Sound men and women get a bad rap in churches. Musicians spend about 70% of their time complaining about their stage sound, their monitor mix, the irritating buzzes, the front-of-house levels – pretty much everything really.
Give musicians the slightest excuse and they’ll moan about the sound. They’ll behave like children if you don’t give them what they want. In normal circumstances you’ll only be a smidgeon away from giving them a hearty slap.
The sound man (or woman) is a mystery wrapped up an enigma, however. He or she turns up earliest, leaves after everyone else and has, arguably, the most important job of all.
It’s what it is. If you are a sound man/woman you are in charge of the sound. That sounds simplistic but consider this: you are in charge of the stuff that’ll affect one fifth of the congregation’s senses. That’s a pretty big responsibility.
If the sound person gets it wrong, the congregation will be like a salmon swimming upstream with little or no chance or reproducing during the worship time. It’s entirely understandable if a congregation cannot engage in worship if the noise coming from the PA system is no more than noise.
In short, you are in charge of an instrument. If you play it badly, it’ll hinder the worship. Play it well and you have done your bit to help people engage in worship.
Here’s a few pointers to help you along your way.
1 Do… listen to the music
Most sound people are volunteeered for the job initially because they are good at understanding technical stuff and plugging things in. Which is great for the set up but the whole mixing the music element is just as important. So don’t just be a techie. If you have been recruited to be in charge of the sound because you know how the equipment works then you will have to learn that this is not just a technological process. Now you are a musician whether you want to be or not!. You’ll have to listen to the way the music ebbs and flows and adjust the levels accordingly. There are sound people, who get the levels sorted in the sound check and once that’s done, they sit back in their chairs and drink tea until the service ends. They might consider that they are there solely as a trouble-shooter – a rescuer in the event of a microphone meltdown – but that’s not it. You have to ‘work’ the desk throughout the service, paying attention to crescendos, troughs and the life of the sung worship. Those curly things on the side of you head are ears, so you might as well use them. If you are not sure where to begin, start listening CDs really critically. How many backing vocals are in the mix? how many guitars? What is the kick drum doing? What are the main rhythmic elements of the groove? And critically what sounds draw your attention and when? You see with a well produced album, at any given moment your ears will be drawn to a single sound or element, be it the vocals, a guitar lick, etc. So live you have to learn to pick out the things that people need to hear at any given moment and drop other sounds to the back. Different mixes can ilicit different responses in people too so pay attention to how diffiering styles of music are mixed and how those sounds make you feel. For instance classic rock mixes put the cymbals and guitars high in the mix and can sound really energetic whereas pop stuff makes the vocals and snare more prominent. So what levels and elements do you think are important for the worship music in your church?
2 Don’t… ‘shut down’ during the soundcheck
Things can get pretty fraught during the soundcheck. Somebody always wants a bit more vocal or drums, or the guitar isn’t sounding quite right, or the worship leader is still hassling you for more keyboards. Usually, there’s a problem character, who doesn’t mind letting you know that he or she isn’t happy. At this point it is tempting to go into shutdown mode, where the list of demands is so endless that the tether you have been hanging on to has come to an abrupt end. Then you are highly likely to leave the whole thing as it is, regardless of whether the sounds coming out of the speakers are good or evil. Take a few short breaths, tell everyone to be patient (people will pay attention because that’s in the Bible) and do your best to improve things.
3 Don’t… rush the drums
The drums are the platform and they generally dictate the volume levels of the band. If your church hasn’t yet purchased a drum screen then managing the drummer’s levels can be an absolute nightmare. Trouble is drummers vary massively: one week you get a ‘jazzer’ whose playing with impossibly light sticks, and the following week you’ll get Captain Caveman whose armed with baseball bats. It’s dreadful, and in this instance you have every right to ask them to either play louder (very unlikely) or play with a little more sensitivity (almost a certainty). You do have to exercise a huge amount of grace here: drummers are individuals and it’s hard to influence their styles, but spend a lot of time working on the sound and don’t rush it. Get a decent drum sound and you are halfway there. It’s also important that you don’t flatten everything, particularly the tom-toms. Don’t be scared to give the toms a bit of oomph: sound men seem to spend their life dampening toms when they don’t need to.
