Have you ever wondered exactly how the letters written by the apostle Paul were delivered the churches? After all, they didn’t have UPS, FedEx or the US Postal Service.
Well, of course the letters were delivered by a person. For instance, we know that Tychicus was the deliverer of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. What an incredible job he had. He was to deliver the epistle to the Christian church in Ephesus. His job was to make sure that they got to hear what Paul was saying to them. His job was to make sure that the message was not changed in any way and that the hearers heard it as Paul intended. And by him faithfully delivering the letter, the Christians of not only Ephesus but all Christians would hear Paul’s message. It was a simple, behind the scenes job that if not done right would have changed the landscape of the New Testament.
Well, of course the letters were delivered by a person. For instance, we know that Tychicus was the deliverer of Paul’s letter to the Ephesians. What an incredible job he had. He was to deliver the epistle to the Christian church in Ephesus. His job was to make sure that they got to hear what Paul was saying to them. His job was to make sure that the message was not changed in any way and that the hearers heard it as Paul intended. And by him faithfully delivering the letter, the Christians of not only Ephesus but all Christians would hear Paul’s message. It was a simple, behind the scenes job that if not done right would have changed the landscape of the New Testament.
In today’s world of technology I would liken the job of Tychicus’ delivering Paul’s letter to the person who runs your sound on Sunday mornings. Yes, you read that right! I believe that the sound person’s job on Sunday morning is like Tychicus’ job of making sure the message was delivered.
If you will, the message of Paul was entrusted to Tychicus. It was through Tychicus that the message would be heard and received. In the same way, we entrust on Sunday mornings not only the sermon but also the music to a person who is responsible for delivering the message, words and music to the people! (If you use screens within worship –this person is another Tychicus too!) In my thinking, the sounds person’s job (which technically is a “mix engineer”) is the third most important job on Sunday mornings! And if their job is done poorly it can easily become the most distracting component of Sunday morning and keep folks from hearing! Everything that the congregation is going to hear goes “through” that mix engineer. I suspect if you are a worship leader or pastor you agree with me. And if you do, good for you!
Welcome to the worship environment of the 21st century! Remember the “good old days” when you just turned the organ on and someone flipped a switch to turn on the PA system? Those days seemed simpler, didn’t they?
Now we have sound engineers, lighting people and projection people, sermon recording people, videographers and who all knows “what”. And because of this change in the worship culture/environment/heart-language of today, it is just as important to have the best person mixing your sound each week as it was to have the best available organist or choir director in the “good old days”. And if this is true, why are so many of us settling with a volunteer that has little to no training or expertise running the sound? It seems that many churches today use a volunteer for this position. Maybe the sound person is a teen or young adult and has some understanding of “how to do it”. But, still they are not experts in it. They tend to be more “volume controllers” than mix engineers.
Well, I would like to suggest to you that the single greatest thing you can do for your Sunday morning worship other than have a great worship leader and great preacher is to HIRE a professional mix engineer!
Hire someone who knows what they are doing. Hire someone who is trained and/or degreed in mixing sound. After all, you spent how many hours picking out the best sound equipment that fits your budget. Yet, that equipment isn’t worth too much unless someone knows how to use it to your full “sound advantage”. Sound matters in today’s world! An excellent mix engineer on Sunday mornings can move what you are doing to the “next level”. And there is a LOT more to mixing sound than simply turning on the sound board and fooling around with the sound levels!
How do I know?
Well, a year ago we simply placed an ad for a Sunday morning sound person on Craigslist. Within a day or two we had over twelve people apply. (It’s amazing how many young people mix sound for either bands or clubs on the weekends and are looking for some extra cash.) We interviewed three of them. And we hired a young man who mixes sound for clubs on the weekends and owns a recording studio. He actually has an associate’s degree as a sound mix engineer.
· He knows what he is doing.
· He is extremely professional.
· He’s picky about the sound because it reflects on his abilities.
· And hiring him is the single best thing we have done for our Sunday morning worship in a long time!
· Our Sunday morning rehearsals go smoothly because we don’t have to struggle with any sound issues.
· If there’s a problem that arises he is on it immediately.
It’s the difference between having the volunteer organist “Ethel” who is 92 and still playing the organ or having the young graduate from college who has a degree in organ performance. And while we all love “Ethel” you know what kind of difference I’m talking about!
Yes, it will cost you a little bit of money. But, it will be money well spent for the sake of everyone on Sunday mornings. After all, most of us would agree that Sunday mornings are more than “just important”. Sunday morning is the principle happening each week.
If you decide to try hiring a professional sound person you can negotiate the amount you pay them and you can determine the time that you need them there. We pay our sound person $75 per week. He is expected to be at the church and ready to go by 8 a.m. and is there until the service is over. It’s worth every penny! You might be able to get someone for $30-$50 per week depending on your needs.
Where might you look for someone?
· Try Craigslist.
· Try your local paper.
· Try calling a few of the local clubs.
· Let your congregation know.
Look for someone who has experience doing it and might have an associate’s degree or some form of training. If you are not able to find someone like this, then at least provide some online training or conference experiences for your volunteer. There’s all kind of training available online and other resources or mix engineering.
YouTube also can be a source of video training for mixing sound. Be sure to check it out!
Here are just a few sites/seminars/resources online for mix engineering you might check out:
- · http://www.down2earthaudioresources.com/index.html?gclid=CP3i8pbBiaECFR4aswodiFEmOg
- · http://www.prosoundweb.com/studyhall
- · http://www.prosoundweb.com/forums
- · http://churchsound.prosoundweb.com
- · http://www.lynda.com/home/DisplayCourse.aspx?lpk2=48371
- · http://www.pro-music.org/Content/InsideTheMusicBiz/jobs-mixengineer.php
- · http://www.musicianuniversity.com/courses/audio.html
- · http://www.soundonsound.com/sos/mar07/articles/maserati.htm
- · http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/church_sound_training_sponsored_by_leading_manufacturers_slated_for_septemb
- · http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/worship_wisdom_finding_the_people_while_learning_38_growing
- · http://churchtech.wordpress.com/2007/07/15/what-makes-a-great-church-sound-tech
- · http://www.churchsoundsecrets.com (provides training for your sound volunteers)
- · http://goingto11.com/
- · http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/tech_tip_of_the_day_phase_differences
- http://www.prosoundweb.com/article/worship_wisdom_remember_practice_makes_permanent
What resources have you found that you could share with others in regards to training your mix engineer? What’s your greatest challenge with your sound mix? Do you pay to have someone run your sound on Sunday mornings?
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