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Worship & Tech Series: Part 6
We’ve seen, time and time again, that large churches are a different type of ministry. This doesn’t mean that small church ministry is less, but it is different. If you’re looking for a great way to understand basic tech in a small church, stick around. Keep reading to learn:
- How to avoid the top mistakes many small churches are making
- Why you might want to get a better mic before you replace your soundboard
- How to know if your sound issues are caused by the people running it or the actual equipment
- The top qualities to look for in your next sound and tech trainee
The Biggest Mistake Small Churches Make In Basic Tech
The biggest mistake we make in basic tech is often the people we choose to be involved in tech. Yes, we are limited as small churches, but we can still pick the right people to join the tech team. We assume that tech is an intricately complicated job that only certain people can do, but this isn’t completely true. Basic tech can be taught to anyone willing to learn, and it’s not as complex as people make it out to be.
I’ve learned that it’s better to work with someone who doesn’t have much knowledge of basic tech, but who has a servant’s heart and whose personality is compatible with others on the team, than to have a sound person who is great at their job, but isn’t necessarily the nicest person. You can always teach someone willing to learn, but you can’t always work well with someone harsh or abrasive.
Understandably, some people work behind the soundboard, who probably shouldn’t. This is often a result of a lack of choice. Because people perceive tech as something very complex, they’ll take whoever is good at it, or even whoever is interested in it. They don’t consider if they can all work well together because they just need someone who can fill the position. However, it doesn’t have to be this way.
4 Tips to Understanding Basic Tech
1. Volume Control
Live sound reinforcement was designed to help people hear specific sounds better. If we look back at the history of music, when guitars began to enter the scene, no guitar could match the level of sound in a band. To fix this, people started putting small pickups in guitars and plugging them into speakers and amps because they needed that live sound reinforcement to allow the guitar to be heard over the other instruments. From there, it just kept going.
People often get wrapped up in fancy reverb effects and the EQueuing of channels so easily. However, at the end of the day, you could run a flat EQ and still have a good, clean sound without feedback. This means that the little knobs and buttons all over the top of the soundboard could be flattened out, you could focus solely on the volume control, and you could still produce a clean sound. To simplify this, if you don’t know what all the other buttons are on a soundboard, that’s okay. Don’t mess with it until you do. Focus on volume control.
2. Simplifying The Soundboard
The most common soundboard in churches is somewhere around a 24-channel soundboard. That means that it has 24 outputs. By having these 24 outputs, you also have 24 channels. Channels 1-24 are identical. They operate the same. If you break it down, you’re essentially looking at the same thing 24 times. Keep in mind, that you’ll also have a master panel on the side or in the middle, depending on the brand, and that’s the same thing just separated into different sections.
The EQ stands for equalization. This means that you can make a series of small tweaks on a sound to avoid any kind of feedback or imperfection. All it takes are little, tiny adjustments to make the guitar, vocals, or even the piano sound more natural.
3. Finding The Right Equipment
This is tough because to get the right equipment, you need to have a little knowledge of basic tech so that you can understand what the basic needs of your church are. Keep in mind, that there’s a big difference between running sound for a full worship team with guitars, keyboards, bass, and drums, and running sound for a couple of guitars and singers. Each of these would require a different set of equipment. This means that you’re going to want to know what your needs are and what your budget requirement is before you go shopping for tech.
However, if you don’t understand it or you don’t know what you need, there are still other options. You can start by doing as much research as you can. There is so much information out there. If you still don’t understand it or you just want a second opinion, seek outside assistance. Ask around your church to see if anyone would know. You could even call people whose job is to help answer these tech-related questions. The information and resources are out there, it is your job to search for them.
4. How To Know You’ve Created A Good Mix
Creating a good mix is an art. You can’t just set the soundboard and be done with it. You have to make adjustments as you go. There are always going to be variables that change no matter where you’re serving in tech. It’s important to keep in mind that you’ll know you’re doing a good job when nobody says anything. I’ve learned that the only time people say anything, is when it doesn’t sound good or they have a problem with something. This means that if people aren’t saying anything, you’ve done a good job.
The reason people don’t say anything unless there’s a problem has to do with the goal of a tech person. If you’re serving in tech, you’re sitting in a booth in the back, often unseen by the congregation. However, this is intentional. We should be invisible while we’re in the tech booth. As a tech team, we are doing something critical, but we’re in the back to limit distraction. The focus shouldn’t be on you, it should be on creating and cultivating the perfect environment for people to truly and deeply worship the God of the Universe!
What To Look For When Considering A Sound Person
One of the first things you should look for is personality. The person you bring in should not only be someone who believes in your mission and vision, they should be willing and eager to learn. They should be someone who you’re able to work well with. You shouldn’t have to be afraid to ask them to change something on your monitor. You want someone who you can easily talk to. You should also look for people who want to serve Jesus in their community.
When looking for people to serve, we often think that the easiest way to get people interested is by making a mass call during the church announcements. However, this doesn’t work. The best way to find someone to help is by building relationships. Get to know the people in your congregation. Find out what people’s passions are and what they’re good at, and learn more about who they are as a person before you ask them for their help. Once you have a relationship with them, you could ask them if you could teach them basic tech. Ask them to try it out for a couple of weeks. If they don’t like it, that’s okay.
Anyone Can Learn Basic Tech
Even though tech can be daunting and seemingly complex, when you break it down, it can actually be quite simple! Basic tech is something that anyone can learn and is something that you can teach anyone as long as they have the desire to learn. Don’t be afraid to dive into the waves of sound, you’ve got this! Keep learning and keep teaching. Start with volume control, and go from there. The more you learn about sound and tech, the more you’re able to do with your soundboard.
Read More:
Small Church Live Stream Audio Tips
