KEYS
CARE ABOUT YOUR ( STEREO ) IMAGE | David Pfaltzgraff
On worship teams , it ’ s common to talk about making sure we ’ re focused not primarily on our appearance but on our hearts for the worship times we ’ re participating in . It ’ s a good thing to not be too image-focused , right ?
Well today I want to encourage you to focus on your image , but I ’ m not talking about designer jeans or exclusive sneakers .
No , I ’ m referring to your stereo image . That is , how your key ’ s sounds take up space across the stereo field ( or how they don ’ t ).
With modern keys rigs , whether they ’ re hardware or software based , you have a good bit of control over the stereo quality of your sound . But often this facet of the key ’ s sound is an afterthought at best . This is unfortunate because it can have a great impact on the quality of your contribution to the mix .
Let ’ s get superficial and talk image for a couple minutes .
SEEK YE FIRST
Before you consider the stereo qualities of your keys sound it ’ s important to first make sure you have an understanding of the overall capabilities of your church ’ s sound system . While many churches will run their front of house mix in stereo there ’ s a decent chance your church might have a different default setup .
In fact , when and where stereo live mixes are preferable is itself a hotly debated topic in the church tech world . It makes sense as many church auditoriums have unique shapes , seating arrangements , and acoustics compared to concert halls and venues specifically designed for live music performance .
So , take a few minutes to send your worship leader or audio engineer a text and ask him or her how your church ’ s sound system is set-up . Now let ’ s take that information and discuss why any of this stereo image stuff even matters .
HEY , TWO EARS !
The average human has two ears , typically positioned on either side of their head . That last sentence was dry humor , in case that didn ’ t translate to the written word .
In all seriousness though , if you ’ ve listened to a recorded song anytime over the last fifty or sixty years then you ’ re likely already familiar with the impact of a stereo mix for the listener . Being able to place specific parts of the band in specific sections of the stereo field is an amazing way to help a mix ‘ breathe ’ and feel more immersive and full .
There ’ s no arguing that stereo mixes are preferable to mono for recorded music where the listener will almost always be positioned between the two speakers ( or have headphones delivering the audio exactly where it ’ s intended ).
But for live music it gets a bit more complicated . Instead of one listener you now have dozens , hundreds , maybe even thousands of people all in the same room , each with their own , unique distance from the speakers delivering the audio .
The fact that each listener is experiencing the mix slightly differently makes live stereo mixing much more of a challenge than in a controlled , recording environment .
What does this mean for us as keyboard players ? Well , our stereo image matters a lot when the sound system is stereo because just how our sound is spread out could enhance or detract from the quality of our sound .
Time to text your team leadership again and ask them how they ’ re currently panning your keys sounds , if at all .