Download Worship Arts Handbook

Worship Arts Handbook
First Edition, June 2013
10400 Darnestown Road, Rockville, Maryland 20850
301.251.3719 | 301.251.0325 (fax) | www.kncf.org
[email protected]
Index
Section 1: Casting Vision
I.
II.
III.
IV.
V.
VI.
Vision Statement ………………………………………………………………………….….……. 1
To Serve and Honor ……………………………………………………………………….……... 1
Hearing God’s Voice in Worship ……………………………………………….……….…... 1
Flowing in the Spirit …………………………………………………………………………...… 2
Free Expression to Encounter the Father ………………………………………….…… 2
Community ………………………………………………..………………………………….…...… 3
A. Defining Community ………………………………………………………….…………. 3
B. Mistakes: We All Make Them ……………………………………………………...… 3
VII. Culture ………………………………………………………………………………………………… 4
A. What a Culture of Worship Looks Like ……………………………………..… 4
B. How Do We Get There? …………………………………………………………….…… 4
Section 2: Practical Side
I. Structure and Chain of Command ……………………….…………………….......………...….. 5
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Worship Arts Ministries - Structure and Policies ……………………………........… 5
Worship Leadership Team (WLT) ………………………………………...…………….… 5
Team Structure ……………………………………………………………………………….……. 5
Subjective vs. Objective ………………………………………………………………………… 5
Conflicts: Never Easy to Talk About ……………………………………………………..... 6
Appeals Process ………………………………………………………………...……….… 6
Dismissal ………………………………………………………………………………...…… 6
F. Role of Worship Leaders ………………………………………………………………….……. 6
II.
III.
So You’d Like to Join the Worship Team? ………………………………………….……… 8
A. Audition Process ………………………………………………………….…………………...….. 8
B. Apprenticeship ……………………………………………………………………….………........ 8
Requirements ……………………………………………………………………………….………… 9
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
F.
Musical Excellence....…………………………………………………………………………....… 9
Commitment to Growth ………………………………………………………………………… 9
Yielded Heart Towards Leadership ……………………………………………………….. 9
Commitment to Open Lines of Communication ………………………………………. 9
Time Commitment ………………………………………………………………………..........… 9
Ability to Function as a Team ………………………………………………………………... 9
IV.
V.
Expectations & Guidelines …………………………………………………………………..…..… 9
A.
B.
C.
D.
Ongoing Development/Training …………………………………………………………..… 9
Commitment to Excellence ………………………………………………………….……....…10
Time Commitments ………………………………………………………………………….…… 10
Effective Rehearsals …………………………………………………………………….………... 11
Music ……………………………………………………………………………………………….. 11
Rehearsal Etiquette ………………………………………………………………………..… 11
The Sound Team ………………………………………………………………………………. 11
Hard Work ……………………………………………………………………………………..… 11
Some Technical Points ………………………………………………………………………..…… 12
A.
B.
C.
D.
E.
Monitors …………………………………………………………………………………………….… 12
Amplifiers on Stage …………………………………………………………………………….… 12
Drum Room ………………………………………………………………………………………..… 13
Metronome ………………………………………………………………………………………...… 13
Use of Facilities …………………………………………………………………………………….. 13
Section 1: Casting Vision
I. Vision Statement
Our Vision is to be worshippers of God and inspire others to be lovers of His presence. To
serve and honor the Body of Christ, by creating an atmosphere where people of all
nations can come with free expression to encounter the Father. To encourage and
challenge singers, musicians and artists by cultivating community, where they will
develop their gifts and talents, learn to flow in the Spirit and go deeper in their intimacy
with Jesus.
II. To Serve and Honor
“Be devoted to one another in love. Honor one another above yourselves.”
Romans 12:10-11
As the KNCF Worship Team, we are here to glorify God as well as serve and honor His
body. As servants, we aspire to look to the interests of the body not just our own
interests. We lead worship with the goal of bringing glory to God and seeing His body
strengthened and deepened in their connection with Him (I Cor 14). We on the KNCF
Worship Team are not looking for recognition or rewards. Simply put, we want Jesus
alone to be glorified.
“Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better
than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the
interests of others. Your attitude should be the same as that of Christ Jesus: Who, being in
very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be grasped but made
himself nothing, taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And
being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself and became obedient to death even death on a cross!”
Philippians 2:3-8
To Honor means to give value and worth to another. We honor the church in our hearts,
words and actions as we serve. Christ’s bride (the church) is holy, radiant and loved by
Him (Eph. 5:25-26). Therefore we never want to abuse or use her for selfish gain. We
serve her because Christ loves and serves her, and we do so by providing an atmosphere
needed for her to encounter God.
III. Hearing God’s Voice in Worship
At KNCF we put an emphasis on the importance of each worship team member devoting
private, intimate time with God. As one is alone with God, with no outside influences or
pressures, there is great opportunity to learn to hear and recognize the voice of God,
especially in times of worship. The more one does this alone, the more they are able to
recognize the voice of God during corporate worship when there are a lot of other
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influences and pressures. It allows the leader, singers and musicians to recognize the
anointing on a particular moment in worship, be able to stay there, and even take it to
the next level - whether that’s through a word, a song or simply a progression of chords.
This experience can look very different from one worship session to the next.
Sometimes, when it is unclear to the leader what God may want to do next, it requires the
team to wait on God for a time. This may take the form of moments of silence, quiet
worship or not moving immediately to the next song. Other times, it may mean that the
leader diverts from the original song list. This diversion can be an unplanned song, a
spontaneous song or flowing in a particular chord progression without words. Worship
team members need to become familiar and comfortable with each of these forms of
worship leading.
IV. Flowing in the Spirit
Jesus made a profound statement to the Samaritan women in John 4:24 when He said,
“God is a Spirit and those that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth.” As
believers God is looking for us to worship Him, not just with religious songs but with our
spirit.
To flow in the spirit means to capture the heart of God for that particular moment and
allow the Spirit of God to manifest that through us as He pleases (I Cor. 12:4-11). At
KNCF we believe God wants to encounter His people in a fresh way each time we gather
for worship. As the worship team, we want to listen and follow the leading of the Holy
Spirit in order to be in sync with heaven. What a priceless gift He has given to allow us to
know His heart for a specific place, time, and group of people! We desire to be good
stewards of this gift and give the Lord the space that He desires to speak, move, and
make Himself known. The primary catalyst through which the Lord accomplishes this is
the gifts of the Spirit flowing freely through His people. The word of knowledge,
prophecy, deliverance, and so much more can happen all because the worship leader and
team yielded to what the Spirit of God was doing.
V. Free Expression to Encounter the Father
“It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be
burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
Galatians 5:1
Many times we can become weighed down by our past worship experiences, sometimes
due to expected behavior placed on us by others. We at KNCF seek to nurture an
environment where people are free to express themselves in worship to the Lord in the
way they were created to worship Him, unique to the person they are and wholly
beautiful in God’s sight.
We believe that God's vast and overwhelming creativity is itself expressed in the variety
and flavor of each individual He has created. We also believe His creativity is displayed
in the various cultural expressions found throughout the nations of the earth, which we
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find represented here in our congregation and in our region. Jesus has won for himself a
bride consisting of "every nation, tribe, people and language" and we set out to foster an
atmosphere of worship where each individual and cultural expression is free to burst
forth as an offering to the Lamb of God who is worthy of all types of praise and honor and
glory. (Revelation 7:9,12). This means allowing the Holy Spirit to move through a
variety of styles of music, dance, painting and various other forms of art. Not so much to
provide a stage, if you will, but to provide an altar of worship where we can lift up our
lives and our talents to the Lord ultimately for His glory and enjoyment, and for the
added benefit of building one another up, stirring one another’s faith and allowing the
Lord Himself to speak to us through such expressions.
“Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is freedom” (2 Cor 3:17b). As we seek the Lord’s
presence and allow His Spirit to move, He will free us from our past limitations, firmly
establish us in who we were made to be in Christ and launch us into new and fresh
expressions of worship and affection towards Him.
“Come, let us go up to the mountain [presence] of the Lord, to the temple of the God of
Jacob. He will teach us his ways, so that we may walk in his paths.”
Isaiah 2:3a
VI. Community
A. Defining Community
If you asked the average person to provide a definition of Christian community, you
would probably get answers like: people who have common values, enjoy one
another’s company, and have a sense of long-term commitment. At KNCF, we love all
of these, but also understand that authentic Christian community takes things a step
further. Just look at Acts 2:42,44,46: “And they continued steadfastly in the apostles’
doctrine and fellowship, in the breaking of bread and in prayers … Now all who believed
were together, and had all things in common. So continuing daily with one accord in
the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness
and simplicity of heart.”
To have an authentic Christian community, Christ needs to be brought into the heart
of our groups. The actions of Christ allow us to draw near to God. This drives us
towards loving each other and good works, as we naturally meet together. Christ is
not only the reason why we live in community, but the product of living in
community. (Heb. 10:19-25). This is how living in authentic Christian community
transcends simple friendship and common values - it transforms us into a group of
people sharing and living the story of Christ.
B. Mistakes: We All Make Them
The worship team also desires to be a community of God-loving people who give one
another room to make mistakes. We refuse to limit one another to a judgment of
someone’s past mistakes, but understand that we are all a work in progress in need of
both forgiveness and the power of grace. This also applies to our music and worship
leading ability. As we all grow in front of one another, we desire to supply an
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atmosphere that is safe: Free of judgmental attitudes. Only then do we feel safe to be
vulnerable in relationships and creative in dreaming with one another for the future.
VII. Culture
One of the core values of the KNCF Worship Team is to inspire and promote a culture of
worship among its people. This culture is primarily created through the members of the
team. What an exciting opportunity and responsibility!
A. What a Culture of Worship Looks Like
Worship isn’t something a person does, it’s something a person is - which then, of
course, begins to dictate what they do. It is a state of being, out of which flows the
continual action of giving God love, worth, adoration, attention, respect, study,
devotion and obedience.
Paul Manwaring can be credited with the following: There is a British type of candy
called “stick of rock” which is much like a candy cane. It has letters imbedded
throughout the length of the candy, so that no matter where you break the stick, you
clearly see the letters. This is a perfect picture of what culture is. No matter at which
point you dissect someone’s life, you see the imprint of the culture that they have
embraced. To have a culture of worship in someone’s life means that, no matter
where you dissect their life, you see worship. Bad day? Worship. Good day?
Worship. Day filled with uncertainty? Worship. This must be the reality for those of
us on the worship team – because a culture of worship begins with us.
B. How Do We Get There?
As a team, we are so much more than a band that plays music people can sing along
to. While all music has the capacity to emotionally move people, we desire to be a
team that follows the leading of the Holy Spirit and facilitates others to have a
connection with a real, living, loving God. This happens when we are engaged in an
authentic demonstration of devotion. This is how we help facilitate the practice of
unbroken communion with God. We lead by example. As we do, we can be catalysts
by which others can experience life-transforming encounters with God, leading them
into living lifestyles of worship.
A culture never gets established or changed overnight. It’s something that seeps in
over time. In order for a culture of worship to permeate those that attend KNCF, the
worship team must have a strong grasp of our vision and let that vision be our
message. Repetition is the key here. We need to “stay on message” as they say in
Business.
As we do this, we will see the culture of worship permeate the lives of those that
attend KNCF. The same candy analogy could then be applied to a congregation of
people. KNCF outreach ministry? Worship. Nursery workers? Worship. Cleaning
toilets? Worship. No matter who it is, no matter what the task – wherever your
break the “stick of rock” you see worshipping lives.
