WORSHIP LEADERS
SONIC SOUP - THE ALL-IMPORTANT SOUNDCHECK ( PART 1 ) | Grant Norsworthy
Sonic Soup : That messy , over-cluttered , mushy sound that is sometimes produced by well-intentioned teams of church singers , instrumentalists and technicians . I believe that Sonic Soup seriously hinders the team from achieving their main objective : Namely - inviting the congregation they lead to participate in singing as an expression of worship to God . A congregation being fed sonic soup will struggle to connect . Struggle to participate . In the worst cases , they ’ ll struggle to even know how the song goes !
My most recent articles have each addressed one source of this dreaded sonic soupiness . In this month ’ s issue , I ’ m writing about the all-important soundcheck . If we are serious about cleaning up our sound - reducing the sonic soup - we must have an effective , wellexecuted soundcheck .
This is a big topic so , I ’ ll spread it over two articles . This is Part 1 of 2 . Let ’ s dig into it .
WHAT IS A SOUNDCHECK ? Put simply , a soundcheck is an essential part of our pre-service preparation where we have an opportunity to listen to each sound source - each microphone and DI ( direct input box ) - to make sure that it ’ s working and adjusted properly through our monitor and Front of House ( FOH ) audio systems . In partnership with the audio technician , we can adjust each individual sound ’ s gain structure ( how loud it is ), tone ( EQ or equalization ), panning ( if you ’ re in stereo ) and any desired effects . We listen to , assess , and adjust each voice and instrument that will be combined for our overall audio mix .
WHY HAVE A SOUNDCHECK ? A soundcheck is like making sure you ’ ve got all your ingredients laid out on the kitchen countertop before you start making a cake . We make sure that we ’ re not going to bake a cake without enough eggs , or with rancid butter .
An effective soundcheck will include at least a short moment when each vocalist ’ s microphone and each instrument is heard and listened to in complete isolation . No other sound should be produced at that time . This will provide essential sonic information for our “ chef ”, the audio engineer . The soundcheck can reveal all manner of undesirable issues that will be very difficult to hear , assess or fix if the band has already moved to a rehearsal .
Most larger churches that I come into contact with have realized how essential and beneficial soundchecks are and have made them a usual part of their preparation routine . But many medium-sized or smaller churches seem to either have a very haphazard , partial , disorderly soundcheck , or none at all .
SUCCESSFUL SOUNDCHECK PREREQUISITES I ’ d hope it goes without saying , but I ’ ll make a point here that the audio engineer needs to have been trained sufficiently and had the opportunity to develop some confidence and competence to operate the audio system - FOH and monitors . Sadly , I often encounter the