Don't freak out if you’re an audio engineer and not a musician. This is not meant to degrade you, your skillset, or your place in the body of Christ. Please keep reading. The principles I will present are things you’ll need to understand to take your audio mix to the next level in quality. Most musicians already understand these principles I’m about to discuss. This is why I believe musicians make the best audio engineers… they have a head start in crafting a solid mix.
Understanding the language of music, musicians, and vocalists gives the technician an advantage of moving beyond communication and connecting with people onstage.
The first reason musicians make the best audio engineers is that they understand the foundation of any great modern worship mix… rhythm and time. In my early days as a technical director and media minister, I had a world-class live audio engineer who was a church member with musical training. This man toured with and mixed some of the most prominent acts and artists in the entire world, and I was blessed to be under his instruction. One of the first things he drove into my mind when crafting a great live mix was the importance of first dialing in the drums and bass
The drummer and bassist provide the bedrock upon which the entire band builds sound. If you’re in a band and these two musicians are not in sync and not solid in their craft and art, the band will not be the best they can be. Almost every musician knows this. So, when building a great mix, an engineer with a musician’s ear should prioritize mixing the drums and bass and then build the sound up from there.
The second reason musicians make the best audio engineers is that true musicians know their place in the band. Every instrument has a sonic range and a part it plays in crafting the band’s sound. A musician knows they must be mindful that their playing does not overlap too much with what another instrument does in a particular song. When instruments get too much into one another, a musical director might say, “We need to spread out.” A musician who is an audio engineer knows this and can help musicians who have problems with overlap. Commonly, this means rolling off the low-end EQ on the keys so that the sound doesn’t encroach on the bassist’s frequencies.
… an engineer with a musician’s ear should prioritize mixing the drums and bass and then build the sound up from there.
An audio engineer who is a musician has an advantage because they already know how to speak “musician-ese” or “worship leader-ese.” Understanding the language of music, musicians, and vocalists gives the technician an advantage of moving beyond communication and connecting with people onstage. The better you connect, the better you will be at working with the band to create a great mix.
Finally, front-of-house engineers who are musicians have the advantage of understanding the art of music and song. A good music director will speak about dynamics and tie the words and music together to convey the message and themes as they play and sing. An A1 who is a musician can anticipate this artistic interpretation and adjust the mix as necessary to help the band connect with the congregation in a way that seems natural and authentic.
Musicians make the best audio engineers. However, if you’re an audio mixer and not a musician, don’t fret! Use the principles I discussed here to give you a road map to take your audio mix to the next level. An essential part of that next level that I can’t emphasize enough is learning to connect with the band and worship leader, not just communicate with them.
Meet and learn more from Will Chapman, along with John Mark Caton, Cottonwood Creek Pastor and Capture Keynote Speaker, at Capture Summit 2023, Aug. 7-9!
Capture Summit '23 | Dallas | AUG. 7-9 — The 3 Day conference for church creatives, filmmakers and tech leaders is just around the corner. Join dozens of expert presenters, a stellar lineup of tech innovators, along with hundreds of your fellow creatives for a deep-dive into everything from filmmaking, video editing, lighting, streaming, audio, IMAG, to leveraging social media, building an inspired team, and fueling the creative process—it's all happening at Capture Summit '23 - the 7th Annual Content Creation & Filmmaking Summit hosted at Cottonwood Creek Church in Allen, Texas.
#CaptureSummit23 #churchvideo #filmmaking #Dallas #Cottonwoodcreek
Check out the Capture Summit Sessions >>