4 Don’t… stick to the same settings
You have to treat every service differently even if you are well familiar with the acoustics, the musicians and the songs. It is a good idea to keep some consistency, but don’t just get the sound set up and stick the settings you had the previous week – or indeed the previous 52 weeks. You have to be sensitive to the service, the congregation, the change in the worship band’s line-up and what the worship leader has planned. God moves in mysterious ways and it’s important that you are sensitive to that. If it’s heading in a flat-out praise direction make sure that the sound is in keeping with that, or if it’s sensitive and tender do your best to make sure that the mix makes sense and reflects what is going on.
5 Do… ask for help
Don’t be a martyr. If you have been lugging stuff all morning and there’s still plenty to do, feel free to ask people for a hand. If it’s a normal, loving church, this shouldn’t be a problem but if not, then you’re in the wrong place. Moving speakers and shifting things around can be a back-breaking siege, so it’s entirely justified to get some help. How about teaching the musician’s how to set up and pack down their own mics? In most small pub and function type bands the musicians are responsible for their own PA anyway so why not get them to share the load?
6 Don’t… be a lone gunman
If you are the sole sound person, then you’re in a bit of a fix. You’ll start resenting this job if you are doing it week-in week-out, so make sure you have back-up. Train someone up, and give yourself a break from time to time. And don’t feel your skills are so invaluable that there’s no chance of anyone else being able to do what you do. You can start to fool yourself that you are more important than you are and that’s pretty dangerous in a church environment. Be humble, let go and let someone else have a go.
7 Do… communicate properly
A sound person who grunts at you is an unpleasant thing, so it’s important you engage with the worship band in a normal manner. Again, this sounds obvious, but monosyllabic sound men are not that uncommon and they can be wholly irritating. You may have got up earlier than everyone else and had to endure that quite horrific 20 minutes of thudding during the drum sound check, but try to stay bright and breezy if you possibly can. A lot of people are relying on you and they need to feel reassured that you know what’s going on. If all they get is a grunt as a response to their request for more vocals in their monitor, then you can expect a long and arduous sound check.
8 Do… be a team player
If the worship pastor organises get-togethers for musicians do your best to attend. Having a strong team is important and the sound person is a key part of that team. There does seem to be a sort of cultural divide between the sound people and the musicians when in fact, as we have mentioned, the sound person should regard him or herself as a musician. The quality of the worship is highly dependant on the sound person. Feel included and don’t set yourself apart.
9 Don’t … be taken for granted
Churches and church leaders can be in danger of overlooking their sound team, unless of course there is a demand for an equipment update and cash has to be spent. At this point the sound man/woman becomes even more unpopular than they were. Sound men/women have a silent role, which is ironic since they are in charge of the noisiest apparatus in the church. If you are in charge of the sound team, make sure your people do get the recognition and encourage them. If the musicians are being flippant and disrespectful it’s your absolute right to let them know.
10 Don’t… forget key pieces of equipment
Musicians can be an unforgiving bunch at the best of times, but if you forget DI boxes, key leads and cables, microphones and other bits and bobs that you know are vital to the smooth running of the sound check then you won’t win many friends. Be adaptable, bring gaffer tape, ensure that all the leads are packed in an orderly fashion so that you can speed up the setting-up process. If you forget the desk or a PA speaker, then it’s time to fall on your sword.
15 Comments
Really highly disagree with point 1…at least the way it’s worded.
Yes, the sound person needs to listen to the music and be sensitive to it when setting the sound levels, but if you aren’t a musician and the musicians playing really know what they are doing…LEAVE THE SOUND LEVELS ALONE! If you make sure the sound coming out of the foldbacks is at the same balance as the stuff coming out of the main speakers, then the accomplished musicians can crescendo and decrescendo using their musical sensitivity.
I hate playing when I can’t guarantee that the balance I’m hearing is what’s going out to the congregation.
Because I’m in the band AND I do the sound, it makes that easier, as I have all the levels the same for main and monitor.
I can tweak if necessary, but the only reason I’ve ever needed to do that is if someone who was singing quietly in rehearsal suddenly decides to eat the mouth piece and sing loudly like their life depends on it.
I’d probably feel different if I was just doing sound, and not being the musician too…
As a professional record producer and engineer for the last 17 years I totally agree with point one. I get fed up listening to static live mixes that have no sensitivity to the actual arrangement or what is going on in the meeting.
