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Seven Steps to Great Sound
There are many things you can do to improve the quality and consistency of the sound in your services. Here are seven simple steps that will guarantee an immediate improvement.
1) Encourage and honor your sound team.
Most tech volunteers have detail-type personalities. They have a genuine desire to do the job right and have invested much time in making sure things go smoothly. Unfortunately, the only recognition most get is when things go wrong. Don't embarrass them. Encourage them privately, and honor their efforts publicly - from the pulpit - on a regular basis.
2) Communicate with your sound team.
Nothing hurts an organization more than a lack of communication. Go out of your way to communicate changes in the service to your sound team. Include them in early planning sessions for all services and special events. Communicate last minute changes quickly! "Unimportant" details may be crucial to your sound team doing their job right.
3) PLEASE, DO SOUNDCHECKS!!!
Your musicians and singers probably rehearse quite a bit. Why do churches expect their sound team to deliver a flawless performance on Sunday morning without providing enough time to rehearse with the worship team prior to the service!?! If you refuse to schedule soundchecks and rehearsals, then please don't complain to your sound team about the poor job they are doing with the sound.
4) Pray with your sound team.
Pray with them for solutions to the technical and relational problems they are facing. Invest time in understanding and working through any relational problems that may exist. What better place for Satan to drive a wedge of disunity than between the sound team and worship team? Their gift of service and yours are equal in God's eyes.
There are solutions to the technical problems you may face. Pray through to the right solution. God may reveal a solution that your team can implement, or He may lead you to the right individual to assist you in solving the problem.
5) Equip and support your sound team.
Equip them with the gear and the liberty to deliver the quality sound you want. Church sound engineers across the country are crying out for quality equipment to deliver the desired sound, but often their hands are tied by a lack of budget and understanding. Encourage their creativity by allowing them to experiment. Blanket rules like "the piano lid will stay closed at all times" stifles their creativity to find the best sound.
6) Start and maintain a sound equipment budget
A high quality sound system is a requirement for today's church. To maintain that quality requires regular maintenance and periodic upgrading. Just as the church plans for replacing burned out light bulbs, it is good stewardship to budget for sound equipment repairs. Budget for equipment upgrades as things wear out and needs change on a 7 to 15 year cycle.
7) Invest in your sound team.
My prayer for pastors and leaders is that they recognize the value of investing in their sound team. The individuals in those teams have made a significant investment in your church by volunteering their time and talents to ensure that your services go smoothly and sound the best they know how to make it. That gift of time is often stolen from family time, and even if misplaced, it was a sincere effort to serve the Father with a heart toward excellence. One of the best investments you can make as a church on their behalf is to send them to an educational event like a TFWM Conference once a year. Pay their way! Attending quality seminars as a team helps each individual grow in their knowledge of the craft through which they serve the needs of their church, and helps them grow closer together. It's money well spent.
Supplement annual training with technical materials that the team can share and study throughout the year. (See our Soundcheck Resources catalog for a variety of powerful training materials!)
You can improve the quality of sound in your worship services. Put these seven steps into action today and watch what happens. Well, what are you waiting for!?!
Curt Taipale
Curt@ChurchSoundcheck.com
http://www.ChurchSoundcheck.com
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