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Jan/Feb 2012

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Exit Stage Left: Educated Mixing

by Brad Herring

I’d estimate that 90% of churches I visit have poorly designed or inadequate sound systems. However, I have yet to visit a church that couldn’t achieve better sound by training their sound engineers.

If you are the sound engineer for your church, the number one thing you must realize is that you have a critical role in ministry. You are not simply a button pusher. What you do carries the Word of God forth, and removes barriers—allowing people the freedom to worship. If you don’t perform to the best of your ability, annoyances such as missed microphone cues, feedback, un-wanted pops, radio interference and other trivial problems actually create walls that inhibit worship.

Once you realize the vital role you play in ministry, the rest is easy—at that point you want to be your very best. There is often a change in the heart that transforms us from “technician” to “servant.” Once this transformation happens, the hunger and thirst for doing better can be easily fed.

Even if you find yourself mixing in a less than ideal situation, your commitment to improving your skills and honing your craft can make the difference in the lives of people. Given this, seek out training opportunities and resources.

There are many conferences available to you—some are focused only on houses of worship while others include houses of worship as a part of the bigger A/V community. Almost all of these conferences offer hands-on training and break out classes. You can learn a lot at these conferences, both in the classroom environment and by the peer-to-peer connections that you make.

There are also many books out there that are a great resource. For example, Yamaha has its Sound for Worship book, and I recently published Sound, Lighting and Video – A Resource for Worship. Both are fantastic resources for churches looking to implement media effectively in their services. There are also a lot of great blogs out there as well as articles online.

Training DVDs and download-on-demand training are available on the Internet, and of course on-site training is a great way to get answers to your specific situation.

There is a wealth of information available to you. It doesn’t matter how long you have been doing A/V, there is always more to learn, regardless of your age or experience level. The key is applying what you learn to the practical world.

The single thing that will help you improve your skills the most is to pay attention. Learn to focus on what’s going on. Don’t allow yourself to be distracted. And if you do make a mistake, don’t dwell on it. Learn from it, shake it off and keep on mixing. Keep a positive attitude and enjoy the work you are doing – after all, it is work unto the Lord!

 

Brad Herring is a national speaker, author and video producer. He operates Church Production Resources – a ministry-based business focused on training churches how to use media and technology to reach the lost and disciple the believer. Learn more at: www.ChurchProductionResources.com   .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address)