I was a spry young 15 years old when I took the drivers education course. My driver's license would be my ticket to freedom! From the instructor's point of view, there was a lot of knowledge to impart on me before I'd ever be ready to drive. In much the same way, training new sound engineers requires a lot of effort, a plan of attack, and it starts with setting a few goals.
The Training Goals
The first step in developing a training plan is establishing three goals:
1. Teaching the skills necessary so the individual can successfully produce a church service on their own.
2. Avoiding information overload. You can't instantly dump twenty years of wisdom and knowledge into someone.
3. Providing a reasonable time span for training. It's not all going to happen in a weekend. When in doubt, see #1 and #2.
With these in mind, let's turn to the training plan.
The Training Plan
The first part of developing a training plan is determining what will be taught. There are three primary areas; purpose, technical skills and non-technical skills. These will be covered in more detail in a moment.
The second part of developing a training plan is setting a time span, as mentioned in the goals. Use this method for calculation; a reasonable time span is the length of time in which the person needs, in each phase of the training process, until they are comfortable with performing those processes on their own.
Considering the three areas and the time span, let's start with training them in their purpose.
Purpose
There are two purposes the person needs to learn; your team's purpose (if you have a purpose statement) and the purpose of church audio production. Your purpose statement tells them the desires and beliefs of your team and how audio production plays into it. The purpose of church audio production tells them what's expected of them. They should know the purpose of church audio production is supporting the pastor, the worship leader, and others on stage in accomplishing their goals while taking into consideration the needs and desires of the congregation and balancing all of that with proper live audio production processes and procedures.
Technical Skills
Your volunteer needs to learn how to use the equipment. Start with stage work. Working with them on the stage, you can teach them about signal flow, mic'ing instruments, cable usage, and monitor usage. Make sure you introduce them to the worship leader and the musicians. You are part of a big team and this helps build that team mentality and those relationships. Once they can set up the stage on their own, it's time to move them into the sound booth.
Their education in the sound booth should start with hardware components and signal flow. Once they understand how all of the parts work together, then move on to mixing. This includes everything from how the mixer works to how to mix the worship team. Teach them in phases and do it during mid-week practices if you have them. Optionally, use virtual sound check capabilities if your mixer supports them.
Let's say you have a mid-week practice, a pre-service sound check, and then the first service. Start with training during the mid-week practice. Once they can perform a mid-week sound check and mix on their own, then bring them in for the service. Start by having them watch what you do. Then, work alongside of them so they can ask questions, and even mix a portion of the service. Eventually, have them mix on their own with you in the sound booth.
Non-Technical Skills
The non-technical skills are those focusing on communication, processes, expectations, and the art of mixing. These can be taught alongside the technical skills, as would be useful with the art of mixing, or separately from them. The volunteer needs to know about that communication; what to ask, who to ask, and when to ask it. Next, they must learn your processes. Do you use a specific process for your sound check? What do you do with the sermon recording? Finally, the most helpful information you can give them is a list of the expectations of the worship leader, the musicians, and pastor, and the congregation. This is where your wealth of knowledge really comes into play.
Wrap Up
Properly training a new sound engineer requires you have goals and a plan. It requires they learn their purpose, the technical skills, and the non-technical skills. You aren't training the new sound engineer in audio production. You are training a person in a unique form of ministry.
