A couple of months ago, I mentioned to my MoM (Minister of
Music) that our backing vocals were sounding pretty rough on
a regular basis. Their intonation was so bad at times that we
often had to use the "shoot it before it multiplies"
approach to mixing. You know if it doesn't sound good,
don't turn it up!
So over the summer he scheduled regular rehearsals just with
the backing vocalists, and he stopped me in the hall recently
to tell me about how well things were going. Not only were the
vocals sounding better, but the singers were encouraged and really
enjoying the process.
We rejoiced together over the results of their renewed faith
in practice, but I couldn't help wondering why they hadn't been
practicing like that on a regular basis for years. I guess sometimes
we get used to how things have been done in the past, and it's
not easy to see, or hear, the need for improvement. As Chris
Beatty is known for saying, practice doesn't make perfect
it makes permanent.
We Need Practice Too
By the same token, if you're responsible for the sound in
your church each week, you need to be attending those rehearsals
as well. The single most effective thing any church sound mixer
could do to improve his/her contribution to the worship service
is to practice with the worship team on a regular basis.
We are called to excellence in the technical support ministry.
God gave us His best, and our service through the tech ministry
should offer no less than our best pursuit of excellence for
Him. Audio, lighting, and video are all crafts that require our
diligent study to learn. We can learn by finding someone to mentor
us, by reading and studying books on the subject, by participating
in online discussion groups (like our own ChurchSoundcheck Discussion
Group), by attending trade shows and workshops, and so on.
If anything, the majority of people who serve in a technical
support ministry of their local church are way behind the curve
on learning that craft. Let me explain. In most churches, the
musicians and vocalists who lead worship each week are accomplished
musicians. They have studied music and how to deliver an excellent
performance with their instrument for many, many years. During
those years of learning they immersed themselves in the learning
process by taking lessons, practicing for hours on end at home,
playing in recitals, practicing some more, and attending concerts
to hear others perform. It wasn't easy, but they finally got
there. Some are just farther down that road than others.
Yet the majority of individuals who find themselves serving
in the tech support ministry of their local church don't have
years of study at that craft like the musicians and singers do.
Many of them are just starting to learn how the gear works, often
struggling with well-meaning people teaching them the wrong way
to do stuff, filling their heads with audio mythology instead
of truth.
Being good at any one of those crafts also requires an element
of performance during a worship service. A worship leader doesn't
walk on stage to perform. He/she goes out there to lead others
into worship of God. But there is an element of performance in
what they do. Knowing the right words to the song, knowing how
the melody and harmony parts go, developing the ability to sing
well and in key all of those are elements of performance.
I think you would agree that we're thankful for the time they've
invested to develop the abilities God gave them.
God has given us unique abilities to shape and control the
sound, or the lights, or the video equipment, to capture and
even enhance the gifts of the worship team. But you didn't wake
up one day with the ability to deliver a great mix. You had to
work on it. Artfully lighting a dramatic presentation on stage,
or even lighting the stage evenly so that the video team will
have a smooth picture to broadcast takes an investment of our
time and a decision to learn and develop those unique abilities
that God has given us.
Stay on Task
Delivering a flawless worship service requires focus and
sensitivity on our part. First, we need to be focused on the
task at hand. As much as I want to close my eyes and lift my
hands in worship during an especially moving song, I can't. It's
not that I can't get anything out of a worship service, because
I do. But I tend to look at my part of the service as a sacrificial
offering to God so that others can enter in. If I allow myself
to get distracted, if I'm not fully focused on the task at the
moment, then I can easily miss a mic cue, allow a bit of feedback
to get out of hand, miss a lighting cue, forget to put the right
song lyric graphic on the projection screens, and so on. Those
kinds of mistakes are understandable, but inexcusable.
We need to put ourselves in the congregation's shoes. The
congregation should simply hear exactly what they need to hear,
at the moment they need to hear it, at the exact level they need
to hear it, and not know how it happened. They should never even
know that we're there.
We do this by paying attention to the little things. For
example, if your worship leader is anything like 99.9% of the
worship leaders I've worked with, they sing a whole lot louder
than they talk. So let's say that you have their input fader
at "0" (unity gain) while they're singing. You know
from experience that if you don't push their fader up to +10dB
between songs, that there's no way your congregation is going
to hear what's being said. So when they finish the song, and
you know or suspect that your worship leader is going to talk
before the next song starts, you should have already started
moving their fader up to a position that you know will be loud
enough for them to talk with the congregation.
No compressor is going to make up for that difference. You
yes, you have to push the fader up while they're
talking so everyone hears what they need to hear. You also have
to pull the fader back down when they start to sing or they're
going to blast everyone out of their seats. That takes some work
on your part to learn the worship leader.
Every worship leader I've worked with has a certain style
all to their own, including how they interact with the congregation.
Once you've worked with them for a while, and that may take a
few years, you'll begin to sense when they're going to do this
or that. "How did you know to push the fader up at that
moment?" "I don't know. I just sensed that he was going
to do that, so I pushed it up." You'll also sense in advance
when they're going to sing a couple of words too loud, and you'll
instinctively pull the fader back the right amount without thinking
about it. It will eventually become so automatic you won't realize
you're doing it.
