Soundchecks. In most churches they are either a cause for war or something that is missing entirely.
Nothing shows the maturity of a team more than their sound checks.
Here are a few tips for doing them well:
1. Check one instrument at a time – This allows the sound tech to get a proper EQ of each instrument.
2. Make sure your sound tech shows up early – It’s important for your sound tech to be early in order to prepare for a soundcheck. If that’s not possible, for some reason, appoint someone to prepare the stage and sound board for the scheduled band.
3. Speak kindly – It’s easy to take “low jabs” at the sound man or other members of the team during a soundcheck. It’s unbelievable the issues that soundchecks reveal. Musicians, resist the urge to verbally stab other team members.
4. Soundcheck early – Build it within your team culture that soundcheck happens BEFORE rehearsal starts. Otherwise, it will eat up the precious little time you have to practice.
5. Make sure everyone plays at the loudest volume – This allows the sound man to get a proper EQ and see if any channel gain is spiking.
6. Train your team to be disciplined (and not play) if they’re not being checked – I know, for a musician to hold an instrument and not doodle is nearly impossible. But you can do it!
7.Teach your team members how to get a good monitor mix – Whether you’re using in-ear monitors or floor wedges, teach your vocalists and musicians to be picky about their mix. Make sure they have what they need.
8. Speak vision before you start practice – Everything you do should be about vision. Before rehearsal starts, cast vision for what God is about to do.
9. Pray – It fixes everyone’s attention on what matters
10. Utilize a skilled sound tech – The more proficient your sound tech, the better your sound check. In our local churches, at times, we utilize people who simply don’t have the skills. I can understand if you’re low on volunteers and they’re all you have, but work to find and attract skilled people.
11. Position your vocalists as far away from the drums as possible – One of the biggest frustrations with worship teams is that vocalists can’t hear themselves. The further away from the drums, the better. If you can, purchase in-ear monitors for your team. It covers a multitude of sins 😉
Question: What would you add to the list? How do you have an effective sound check? You can leave a comment by clicking here.
Great practical tips. Soundchecks can really bring out the worst in people. We need to be very intentional about the setting a good atmosphere right off the bat.
Once everyone is plugged in and in place, I put #9 “Pray” as the very first thing we do. And a very short prayer at that. It really makes a difference.
#3 “Speak kindly” is very important also. A respectful attitude and tone of voice makes a huge difference.
Man, I can think back to some nightmare soundchecks. It really helps when everyone on your team knows how to do it well.
Nice job David. Very practical and applicable.
I agree with Rob that “Speaking Kindly” is very important. Sound checks can be stressful and my take is that stressful situations reveal us more than the change us. [Another application of this could be to use technology to reduce raised voices or the perception of “yelling.” I’ve seen this create tension in rehearsals time and time again.]
I’d also like to add that maybe #5 could include ‘loudest volume they are going to play/sing.’ This allows for some demonstration of trust on both the team member(s) and the sound tech. If the sound tech knows the range, the team member will be “heard” and the team member can relax and focus on what God has called them to do.
Another possible point is:
“Designate who is responsible for ‘the sound’/mix”.
By that I mean, who does the sound tech “answer to.” This will reduce the number of “bosses” they have to respond to during the sound check.
You could also add:
“The person responsible for the mix should come out into the room to listen early in the sound check”
This would allow for more appropriate (read ‘private’) conversations which may not be for all team members to hear.
Another option related to this could be:
“Remember that the Spoken or Sung word is the primary ‘product'”
I say this as a reminder that, at the end of the day, it’s understandable, intelligible vocals that will facilitate the attenders experience most. Not that the drums or a great sound the guitar isn’t relevant – just not as relevant as we want everyone, not just those who already know the music, to be able to enter in to the experience.
I think I’d better stop… lol
Dude, these are some great points. I wish I would have included that some things should not be spoken in the microphone. Sometimes team members say confrontational things that should be shared in private. I think you should write a follow up post on this 😉 Thanks Bobby!
‘..write a follow up post…’
Yeah, I think I will. It seems many of your posts get my thoughts going. Guess it’s time to put it out there. lol
Hey David,
Here’s that post. No points for length but hopefully there are a few decent ideas. 🙂
http://bobbyg.org/home/home/blog/14-more-tips-for-more-effective-soundchecks
Awesome tips! Thanks for writing these. I just sent them out to my worship band. They also are going to subscribe to your site. I have been referencing it to them a lot! haha
We use something called the 7-Minute Sound Check every week for our sound check processes. You can get it over at mymusicwriter.com — basically it’s a 7 minute MP3 split click track that guides both FOH and standard worship band and singers through sound check. It systematically checks and allows enough time to dial in a monitor mix and FOH mix gain structure. It adds one instrument at a time and by the end builds a full mix with the band playing. The beautiful part is it provides clear communication, brings consistency every week, and allows the band to jam at full volume. We are done with checks in 7 minutes every week and can get on to other really important rehearsal items. Right now it’s free at mymusicwriter.com with a $7 purchase.
Bryan,
Since I’d not heard of that resource, I’d say that could be very helpful. I would ad, however, that it might actually be more beneficial for the Worship Leader/Musical Director to choose one song from the set list as the “7-Minute” song. This would give the team a chance to review what they’d learned in rehearsal and it would give the WL a chance to hear how well his team members are practicing and reviewing what was finalized in rehearsal.
But I would agree that that tool could be very helpful.
David, all good points, I wish to address #6. Everyone playing during sound check cranks up the tension level for sure. In my experience, guitar players need the most frequent reminders. There are reasons
for this. Most other musicians were in some type of ensemble during Jr. High and High School if not college. It is a learned behavior where violations have consequences. Guitar players (who are very tactile any way) without such experience need the protocol and etiquette explained to them. Some music ministers actually develop a handbook for such issues. For new praise team members, have an introductory interview where such things are discussed and stressed, while they are eager to comply. Then they must be reminded. Most guitar players simply were not in an ensemble every day for 7 years like other instrumentalists.Even most drummers were in band.
Besides guitar players, the only other real “offender” I dealt with was an incredibly gifted fiddle player who played by ear and was never in his school orchestra. Same situation. No ensemble etiquette.
Don Simpson