Sorry Matt, in response to your comment, musicians have no idea what is going on ‘front of house’ and you have to trust the PA guy to adjust levels to what the congregation are hearing and not what is coming out of your foldback monitor. The musicians proximity to an acoustic drum kit and/or guitar amps give you a totally different picture to what the rest of the church are hearing. I agree if the PA guy is hopeless and has no musical sensitivity then best leave the faders alone – but if that’s the case get another PA guy!
I for one think this article is very helpful!
I agree with all of this as well. Our sound people are at least as important as the musicians on the platform. I also agree with Steve. I learned long ago that I can not know the mix going to the congregation if I’m in the mix. I have learned to trust the sound crew to make us sound as good as we can sound.
i have done sound before and i do all the video and slides for my youth group of around 140 teens (im 13) and i have a few tips to DONT RAISE THE SOUND UP WHERE IT JUST SOUNDS LIKE A BUNCH OF NOISE. i hate that is hard to fallow and annyoing also turn the bass up i barely hear tha bass and i love the bass (even though i play drums metal doube bass) it sounds great theres my 3 and a half cents
Great list. Having been leader of our church sound team for 5 years, I have experienced most of this. What I can say is not to take this ministry lightly! You are as important, if not more so, than any instrument on the stage, and can detract from the worship experience very easily if you are not “tuned in” to the dynamics of the song.
I tend not to use a lot of reverb, but one trick I learned early on, when we only have one or two background vocalists (sounds just as good with more) is to engage a little reverb just during the chorus to fatten up the sound. A good example of this would be “Shout To The Lord.” I liken the verses to a distant wave working it’s way towards shore, and as it hits the shore and is ready to break (the chorus), it resounds with a joyful noise. Reverb can give a strong chorus a little more “oomph” when needed. Things like this, used properly and judiciously, can give the sound person the title of instrumentalist with little fear of reprisal.
As a sometime sound person with my husband, for the last 15 or so years, I do agree with #1. One thing that has been particularly helpful during rehearsal before the service. That is to start with the mains down, and get the musicians each happy with their sound and monitors. We have 4 monitors in front, and the drummer with headset, and everyone has different ideas.
As rehearsal progresses, then the mains can be turned up, balancing with what comes from the monitors.
Always a generous dose of tactfulness is paramount. The head musician is always sure he will sound better with more bass in his vocal, even though its booming off the walls. Nod, and give him a bit less high-end in his monitor.
The mains are mixed to make the musician’s work and worship a sweet offering to the Lord. Remember that people absorb a great deal of sound, and a mix in an empty room will be different.
Go to the weeknight practices. Know your musicians, your congregations tastes , and the preacher’s preferences. Work out as many of the bugs as you can before service starts and put God in charge. Then make the whole of the music to sound it’s absolute best. That is our service of worship.
I am the lead engineer of a team of 4 Sound engineers at our fellowship, and I agree on all 10 points, especially point 1 listen to other music have a critical ear and translate that into your own gift. Foldback and front of house should be the same as 1, the backing vocals may need to hear them selfs more than the general mix so they can produce their harmonies etc if the front of house was the same the Backing vocals may as well be the lead vocals. and 2 steve mentioned this the monitors sound different as you may be affected by the other accoustic instruments (ie drums, guitars etc) and you ear different from the congregation. Be sensitive to the congregation if they are lifting hands in praise and looks like your having a good time in the presence of God then your doing your Job right. if they are walking out and not coming back then you need to find out why and adjust accoringly.
also I’d like to share: don’t leave all the eq levels flat all the time too. Sometimes a bad frequencey can hurt sensitive ears (we have found this out and adjusted accordingly.)
sorry that should be should not be the same*
I actually have a lot of sympathy for Matt’s view in regard to point 1. Dynamic is the primary responsibility of the musicians on stage. They need to learn to control their own levels, years of playing ‘acoustic’ instruments and knowing the difference between PP and FF (and everything inbetween) has taught me that. However as a sound man I also realise that I can enhance whatever is going on at the front.
Oh yeah and I love the idea of ilicit responses in church. :-)
Useful blog. The truth is, as Frank states, that both approaches are needed in point one. Once a good drum mix is set up it rarely needs changing unless some tasteful gating is called for !?! But if someone is singing something that adds to the proceedings spiritually, then they need to cut through. Same with instruments.