It's like a piano player who can make the piano do anything
they want it to do without even looking at the keyboard. They
could probably explain the mechanics of what they do, but they're
such a part of the instrument that it would be difficult to explain
the thought process and emotions that go into creating the sounds
that they create.
So that's one of your goals to get so comfortable with
the gear that you operate it instead of the other way around.
To listen so analytically that you can discern even the slightest
imperfection in the mix and deal with it before someone else
notices it. If it fits your style of worship service, to make
moves with the house and stage lighting systems that allow them
to have a life and breath that matches the worship service. Excellence
requires study and practice. Lots of it. It's a never-ending
assignment, so get used to it.
Sensitivity to the Holy Spirit
We also need to be sensitive to the Holy Spirit's leading
at the moment. This can be as simple as knowing that the guitar
player is about to take a solo, without anyone having told you
about it. Now, frankly, if they're already planning on it, I'd
prefer that someone in the band tell me that the guitar is going
to take a solo during the third verse. But I'm sure you understand
what I mean. Trust your intuition.
Another reason for our staying focused on the task at the
moment is so that we don't do something really stupid during
a service. For example, we generally dim the house lights to
a preset value at a couple of strategic moments during our worship
services. The dimming system we use has a fader that determines
how fast that fade up or fade down is. On occasion, one of our
tech team members will hit the preset without checking to see
where that dimming speed fader is positioned, and the lights
will snap to the next setting. Now, that's going to be obvious
to any congregation member. Instead of a slow dimmer move from
one setting to another, it's a sudden change that could be a
distraction to some. If it happens often enough, it could even
have some members thinking "There go those idiots in the
tech booth again. Why can't they get that right?" If it
distracts even one person from the worship service, it shouldn't
have happened.
My Most Embarrassing Moment
Bet you can't top this one. Several years ago, we were in
the middle of the offertory special music one service when I
offered what will hopefully be the worst mistake of my entire
mixing career. The choir was singing with a live band. To improve
our chances for gain-before-feedback in those days, we had gotten
into the habit of pre-tracking the choir. That gave me a click
track on one channel to feed to the band, and all the choir I
ever needed on the other channel.
So imagine this. We're in the middle of the song. The band
is playing with the click track fed over their headphones. The
choir is singing live. I have mics on the choir, and I'm using
the prerecorded choir to fill out the sound and give me some
extra choir volume to use as needed. As this is going on, I've
allowed myself to get distracted. I'm thinking about the transition
from this song into the sermon. And I'm looking around the sound
booth, checking for things that I might have overlooked, like
forgetting to turn off the CD player that I'd used for walk-in
music before the service. I look over and discover the cassette
deck rolling, and I says to myself "Well, what's that rolling
for?" The moment I hit the stop button I realized what a
stupid mistake I'd just made. You guessed it. I stopped the track
that the band and choir were singing along with.
Now, fortunately for me, my Bachelor of Music degree and
12 years of making my living as a musician kicked into gear at
that moment. I realized that I'd stopped the track on the downbeat
of a bar. So I somehow counted four bars and hit the play button
on the next downbeat. I'd be willing to bet that 99% of the congregation
never knew what happened. Bless their hearts, the band and choir
director caught it, and gracefully adjusted for the extra four
bars. But my goodness did I feel stupid. You can bet that I've
never made that mistake since. It also taught me to stay focused.
In a sense, it taught me to keep from being too focused as well.
It may sound odd to say this, but I was trying so hard to be
focused that that in itself allowed me to get distracted.
My List of Pet Peeves
Here's my list of pet peeves regarding stuff that just shouldn't
happen in a worship service. Some of these may seem so silly,
so expected, so taken for granted that they're not worth saying.
But you'd be surprised how many times I've seen these mistakes
made in other churches, or even by my own volunteers. If you've
got some to add to the list, please send them to me and we'll
compile a list.
Don't miss mic cues. We can't afford to not have a mic turned
on when it needs to be on. But if you come to one of my workshops,
you'll hear me talk about keeping the number of open microphones
to a minimum. That is to say, if the choir's not singing, don't
have their mics open. If the pastor's not talking, don't have
his mic on. And so on. But we also need to stay focused so that
the pastor doesn't have to say stuff to the congregation like
"Is this thing on?" What an embarrassment.
Turn off the mics before they hit the stand. It's purely
unprofessional to let a singer put a mic in the clip on a stand
without having first muted that channel. If you don't, the congregation
is going to hear a loud thump over the system, or at least over
the monitors. Hopefully the channel mutes on your console also
mute the monitor mixes. That way all you have to do is mute each
vocal mic channel, and they'll be muted both in the house and
in the monitors simultaneously.
