Nathaniel's love of music and his dream to be a firefighter are connected.

"He once told me that from the moment he found that firefighters and police actually have bands, he said when he becomes a firefighter, he will become part of the band as well. He is not going to forget about the music," said Whittaker-Hall.