Imagine you walk into church one day and are told, “your job just got easier because we aren’t using praise bands any more…we’re going back to the pastor leading hymns.”
Last night, while reading a church magazine, I noticed the variety of advertisements. Interested in improving your church?
How about:
• Softer chairs
• Different colored pews
• Software to monitor giving, attendance, birthdays, and the member’s favorite tv show
• New stained glass windows
• Window overlays that look like stained glass
• Top of the line playground equipment
• Coffee services to fit the needs of your particular church
Wow, that’s a lot of stuff that’s not related directly to the church service. Thank goodness you and I are focused only on the service.
You and I are more likely to think about the more important stuff like:
• The best wireless microphones for singers
• Using our digital work stations for getting the right drum sound
• Perfecting monitor mixes for the musicians
• And providing the perfect music mix
After all, if the music doesn’t sound good, then we aren’t doing our jobs.
The service would be terrible if:
• The kick drum wasn’t optimally mic’d
• The musicians didn’t have the right mix to play along
• The electric guitar didn’t sound like The Edge
[sigh]
Alas, I ask you, isn’t it so easy to focus on the music portion of a service that other components get less attention?
The band sounds great…but have you properly mixed the pastor’s vocals?
The drum sound is tight…but do you tweak the podium microphone for the scripture reader?
You’ve perfected the midrange of the acoustic guitar…but do you hit all the microphone cues during the rest of the service?
Therefore, I ask you this question…
Would you still work on the audio team if mixing a band wasn’t part of the job?
Chris Huff is a long-time practitioner of church sound and writes at Behind The Mixer, covering topics ranging from audio fundamentals to dealing with musicians – and everything in between.
