Curt: That's what keeps the discussion group alive. The cost of an e-mail these days is more than you'd think.

Brent: How many people have joined the churchsoundcheck list? How many countries are represented?

Curt: We're currently a little over 1,800 members in more than 15 countries.

Mike Van Tubergen: Curt, you mentioned ears. Any hints on discerning some of the gifts for mixing? I struggle with one of my volunteers, who has questionable upper range hearing.

Curt: As we age, we're all going to have questionable upper range hearing. I think you just have to put people in the hot seat and let them mix and see what happens.

JimL: How do you teach someone to build a musical mix?

Curt: I've seen better approaches to this, but I still use the Mix Pyramid. Basically it’s a way to look at the rhythm section as the foundation, with all other elements built on top of it. That's how I teach it in my workshops. A lot of people are visual learners, and giving them a way to visualize their mix can help greatly.

Moderator: Do you ever see the possibility of teaching on-line, or is this too limited?

Curt: We're currently developing exactly that. I still like the personal touch, but on-line certainly has numerous advantages. We have a curriculum that we offer now for others to take what we've done and teach their own church sound teams.

Larry: How do you build a true team spirit among a tech staff?

Curt: By getting them together away from ground zero. We encourage at least quarterly get-togethers. Treat your crew well. They give generously of their time, so don't feed them hot dogs unless it's at the water park. Instead, take them to a great restaurant - their whole families. Include the kids! Training sessions can also be very effective ways to build a team spirit.

Keith: In a way, your churchsoundcheck list is a teaching tool, isn't it?

Curt: Yes, our discussion group is definitely a teaching tool. I thoroughly enjoy teaching through the Internet, and would love to do that full time.

Moderator: So, where do you start with respect to training volunteers?

Curt: It's an individual thing. You have to find out where they're at. My friend Blair McNair used to start his volunteers at OCC in Orlando, cleaning mic cables. All they did for the first year was help out, clean cables, and keep the sound booth straightened up and so on. After they passed his test of their servant spirit, they were allowed to start learning the tech stuff.