Behind The Mixer

I read the following after googling a bit for some related information.  I've bolded a few excellent points the writer mentions.  I've also added my thoughts in RED...red.

"Not much can happen in a worship service without the people in the sound booth making it happen. Sound engineers have, in most cases, complete control over delivering the stuff from the platform to the peeps in the pews. Unless you’ve dabbling in a new avant-garde form of worship and preaching using techniques from the silent movie era, you rely heavily on your amplification system. There are very few elements in your worship service that take place without being routed through your sound system. If you’ve ever participated in a church service where the power went out mid-service, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

The “sound guys”, as we often refer to them, are important to the success of a worship gathering. In many ways, they can either make the service operate smoothly or crash with one slip of the finger. Following is a list of tips and ideas to help the sound engineers in their ministry of enhancing and supporting the worship experience and ensuring the delivery of biblical teaching.

• Find out what sound is acceptable to the worship pastor.
• Be able to take orders and constructive criticism.
• Know every knob, button, and slider on the sound board. Read the manual twice.
• Listen to lots and lots of music. Jot down what you hear.
• If the worship team is provided with a reference CD for rehearsals, take one and listen to it.
• Listen to the sound of each song and make adjustments to bring out different instruments when the song calls for it.
• Don’t “blend” and make each instrument the same level making them indistinguishable.
• Stay one step ahead. Have your finger on the mute button 20 seconds before you need to. Having worked in radio, 20 seconds is a lifetime.  I think the theory go back to the boy scouts "always be prepared."
• Know when the solos are so you can boost the channel at the right time.  Using mixer groups for overall volume control for a band.
• Use the pan feature for certain instruments or vocalists.
• Get the monitor mix down during the rehearsals. Make sure the worship team addresses all issues during the rehearsals, preferably at the beginning.
• Walk around the room during rehearsals to hear how it sounds in different spots. 
• Communicate with each vocalist and instrumentalist individually.
• Develop hand signals for phrases frequently used so you can communicate during worship services if something goes wrong… and they will.
• Don’t make huge changes in anything before the service.
• Eliminate distractions before and after the service. Stay focused on your task.
• Stay as consistent as possible. Keep the same instruments on the same channels and have vocalists use the same microphones from week to week.  if your mic's are teh same model/brand then it doesn't make a difference.  
• Keep an eye on the congregation for body language. Maybe there’s an annoying hum or some feedback that you’re not picking up on.  You should hear hums and feedback!
• Don’t forget to worship. This is a time for you to connect with God, as well. Learn to worship through your ministry in the sound booth. If you are running sound, then it isn't the time for singing with your hands raised.  It's time for running sound which is a ministry which is a ministry of details because the second you miss a cue or loose the feedback battle, you've distracted the congregation.  I'm not sure how the author meant this but that's my thoughts.

...from churchhacks.com

Do you have other tips for the sound ministry based on your own experience? Share them in the comments below.