Now it’s your turn. Let me know your answers to these questions;
1. What could the musicians/singers do better?
2. What do the musicians/singers do really well?
3. Where is the biggest disconnect between the sound tech and the praise bands?
4. Do you take suggestions from the musicians/singers?
5. Do you give suggestions to the musicians/singers?
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I'm Chris Huff and I've been working behind a mixer for over twenty years. Since 2008, I've been helping other sound techs learn all about the art of church audio through behindthemixer.com.
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1. What could the musicians/singers do better? During practice musicians should be aware that plinking, tuning, just playing around during a practice can be a distraction to whomever the leader is working with, everyone should be patient and attentive even when not being spoken to directly.
2. What do the musicians/singers do really well? Energetic, I love how our worship team really are worshiping god. Not easy to do in front of a large crowd, I also love to see the different ways that they support and care for each other,
3. Where is the biggest disconnect between the sound tech and the praise bands?Hmmm, can’t really put anything here, I like to get up onstage between services and get any feedback from our worship team and leader.
4. Do you take suggestions from the musicians/singers? I listen to all suggestions, those made by our worship leader of course get immediate attention, from musicians and singers most likely responded to with the simple explanation that the sound they observe onstage does not reflect the sound in the room, giving encouragement and praise for the hard work they are giving.
5. Do you give suggestions to the musicians/singers? Yes, not regularly though, and it is not always about the sound, it may be the way they have arranged themselves onstage, the keys dangling on someones belt, standing in the dark spot onstage, taking the little wire nips to the guitar player that just put new strings on and has a mess of strings bouncing about as they play. Most of the coments about the music itself I think should be directed to the leader,
David, great comments, especially number 5!
I’ve yelled at musicians to stop plinking when the worship leader didn’t have the nerve to do it themselves. Oh, and yeah I totally get the nips to the guitar strings. I don’t know why people would play a guitar like that. I don’t know if it’s their way of being a non-conformist but wow, I mean…really? It looks sloppy.
And excellent part about “standing in dark areas.” That’s definitely thinking about more than just how they sound. You can join my team any day.
1. develop parts that will separate them from the others. often our band will all play the same thing making it hard for us to mix. spend more time outside of rehearsal rehearsing.
2. overall we have a very talented group that picks up new things well.
3. not understanding what it’s like in the other’s shoes.
4. yes, on the rare occasion they offer any.
5. yes, mostly along the lines of #1, to change their sound or what they’re playing. sometimes intro/ending ideas.
1. They can be ready to give the sound tech some time to setup his mix.
2. Show up on time, come prepared for the music at hand.
3. General communication and treating the sound tech as a member of the band.
4. Never, they are all morons. Just kidding. Yes I will listen to their requests and try to meet them. They need to be comfortable with their mix etc to be able to do their best.
5. At times, but not often. I will often explain why I can’t do something or suggest how we can work out a better solution.
1. What could the musicians/singers do better?
Trust me! Remember that we’re all part of the same worship team, remember that even if we’re selfish it’s in our best interest to make you sound good.
2. What do the musicians/singers do really well?
Sing, play, lead, direct.
3. Where is the biggest disconnect between the sound tech and the praise bands?
We’ve had musicians who expect perfection from us – forgetting they may have studied their craft in schools and done it professionally for years. And they drive the service, while most of what we do is re-active. Other times, they forget there is this whole worship service going on around them, and that our job is to make the main mix enhance the worship of the people–not lay down a studio track or devote our entire energy to mixing monitors.
4. Do you take suggestions from the musicians/singers?
Yes. I’ve even had a musician bring his rig to the soundbooth and work with me to get an EQ profile he liked. We’ve moved wedges, moved musicians, changed mics.
5. Do you give suggestions to the musicians/singers?
Yes – more on technical stuff (mic technique for a singer, or asking a guitarist to adjust his onboard EQ… or to cut the gain on the internal mic of his guitar, etc). We also try to encourage singers and musicians who are obviously tentative or anxious.
1. they could listen better, accept that I know what I’m talking about, pay attention to the leader
2. play and sing, of course! though not all are equally blessed
3. technology and communication, technology because they often think they know what they’re talking about because they play an instrument, communication because sometimes they just don’t listen!
4. I listen to the suggestion, and if it’s acceptable I will follow it, if not, it lands on the garbage pile
5. regularly, I work with a youth group praise team on a regular basis and they need a lot of help, though they’re doing better.
I sound negative because I work with a sometimes disappointing group of musicians and singers though the more I read, I’m not the only one.
I’m still working on my attitude.
Thanks for causing me to think.
1. What could the musicians/singers do better?
knowing when to stand out and when to back-off in there playing when to solo and when to not
2. What do the musicians/singers do really well?
they know how to sing and play to the best of there ability
3. Where is the biggest disconnect between the sound tech and the praise bands?
the knowledge of the technology and knowing what needs to be louder and what needs to be quieter
4. Do you take suggestions from the musicians/singers?
i will always listen to their suggestions and use the ones that make sense and get rid of the rest
5. Do you give suggestions to the musicians/singers?
Totally as a Tech that also plays music and sings i able to give incite to our worship teams. Also i teach our new bass players on the teams.