But what about the musician who is playing poorly and struggling through a song?
I cut them way way way back. If they’re playing a rhythm instrument, I might cut them just a little but give them a lot of reverb and delay. This way, it smooths out their inconsistencies and gives it more of a keyboard pad type of filler sound. Not as severe as keyboard pads, but hopefully you get the idea.
If they’re stumbling through a melodic line on an instrument, that’s when you’re likely to completely cut them out of a mix. At least you’ll want to cut them out.
However, before you completely nix them from the house mix, ask yourself the question, “what COULD I use?“ Maybe the piano player has a strong left hand bounce going but it’s their right hand that’s causing problems, so I cut the high frequencies a lot and give the piano a fatter sound.
It’s not always possible but do try to go with the “what can I use” attitude. But like I said, I have cut instruments out completely before.
Can I cut them out of all songs?
Don’t cut the same instrument out for all the songs. You will have times when you get a new band member and they are nervous and it shows in their playing or they stumble over a chord change from time to time. They need to get used to hearing themselves in the mix and being on stage.
And, the congregation might likely give a break to the new person as long as they aren’t singing or playing in the wrong key.
What if it’s a problem with the arrangement?
Even if the style of the song doesn’t fit an instrument, you should view it as “this is how the band arranged the song so I have to give it *some* prominence in the mix.”
If you have a good relationship with the worship leader, you might offer your opinion to them before or after a practice when it’s an arrangement issue. Maybe even during the practice, between songs, depending on your relationship.
For example, I’ve told a worship leader, “you probably don’t want to do that because from back here, that doesn’t sound right. What if you…“ Now I used to play on a worship team and so I’ve got a musical background and he values my opinion.
What I’m saying is you might tell them “look, the way you have arranged that song with the piano isn’t working.” But try offering another option.
Summary
Before you cut/pull back any instrument in your mix, look at the variety of reasons it might sound bad; bad arrangement, bad EQ’ing on your part, bad monitor levels, and poor musicianship. Then take the right path to rectifying the situation.
Ready to learn and laugh? Chris Huff writes about the world of church audio at Behind The Mixer. He covers everything from audio fundamentals to dealing with musicians. He can even tell you the signs the sound guy is having a mental breakdown.