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<\/p>\nI just finished a conference call with a church tech director and creative arts pastor. They are having issues with the sound in their church and the two of them, together, want to make a difference. They are looking for suggestions as to how to take it to the next level. There was no shifting of blame or finger pointing one to the other, in fact, the worship leader was very adamant in his support for the tech team and how dedicated they have been in their quest to make things better. Refreshing!<\/p>\n
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The conversation began with a discussion of the room\u2019s shape and dimensions and what the surfaces were made of. If the room isn\u2019t right, we would have to look at ways to acoustically treat it to make it MORE right. It will never be perfect. I told them that hiring an acoustician would be the best place to start. Acousticians are worth every penny. The advice you\u2019re paying for should make the room behave acoustically, before we choose loudspeakers and where to position them. Don\u2019t be talked into a system that promises to make everything sound GREAT if it doesn\u2019t include a discussion of the acoustics in the room first.<\/p>\n
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We then talked about where the speakers were located.<\/p>\n
I was told that there was a center cluster hung above in the vaulted ceiling, and more that covered most of the sanctuary. The sides needed some sonic assistance so they added additional side fills to cover the periphery.<\/p>\n
I asked where they were in relation to the center cluster and it appeared from the description that they were 3-4 feet behind the main speaker, which was also about 20-30 feet above.<\/p>\n
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I asked if the fills were delayed to the main and they had no idea what I was talking about, so we went over the concept of time\u2013arrival, or phase coherence. Loudspeakers and other sound sources should be time-aligned, to arrive at the listener\u2019s ears in a natural way, in time, in phase, for greater intelligibility and clarity. We achieve this with delays on the various components so that sound arrives at one time versus many. For more on this, refer to this article<\/a>.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s move on.<\/p>\n We discussed the style of their worship, which was more or less modern, but with traditional elements. Hillsong didn\u2019t come to mind. The worship style described seemed to be appropriate for this space. They had made the transition to in-ear monitoring so the issue of loud stage monitors and guitar amps didn\u2019t appear to be a problem and overall stage volume was reduced and wasn\u2019t interfering with the house mix. Personal monitoring is not only a benefit to musicians, but also a great benefit to the house mix.<\/p>\n The worship pastor told me that he had taken advice I had made at a conference last fall.\u00a0 It dealt with how to arrange the band so that the musicians would know where, when, what, and how to play their parts and how they have made the musicians more aware of the role each one plays in creating a unified musical sound. \u00a0It has helped them to listen to each other and to the environment in order to support the worship.<\/p>\n I will post an article very soon about arranging the band.<\/p>\n This was a great encouragement to me as, many times, the sound operator will be the scapegoat for a bad musical presentation.\u00a0 You\u2019ve heard the adage \u201cGarbage in, garbage out\u201d? \u00a0I\u2019m not saying it\u2019s all on the band, but this where it starts, at the source. \u00a0I know that when I run sound for a band that is very well rehearsed and has a lot of playing time together, I don\u2019t have to do too much.\u00a0 They are listening to each other, instead of playing over each other. \u00a0They\u2019re in a sense, self-mixing.<\/p>\n We, as sound operators, can add a sense of depth, some spice and emotion with effects, make sure the levels are right, etc., but they are the first step to a great mix.<\/p>\n A band that doesn\u2019t exhibit this kind of self -awareness will always be a more difficult animal to tame.<\/p>\n The next part of our conversation concerned the sound operators.<\/p>\n They, like many churches, large and small, rotate a team of volunteers who share the mixing responsibilities.<\/p>\n Some volunteers have more experience and skill.<\/p>\n Some are just beginning.<\/p>\n Some may be musicians, which is a huge advantage from my point of view.<\/p>\n Some are not. If you are not a musician, I pray that you have a passion for music at a minimum. If you don\u2019t, I can\u2019t understand how you would know what music is supposed to sound like or why you would enjoy mixing music.\u00a0 It\u2019s not purely a science requiring engineering or technical chops; there is an art side as well.<\/p>\n Let\u2019s assume for this illustration that everybody on the team loves music and wants to mix, and wants to improve their skills to do their best for the church. Some will still have more experience, talent and knowledge than others.<\/p>\n How do we achieve a consistent sound\/mix, week to week, so that our congregation isn\u2019t subjected to varied or extreme differences between services, even with the same musicians?<\/p>\n If a musician wants to get better, he can play his instrument at home for as much time as he can devote to it. Time in makes us better! Practice makes perfect.<\/p>\n How does a volunteer sound operator practice his craft? I would suggest multitrack recording the rehearsals and services<\/a>. The sound op can practice mixing by playing back the recordings anytime the church isn\u2019t occupied. Many of the new breed of digital consoles have this ability and if you\u2019re not utilizing this feature, you\u2019re missing out on one of greatest benefits known as \u201cVirtual Soundcheck<\/strong><\/em>\u201d. It will definitely aid in making your sound team better.<\/p>\n
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