Teaching Church Audio Artistry | Church Sound Systems
The drummer called in sick. The bassist's car broke down. The guitarist had a family emergency. Whatever the reason, you are now missing an instrument in the band. It's time to adjust your mix to fill in the hole. There are two ways of treating missing instruments; Make it obvious in the mix. For example, if the only electric sound in the band was the electric guitar then mix it as an acoustic set. Cover up the vacancy with other sounds. It's here that I'm parking for [keep reading]
Rock music, blues, jazz, you pick the genre and there will be a song with a guitar solo that stands out. In the realm of Christian worship music, a solo is a funny thing. Is it a necessary part of worship? It CAN be part of the worship as long as it's mixed in the right way. Mixing a "worship solo" means weaving in a lead line in a way that supports the worship music. This can be done in two primary ways: Pick the right volume. The volume of the solo instrument needs to be loud enough to [keep reading]
Critiquing your mix is one of the best ways improving your mix. You'll improve the mix for the next week but you can also immediately improve your mix for the song you are critiquing. Today, I'm kicking out the questions you must ask, concerning your mix, as well as a new method I've been using. The Top Eleven Questions to Ask of Your Mix Can I hear all the musicians and singers? Close your eyes and try identifying each musical instrument and each vocal. If you can't hear something in [keep reading]
Want a great sounding acoustic guitar mix? Check out these eight tips that should have your acoustic guitar mix sounding great. 1. Check out the acoustic guitar's on-board amplifier settings Acoustic guitars can have on-board amplifiers with EQ settings. If the guitar's EQ settings aren't set properly, then it means you have a terrible incoming sound before you start mixing. Set the guitar's on-board EQ settings all to zero (neither boosted nor cut). The next time you have a [keep reading]
Dare I suggest the volume of your worship leader could be detrimental to the worship environment? Yes, yes I suggest that very thing. Overall audio volume level discussions are common between sound techs but I submit to you, my friends, that the overall volume isn't nearly as much of a deal-breaker, mood-killer, worship-ender, as the volume level of the person leading the song. My wife is a wonderful singer (of course!) and has spent a good amount of time singing on a worship team or two. [keep reading]
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.
For more about me, read my bio. You can also follow me on twitter or email me. Find BTM on Google+
Everything you need to know from creating a consistently great mix week after week to meeting everyone's expectations. Over 300 pages of the essential information that every church sound tech should know. Audio examples included.
Read Audio Essentials for Church Sound today! 