I am more interested in the spiritual aspects of the worship time than with the musical craft. Before I was a christian I recognised that the (frankly slightly naff) music I was hearing had a dimension and a reality that went way beyond the music. This was a key moment in my journey. If the musical excellence makes the worship spiritually unaproachable for the congregation then a great disservice is being done…
A sound person should concentrate on this and, usually, the result will be an excellent, dynamic, fluid, musical time of worship…
I would be interested to hear how people would suggest dealing with setup in a school hall. We need to use a school due to the creche, preschoolers, 4 classes of childrens and youth work, and a place to have coffee.
We get one hour to lug in and set up everything and line check and soundcheck and do the monitor mix and link the AV and try to persuade the preacher that they need to soundcheck the tie mike and set up the recording equipment and and and.
Our soundguys are very, very, good in difficult circumstances. Four times out of five everything goes to “plan”, the focus is on God, everyone can hear what’s happening and the guitarist/bass player with tinnitus (that’s me) gets comfortable sound levels (either with or without earplugs!). We have developed sign language to deal with most problems that occur without disrupting the service because we are usually still tweaking the mix when the first quiet song has arrived.
Our setup is relatively simple (snake, powered desk, 3 monitors and FOH, Radio mics for speech) and the musicians set up their own links into the snake.
Is there anything else we can consider doing that would help? (The service can’t be later as the school is often booked for the afternoon and they will not open the doors earlier on a Sunday, before anyone suggests these!)
Thanks for a great post.
On the drums point: I read an article a few years ago entitled “Let the drums be heard”. It advocated considering electronic drums as the best solution for many church contexts. We’re in a typical Victorian Anglican building, with very limited space for the musicians, and the drums only a few yards from the front row of the congregation.
Since getting V-drums we have never looked back. Yes, of course the sound is not ‘as good’ in one sense, and of course there are things you can’t do on them. But what we have gained is the ability to produce an even drum sound all over the church – and ‘let the drums be heard’ without blasting either the flute player or the first five rows. We also get far less spill-over coming into other people’s mics.
A good drummer can get an incredible range of expression from a decent electronic kit, and you can take it to the mixer in several separate channels (kick, snare, cymbals, toms). It might be a bit of a change for some of the players, but any drummer worth having is going to understand that the ultimate result is about how it sounds for the congregation, not how it sounds at the front!
All I would say is that this is not a ‘budget’ option. You need to be prepared to spend £2,000 on a kit, and you need to be putting it through a really top notch PA system to avoid it sounding flabby and so you can really turn it up.
It’s inevitably a compromise and of course it’s ‘less good’ than a real kit, in an ideal situation, properly screened and professionally miked. But in the balance of everything, where we’re at, it’s really helped us improve the congregational sound and ‘let the drums be heard’.
To Mark Brewer (who often has too little time for sound check in the school hall):
There are digital boards/desks that can programed to “remember” a scene (basically everything that can be set can be reset to a selected setting using one button). This may not give you perfect final mix but can get you very close very fast.
This may be a little off-focus, but what do you do with a new Praise Team worship leader that insists that his group be at around a 95 dB sound level. For this room, 75 would be plenty, but he equates loudness to ‘enthusiasm’. Because of his credentials, no one wants to confront him and tactful suggestions aren’t working.
I think a good technician is one who enables the musicians to focus on making good music . Because not ALL musicians are knowledgable technicians , he or she should be able to lift that burden from them. There are however musician who give the impression they would rather duplicate themselves, so they can be behind the desk as well as behind their guitar, and although there might be good reasons why they behave so, there is the danger of sucking too much “technology” up on too the stage, and it just seems to swamp everything. I guess the answer is: sensitivity, mutual trust and respect, with a dose of humility to boot. (Simple?)
It’ll never be simple; there’ll always be problems, but if , as a musician, I go away from a rehearsal or service, more pre-occupied with the sound technology than with the music/worship, then surely something must be out of balance?
Every now and again its good just to get together and have an accoustic practise session – or something near it, just to keep things in perspective! :-)
We don’t have a Musicians Team and a P.A. Team at our church, we have a Worship Team. True, it has largely been made up of Engineers and Musicians as separate entities (although not exclusively – some of the musicians are on the P.A. rota too), but ultimately it’s a collective responsibility to provide the congregation with Worship. We’re all on the same team aiming for the same thing!