Many of the audio engineers I know possess enough versatility to mix any type of music or event that should come their way and, just like the great musical session players who have a grasp on a multitude of styles. they are able to move with ease from one gig to another. Of course, it's not really that difficult to mix a wide variety of music and speech, since we are dealing primarily with the technical aspects of the audio program, but while our job is of the utmost importance, we engineers need to be aware that we are not the content but rather the conduit to carry the program to the listener's ear.
Directing the Content
A sound system is merely a channel to broadcast certain content to the listener, but as stated so many years ago by the brilliant communication theorist Marshal McLuhan, "The medium is the message." Explaining this phase, McLuhan proposes that the medium forms a symbiotic relationship with the content and has a profound influence in which the way the message is perceived. Taking it a step further, the audio technician as the operator of the medium is an integral part of directing the content and delivering it to the listener which – if we follow the same line of thought – then makes us as important, if not more so, as the program itself.
In the February 26 issue of Nature (Vol. 391, pp. 871-874), researchers at the Weizmann Institute of Science reported that they conducted experiments with beams of electrons at a quantum level and concluded that a viewer, by the act of watching, can affect the behavior of the observed. This conclusion seems to coincide with the findings of the Japanese author Masaru Emoto (about whom I have previously written) who claims that human speech and thought have very profound effects when directed at water droplets before they are frozen. In his photographs, he demonstrates how negative energy, when directed at the water, creates distorted crystal formations, and the positive energy when directed at the water creates crystals with beautiful geometric designs.
Kinship and Affinities
These thoughts and findings carry over into our field of work in the same way that two separate engineers with the same skills and understanding can mix the same band with dissimilar results. It's not that one mix is bad and the other mix is good, but it's rather like the observer affecting the behavior of the observed. It might just be a kinship that one engineer has with a certain band that another engineer doesn't possess or merely an affinity for the style of music. Maybe it's neither a kinship nor an affinity, but rather just a state of mind or an attitude that becomes the deal-breaker. Regardless of the specific reason, relationships are formed, consciousness is aligned and there is a fit between engineer and band, venue or event. Somehow, somewhere there is a confidence on behalf of the performer in knowing that by having a certain person driving the audio rig the event or show will be better for it.
A few years back, I found myself bringing in a system and mixing some shows for a church in New Jersey. The congregation had rented the space and it was a rather new building that was not built specifically as a church. The room was rectangular with the stage facing the length of the room. The company I was with at the time brought in an EAW KF600 system with a 40-channel Soundcraft console. They had a full gospel band play during the services and the reverend walked the room with a clip on lavaliere microphone. They were thrilled with the sound quality and hired us a few more times before they announced that they were going to purchase their own rig. A few months later, I received a call to let me know that their new system had been installed and to ask if I would come teach them how to use the console. Always the opportunist, I asked if they would like to hire me to do sound for them on a regular basis, but they declined on the basis that they wanted to be self-contained, since it would be less expensive and more in keeping with their mission to have volunteers operate the audio. So I taught them how to use the console and have not seen them since.
I'm not sure if it worked well for them using volunteers, but I do know that relying upon volunteer labor to manage and run an in-house audio system can be a bit of a gamble regardless of the volunteer's capabilities, especially in today's market where the house of worship installations are quite a bit more complicated. After all, most systems now are computer controlled with multiple delay speakers and digital consoles. The larger house of worship systems are full-on concert rigs with video and lighting to boot. It's nice if a few members of the congregation are able and willing to help, but in certain instances these systems require the attention of professionals. Not only are audio techs required, but stage hands, monitor engineers, lighting techs, video techs and backline techs are needed to work the shows for some of the top-quality house of worship style acts.
To the Next Level
Religion is a very personal and intimate matter, and regardless of the doctrine or the specific beliefs, it would seem that a house of worship with a state-of-the-art sound system would, more than ever, have a need for a compassionate sound person. Not just any sound person, but one who could understand the music as well as the philosophy and theosophy of the select community. There should be no leaving it to chance. The audio systems in the houses of worship are complicated and need knowledgeable people to look after them and operate them during the services. It's no different from the secular events in as much as the audio tech needs to have an affinity with the performer to lift the performance to the next level.
Therefore, I propose that, in keeping up with the times, all Seminaries and Yeshivas require their students and acolytes to include in their studies a theater course which would include stagehand work as well as a course in audio, lighting and video. This would enable each house of worship to sustain their state of the art systems with their own, like-minded, educated volunteers being the medium for the message. Also, just think of some of the great names for an in-house production and teaching facilities for all different faiths. For example, "Let There Be Lights and Sound," "Savior Sound," "Resurrection Audio," "Angelic Audio" or "Heavenly Sound." At a Yeshiva it might be "Audio Mitzvah," "Tikkun Olam Sound" or "Wailing Wall Audio" – perhaps even "The One Who Cannot Be Named Audio." How about "Mecca Audio" and, for those of the Hindu faith, "Sacred Cow Audio" or "Sound Karma?" Those of Buddhist faith might have "Middle Path Audio" or even "One Hand Clapping Sound."
