It really comes down to responsibility. Will you accept it, or will your service be orphaned when it counts? So many worship leaders don't have a clue how to operate their existing sound system, much less how to troubleshoot, update or configure any of the equipment. Understandably, this is not an area where many people just happen upon the knowledge in the normal course of a day, but there's no real reason to neglect it longer than you must.
When your sound guy calls in sick, moves away, or simply gets burned out, your church and pastor will be looking to you to take care of the problem. It is easy to accept responsibility over the sound system when there is a knowledgable, experienced technician at the board making the gear do the job. Things get dicey when you have to be the expert for whatever reason. Expert or no, the worship leader is expected to be the best option in that situation.
This comes across a bit harsh. I only mean to convey how important it is for a new worship leader to recognize and accept his or her areas of responsibility. Nobody else helps you tune your guitar. Nobody else has to plug in your sustain pedal or show you how to attach a strap to your bass. These are obvious technical proficiencies expected of every musician. In the same way, all that gear between the input snake and the congregation's ears 'belongs' to the worship leader in a functional sense. No, you won't be an expert in the strictest sense, at least not for a long time, but you can be your church's expert without too much trouble. Ask for help. Seek advice from more experienced people wherever you can find them. Take notes and get your hands dirty. Examine other sound systems as you invite other worship leaders to learn yours. Foster mutually beneficial relationships in your community based on finding and sharing knowledge in an area so many churches find elusive. Educate yourself on new equipment as you are able. With only a basic understanding of the role of each piece of gear, you will graduate from bewildered helplessness to confident troubleshooter and honorary sound guy. It really doesn't take a large amount of information if you take the time to grasp the purpose for each step in a signal path.
You don't have to be the best there ever was, but you will be the best available some days. Your responsibility is to be able to handle the job in those moments. And honestly, if you can't even begin to explain where your band's sound went when it left your instruments, you might as well be outsourcing your music to an overseas help line. You don't speak their language and they don't care whether you shout, cry or beg. Don't let equipment ignorance usurp the leadership of your church's worship.
I think a form of encouragement for anybody who wants to know some basic ins and outs of a soundboard is to play the "I wonder what this does?" game. With the help of a proficient sound engineer at the church, there is a safety net to experiment with the board. From there, we can gain the confidence to take the reins in a pinch.
ReplyDeleteThat was good Eric! I totally recognize the importance of knowing how things work and I think what I need to work on is exactly what Alleli said "I wonder what this does" I am terrible at doing that because I always think I am going to break something but I will learn a lot more if I experiment! :)
ReplyDeleteEric this is soo true! Worship leaders really do depend alot on the sound guys and we take them for granted. Reading your blog really made me realize that I do need to understand a sound board even better then I do now, so that I am not dependant on a sound tech. I like what Alleli said about spending time playing with it and trying to get different sounds out of the board. The only way I will ever leanr is being hands on and figure it out!
ReplyDeleteEric this was good. It is about being available and taking the step to understand how to run the sound. This is very important in a worship setting. I know for me I understand the basics but once you get a huge board I get lost. But it isn't too hard for me to be ignorant and just give up learning. This was very encouraging ti read.
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