Mute the guitar channels. Don't you just hate the loud "buzzzzzt"
that goes with a guitar cable being plugged in or unplugged with
the channel open? If we can equate the word professional with
excellence, then it's unprofessional to not mute those channels
in time to save the congregation from that moment. It's a two
way street though. The sound guys aren't mind readers, nor have
they been assimilated and become one with the automation of the
console. All that to say, the guitar and bass player in your
worship team should give you a moment to mute their channels
before unplugging. It's just common courtesy, a recognition that
we're a team, that the tech support guys and the musicians are
equal members of the worship team.
Leave the sudden light changes to drama. Unless it's for
dramatic effect, the light changes both on stage and in the house
should be slow. If possible, they should be so slow that the
audience really isn't aware that a change is being made.
Dim the house and stage lights for video presentations. If
your church sometimes uses videotaped segments to underscore
part of the pastor's message, or for other things, you can really
help the congregation see the screens better if you'll dim the
house lights a bit during that presentation, then bring them
back up afterwards.
Teach your backing vocalists where to stand, and how to use
a microphone. Would someone please tell me why most backing vocalists
stand so far away from their stage monitors? I don't get it.
In one church I used to work at, our vocalists were very compliant
and stood where we told them to stand so they could see
down the throat of the HF horn in their stage monitor. Yet I've
seen so many vocalists who run away from their monitor. You ask
them if it's too loud and they'll say no. But they refuse to
stand where it will do them the most good.
Those vocalists I used to work with were also careful not
to hold their mic to their sides facing down between songs. They
simply held it about at their waist, still pointed up. Think
about it. If your vocalists drop the mic to their sides between
songs, the zero degrees on-axis point of the mic is going to
be aimed at the monitor, which is likely going to make it feedback.
There's nothing worse than 2001 eyes from the congregation looking
at you when you did nothing to cause the problem.
Don't create a visual distraction during a worship service.
Investing your time and God-given talents in the tech support
ministry is great. But remember that it's an unseen, helps ministry.
Do your best to keep it that way. If you need to walk out into
the auditorium during a worship service, plan your route to offer
the least possible distraction to the congregation. If you need
to talk on the intercom, do so quietly so that others around
you won't be distracted. If you need to get a message to one
of the musicians or singers on stage during a worship service,
see if there's a way to talk to them quietly over the monitors
rather than sending someone on stage with a note. That's another
perfect reason for headphones instead of monitors.
Tighten up the fittings on boom stands. One day in college,
I was helping set up for a jazz concert. As music engineering
students, we were responsible both for sound reinforcement and
for recording such events at the music school. And I had been
given the responsibility of setting the mic stand with a boom
arm and a rather heavy mic on the end of it for a guest saxophone
soloist. At one point during the performance, of course during
a saxophone solo, that boom arm started to slowly drop lower
and lower. Guess who was sent out to fix the problem!?! That's
another mistake I've not made since. I'd encourage you to learn
from my mistake. Hey, get your own ones instead!
Don't stop mixing between songs. Remember the technique of
bringing the worship leader's fader up between songs so the congregation
can hear what's being said? Well, if your pianist or keyboardist
continues playing between songs, go ahead and pull their faders
or submaster down about -20dB or so. They don't know how loud
they are in the house mix. Even if they're playing softer, it
may not be soft enough. It's your job to maintain a great musical
mix, even between the songs.
Don't forget to practice. It's just amazing to me that musicians
and vocalists people who are used to practicing on their
own have to be reminded of the need to practice as a group.
I've seen the same scenario repeated countless times around the
world.
Stay plugged in! This is a given, but I've seen this happen
to too many tech support volunteers myself included. This
constant commitment to pursue excellence requires vigilance on
our part, but it cannot replace our relationship with God. If
we get lost in the fun of twiddling knobs and playing with the
gear, and in so doing forget why we're doing this in the first
place, then God won't honor our service. All that to say, don't
work every service. You and your family need time to immerse
yourselves in the worship services as well.
If it needs to be miked, then put a mic on it. I once watched
a sound guy at a church realize that he had forgotten to put
a mic on an instrument on stage, and then decide that it was
just too much trouble to bother going all the way back downstairs
to add the mic. Hmm, not worth the bother?
Keep Up the Good Work
I'll be the first to admit that I don't always want to bother
with the details it takes to deliver excellence in every worship
service. But I can't get away from the fact that we're called
to excellence in this ministry. We don't have a choice but to
give God our best. It honors Him. It's a way to say we love Him.
It's not brain surgery, but it's important. So keep studying.
Join our discussion group so you can learn daily as well as share
your knowledge with others. And keep giving it your best. See
you next time.
Published in the Sept/Oct 2000 issue of Live
Sound International. Used with permission.
After making his living as a professional musician for twelve years, Curt Taipale returned to college and earned his Bachelor of Music degree from the University of Miami in 1980. He has invested his career ever since as a recording and live sound engineer, a consultant, educator, and author. He served ten years on full time church production staff plus many more years as a guest sound engineer. He contributed three chapters to the Yamaha Guide to Sound Systems for Worship, has written numerous articles for several magazines, and is the Church Editor for Live Sound International. To learn more about Curt's background, see Who Are We?
