WORSHIP LEADERS
SONIC SOUP - THE ALL-IMPORTANT SOUNDCHECK ( PART 2 ) | Grant Norsworthy
Did you catch my article in last month ’ s issue ? That was Part 1 of “ SONIC SOUP - THE ALL- IMPORTANT SOUNDCHECK ” and this is Part 2 . To give you some helpful background info , you may want to check out Part 1 before digging into this one . Be sure to come right back !
Your team of singers , instrumentalists , and technicians MUST soundcheck before every rehearsal and service . Having an effective , efficient soundcheck is an essential prerequisite step as you prepare to lead your congregation to worship God through songs . Without it , the well-defined , cleaner , more musical sound that you ’ re searching for will remain out of reach . Your sound - in the room and in your monitors - will very likely be soupy and uninspiring .
We want connection through our songs - horizontal and vertical connection . Sonic soup kills connection .
And you can ’ t have your soundchecks steal away too much of your rehearsal time . It ’ s got to be done well and fast . You ’ ll need a high level of intentionality and a well-oiled soundcheck system . Here ’ s what works well for me .
My system for HOW to run an effective & efficient soundcheck :
1 ) Make sure that everyone on the team knows that we will be having a soundcheck and that it will start immediately after we are all in position , ready to sing , play or tech , and must
be completed before rehearsal can commence .
2 ) The one person who will orchestrate the soundcheck - leading the whole team through the soundcheck system - must be designated and understood by everyone involved . Is it the Front of House ( FOH ) sound engineer ? Is it the Musical Director ( MD )? It can be either , but we don ’ t want a tug of war for that role .
3 ) Excellent communication and leadership skills are essential prerequisites for the person running the soundcheck . They need to be able to hold the whole team ’ s attention and keep us moving through the system while always maintaining an upbeat-but-highly-intentional , firm-but-kind vibe . And it ’ s a huge advantage if they know each team member ’ s name . “ Hey guitarist ” never works as well as using a person ’ s name .
4 ) The soundcheck should have a very clear , well communicated and understood beginning . The person leading the soundcheck will need to announce the soundcheck ’ s start .
5 ) Soundcheck protocol should dictate that everyone stays fully attentive to the soundcheck throughout . Individuals should not be chatting , noodling , texting , making Insta posts or ( what should have been done well before this moment ) working out how the songs go !
NOTE : Sad but true . Most church band “ soundchecks ” I witness ( before my coaching ) are a confused , overlapped , hodgepodge activity that blurs the soundcheck , with a bit of set up , some personal practice , systems checking , a dollop of rehearsal and some general chatting and catching up with one another . Often conducted with one or more team members yet to arrive . These never go well .
6 ) The first sound we shouldcheck will be the soundcheck leader ’ s voice . Is that the MD from a mic on the platform ? Perhaps it ’ s the audio engineer ’ s talkback mic from the mixing console . In either case , the audio engineer will make sure that that mic is giving a good-quality , clean signal , is gained correctly , and is well EQ ' d , and then move to checking that mic ’ s level for the band ’ s monitors .
7 ) The method I employ and have found most effective for setting monitor levels for each band member uses hand signals . These hand signals from the band members need to be easily seen and understood by the audio engineer so that the requested adjustments can be made . Of course , this won ’ t be necessary for team members who are mixing their own monitor levels , but in the situation where it is the audio engineer making the adjustments , this works well : As we soundcheck each individual sound source , band members will raise one arm and point upwards if they would like more volume of that sound , point downwards if they want less and a fist if they are happy with the level . The audio engineer should be able to use this visual cue to focus on each monitor mix in turn to satisfy the whole band . We know this step is completed - everyone ’ s happy with their level