As I start this month’s installment of Sound Sanctuary, I need to remind you that this is actually part 2 of “The Sound of Your Worship Room.” So of you haven’t read part 1, please pull out the June edition of FOH or go online and read it at www.fohonline.com in the Current Issue section. If you don’t, the information in part 2 won’t be quite as useful. Okay, now that we are all on the same page (a little writers pun), let’s get on with it. After reading part 1 you should have a better understanding of the sound in your house of worship.
The next big question is, what can you do to improve your particular space? Since I don’t know the exact sound needs of your house of worship, I will have to talk in generalities. The first area I want to address is the wall directly opposite your main front of house speakers. If that wall is made of a hard surface, such as brick, concrete, plaster or even drywall, the surface will be reflecting a lot of the sound waves that leave the main speakers and hit it. You will want to arrest or diminish as much of that reflected sound as possible.
Sound Absorbing Materials
An easy and cost-effective way to do this is to hang sound absorbing panels or draperies on the wall. I’ve read about sound absorbing paints, too, but because I have no real experience using them, I won’t focus on them here. So let’s start with draperies.
If possible, you want your drapes to be installed floor to ceiling on retractable rails. The heavier the drapes, the more high and mid-range frequencies they will capture, and not reflect. Hanging your drapes on retractable rails allows you to adjust just how “live” your room is. Close the drapes so that they cover the wall completely and you “deaden” the acoustic environment. Open the drapes a little, or a lot, and you will add more reflected frequencies to the room, making it more “live.”
Acoustic Panels
If drapes aren’t your thing, you can also use acoustic panels to control the reflected sound in your worship house. Acoustic panels come in a variety of shapes, sizes, thicknesses and densities. These panels are mounted on a hard wall to absorb sound and defeat as much reflected sound as they are designed for. If you decide to use acoustic panels to remedy your overly “live” room, I suggest you mount them so that they can be removed and re-hung easily. As with the drapes on rails, you will have more control of how “live” or “dead” you room is.
Many houses of worship have balconies. If possible, the front of these balconies should be covered with drapes or acoustic panels. And depending on how your worship house is designed, the back wall of the balcony may need treatment.
Floors and Ceilings
If after treating your back wall and/or balcony, you still want more control over reflected sound in your worship space, take a look at your floor. If it is carpeted, you are fine. If it is wood or tile or marble or stone, it will need some treatment. The simplest thing to do is install a carpet runner down the main aisle or aisles. The next thing is to make sure your house is filled every Sunday. Human bodies absorb high and mid-range frequencies quite well.
If your floor is tight, how is your ceiling? Vaulted ceilings and low ceilings can be very reflective, depending on what materials were used in their construction. Ceilings will involve more work and more expense. The acoustic panels I discussed earlier can also be mounted to a ceiling, either attached horizontally or hung vertically. High ceilings lend themselves to vertical panels as there is more room up there. Lower ceilings obviously can only use horizontal panels.
Now that the reflected sound from your ceiling, floor and back wall has been controlled, you can next direct your attention to the side walls of you worship room. These walls are where your windows are likely to be. Drapes hung over your windows will help capture the sound waves reflecting off of the window glass. Acoustic panels would seem odd here, but acoustic blinds may be a good look in your house, especially if it has a modern look to it. Drapes and or panels can also be hung on the side walls of your worship house, and they can look great while helping out the sound in your room.
All of these things will cost your house of worship some money, but your house will sound better.
Easier Fix for “Dead” Rooms
Should your particular house of worship sanctuary be “dead,” the fix is much easier. You will only need to have an outboard reverb or delay (or both) unit to add some life to the room. When using a tool like this you have the advantage of experimenting with different reverb or delay time. The most important sound to concentrate on is your preacher’s voice. No matter how good the worship band is, if the message doesn’t get out to your congregation the whole purpose of the service is lost. So, dial in a nice “live” but not overly affected sound for your preacher. Once you have a good, clean articulate, intelligible voice reverb, you can create another effect for the band or choir.
That is about all I have to say, friends. Start using your ears and in less time than you think, you can identify the sound issues in your house of worship and begin correcting them. Your house may need a lot of work or it may need just a little. But your congregation will appreciate whatever you do to improve the sound. So, have fun.
