Sound Source
Before jumping into sound mixing and other sound equipment, it is important to have excellent sound sources to begin with. Vocals from worship leader(s) and musical instruments create these original sources of sound.
The various key components contributing to great sound sources are as follows:
1. Anointed and Inspired Songs
Gifted Gospel songwriters penned down lyrics which are scripture based and these words can minister to the hearts and souls of the congregation. When these lyrics are combined with appropriate and inspired tunes, they become anointed spiritual songs that can have lasting profound effects on the worshippers.
2. Voice Quality
It may not take great effort to recognize singers who are blessed with marvellous voices. This is dependent on the anatomy of the laryngeal (voice box) and this is the part which is attributed to natural gifting.
3. Vocal Skills
Great natural voice quality is a good starting point. There is also the learned portion that contributes to the voice quality by applying appropriate control of the laryngeal muscles. Good auditory skill is also required as feedback to the brain for the proper control of the various voice box muscles to stay in tune and other body muscles to provide the necessary expression required by the songs. Skillful singers can sing in parts e.g. soprano, alto, tenor and bass without getting confused and go out of tune from hearing the voices of other singers.
4. Musical Instrument Sound Quality
Great sounding musical instruments are a good accompaniment to excellent voices. Otherwise, it would be an acapella (singing without musical instrument accompaniment) all the time. Musicians can be quite particular in choosing their musical instrument as they seek after a particular sound and feel. It is no surprise then that great sounding and highly sought after musical instruments command a premium price.
5. Musicians’ Skills
It may not be difficult to note that it takes great skills to play a musical instrument proficiently. Divine gifting and years of dedicated training on a particular musical instrument plays a critical role in establishing a good foundation. Other than mastering their own musical instruments, musicians must also be able to play harmoniously as a band or an ensemble under the guidance of a music director before they can provide successful accompaniment to the singers.
6. Music Arrangement
Music arrangement dictates how each musical instrument should be played and how the vocals should take their parts. Contemporary music arrangement typically consists of the following key components:
Melody: This carries the tune of the music. For vocals, it is normally taken by the worship leaders. As for the musical instruments, at times certain instrument, e.g., an electric guitarist, a keyboardist or a violinist may take the lead role in playing a few bars.
Harmony: This harmonizes with the melody. Suitable chords at appropriate times harmonize the melody very nicely. For the vocals, the backup singers may choose to sing in parts. For the musical instruments, playing notes within suitable chords can harmonize pleasantly.
Fill: Melody only occupies certain time slots within the time frame. If all the vocals and instruments are only occupying the same time melody time slots, it can sound quite empty since there are considerable gaps (i.e. no sound) in between the melody. This is where the “fill” comes in. Vocals can fill the gaps by singing in between melody. Likewise, musical instruments playing the fill part including sustained notes can make the entire music sounds much more wholesome.
Rhythm: This provides the beat and thus the tempo of the overall music. This part is normally taken by a suitable percussion instrument such as the drums and is usually accompanied by the bass guitar.
The importance of recognizing these key components of music arrangement would become more apparent in the later portion of this article where the role of the mix engineer is being expounded. In summary, in a praise and worship setting, the above six different elements directly influencing the quality of the sound source are typically the responsibilities of the worship team.
Sound Mixing
The sound engineer needs to mike or otherwise connects these sound sources, optimally operate the sound mixer with careful technical considerations and then artistically blend all these inputs to a wholesome nice sounding production and channel to sound reinforcement systems at various venues. Mixing on the sound mixer board is just one of the many skills required for a good worship experience.