Today we will be discussing the subject of house of sound pressure levels (volume). The size and shape of a worship space can affect the overall sound level, but of course the desires of the congregation (and leadership) will determine how much volume will be allowed in a particular worship house.
As far as sound levels go, one church's whisper is another church's roar. So the obvious question is what is the game plan for dialing in each individual house of worship so that the staff and the congregation (at least as many as possible) are satisfied?
A Happy Medium
Well, as you know, you can't make everybody happy all of the time, so, why even bother? I'm just kidding! The fact is, there is always a happy medium in worship or secular sound. You just have to find it. One of the most important tools in my bag of tricks is my trusty decibel meter. If your house doesn't own one, you will need to get one. I would say that my decibel meter is my most valuable tool. If you don't want to spend some cash on a dB meter you can get an app for your iPhone or iPod touch that measures SPL (sound pressure level) accurately. If you don't own an i-anything, just go out and buy a meter.
Now let's get to the business of church service volume. The worship houses that I work with fall into three groups. The ones with full bands made up of drums, bass, guitars, keys, etc., the ones that use a choir with some sort of keyboard and those that use both. Whatever scenario you find yourself working in, you will be expected to control the overall volume of that particular house.
Two Churches, One dB Limit
I work with some very diverse worship houses, but I would like to talk about two of them. The first is a Lutheran church where most of the service is spoken word, and when the choir does sing, they cannot exceed 90dB. This church is a piece of cake, mainly because there are no musical instruments. The choir is totally a cappella and not that loud or powerful on their own. I simply set my dB meter on the top of the mixer and adjust the volume levels to the exact decibels required.
Of course, without a dB meter, this would be a more difficult task. My ears are not calibrated for decibel levels like they are for frequencies. Don't get me wrong – I know loud and I know quiet, it's the nuances in between that can elude me sometimes. Anyway, the second church is more of a challenge.
At this particular church, I have a full rock band with guitar, bass, drums, keys and about five singers. The pastor at this church really wants the band to rock. The only problem is that half of the congregation is a little older and mellower, so I have a 90dB limit on my mix.
Here I have some real challenges. The first is the guitar player. He is a total rocker and plays at the church as a hired gun. He is not a member of the congregation and is not a believer. Now, I don't have a problem with the guy's profile, but during the rehearsal before the service, I was getting 100 dBs of guitar off the deck. This was completely unacceptable, especially if Grandma decided to sit in the front row.
The good news was that the guitar player was cooperative and allowed me to put his amp in a closet just off the stage. I miked the amp and ran it back through in-ears that the band was using. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention that everybody was on ears except for two Hot Spots for the singers. Without the in-ears, I don't think I could have controlled the sound.
Next, I had to deal with the bass player. This guy happened to be a member of the congregation and believed he was called on by God to play bass. I guess you could say I was experiencing both extremes with regards to these two players. At any rate, the bassist was great to work with, and we just ended up going direct and bypassing any type of bass amp.
Drums were my next challenge. The drummer was caged in Plexiglas, and it was a good thing, because he was a hard hitter. Every drum was miked, but I only used a little of the overheads and a touch of kick drum in the mix. Remember, I can't go over 90dBs. The pastor played the keyboard, and, of course, it was direct and rolled back though the ears.
The only issue left was the singers. This was probably the biggest challenge of all. This church had two very powerful singers that could blow past 90dB even at a dozen yards. There were also some average and one very quiet singer. It all boiled down to balancing the monitors, balancing the mains and balancing the egos.
Just because I am working in a religious setting, it doesn't mean that there aren't any ego issues. Thank God (and I mean that) they aren't as common as in the secular music world. I actually had a talk with the singers about the 90dB rule and how important their role was in helping me follow the rules and at the same time serve the congregation.
Common Ground
One thing you will usually find in the worship biz is that serving the congregation is way up on the list of priorities. Whether you are the minister, in the band or the guy making coffee, it is a common goal to serve your people. So whenever I am having some difficulty communicating with a band or staff member, I will ask them what best serves the congregation. It gets us both on the same page almost every time.
Let's get back to my 90dB service. The fact is, I couldn't quite make it – even with all the hoops I jumped through on my way there. But I did get it down to 92dB. And the great thing was, I had the decibel meter and nobody else was looking at it.
In reality, I think the church elders got together and decided that the services were too loud, and they just came up with 90dB as an acceptable level for the band. The truth is that it was substantially quieter than the previous week, and everybody in the congregation noticed it. The pastor received lots of praise from his following for successfully controlling the sound without taking anything away from the sermon. He was looking good, which means I will be working at that particular house of worship indefinitely.