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Section 2: Practical Side
I. Structure and Chain of Command
A. Worship Arts Ministries - Structure and Policies
The Worship Arts Ministries are composed of various sections under the Director
of Worship Arts. Sections that exist currently are the worship team, sound team,
and projection (overheads) team. In the future we hope to add teams responsible
for lighting, video and streaming, dance, fine arts, etc. Each of these sections may
in the future be led by a section leader or a section leadership team that each
report to the Director. Currently we have in place only the Director and the
Worship Leadership Team for the worship team.
B. Worship Leadership Team (WLT)
The WLT exists with the purpose of providing vision, guidance and leadership to
the worship team members. This team is appointed by the Director of the
Worship Arts Ministries with the agreement of the Senior Pastor and the existing
members of the WLT. Tenure on the WLT is indefinite.
C. Team Structure
The worship ministry functions under a flexible team structure. That is, each
individual is assigned to a team, yet worship leaders and team members can ask
the WLT to make team assignment changes. The team schedule is determined
quarterly by a designated person.
The worship leader is responsible for selecting songs and directing rehearsals.
Team members are expected to flow with the artistic direction of the worship
leaders.
D. Subjective vs. Objective
Any ministry that involves art and creativity can be challenging in that it has both
subjective and objective components. Creativity, style, personality, etc. flow from
the subjective and artistic part of ourselves. However, they rest on an objective
foundation of tones, notes, mathematical relationships, frequencies, intensities
and beats. For example, the most complex and intricate musical expression found
in a symphony played by a hundred instruments is written down in sheet music
so that every note played is specified along with its timing and volume. Even so,
different conductors and orchestras are able to add their unique interpretation
and expression without changing the notes or beats.
This dual nature of music and art affects the policies of the Worship ministry at
KNCF in a few ways. First, the subjective component cannot be evaluated or
measured objectively. It is a matter of opinion and different people will have
different opinions. So we try to have multiple people involved with subjective
decisions. The WLT jointly makes decisions regarding things such as musical
styles, genres, expressions, types of music, etc. Secondly, the objective component
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is treated as something that can be measured and quantified. We have minimum
standards for skill levels on instruments and whether one is able to sing on pitch
or sing harmony. These standards are applied in a consistent manner to
everyone. No matter how much expression or feeling one might convey in singing
or playing an instrument, one must still be able to sing on pitch or play the correct
notes. Please note, however, we don’t expect our musicians and singers to be
professional artists!
E. Conflicts: Never Easy to Talk About
Appeals Process
When concern about decisions arises we have a process for appeal. Decisions by
worship leaders can be appealed to the WLT. Decisions made by the WLT can be
appealed to the Director, and decisions by the Director can be appealed to the
Senior Pastor.
Dismissal
It is the desire of the WLT that reconciliation and redemption will always be the
pre-eminent goal in handling problematic situations. In the unfortunate event
that someone needs to be dismissed from the team, the following procedures will
take place:
•
•
•
The WLT will inform the individual that they are being considered for
dismissal and will be provided with full disclosure as to why.
Depending on the circumstances that led to this point, the individual may be
given a trial period during which they can rectify or reconcile the problem.
The perimeters of the trial period will be determined by the WLT on a case-bycase basis.
If the individual cannot or does not submit to the expectations laid out by the
WLT, the individual will be dismissed from the team.
F. Role of Worship Leaders
Worship leaders are selected from worship team members by the WLT and are
also subject to a trial period. During the trial period the WLT will provide
evaluation and feedback. Worship leaders are responsible for song selection, flow
during a service, and providing artistic direction to their team members.
Following are some rules and guidelines for worship leaders:
•
Each service has a ‘pastor-in-charge’, often the Senior Pastor. Worship leaders
are required to follow the instructions and requests of the pastor-in-charge,
including last minute changes to incorporate the prophetic flow of the
moment. However, we have asked that only the pastor-in-charge give
direction to the worship leaders during a service so that confusion and
distraction is minimized.
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•
Worship leaders are encouraged to maximize the productivity of their teams
by providing set lists before rehearsal. Also worship leaders are required to
have chord sheets available for every song - especially new songs.
•
There are various approaches to resolving this tension. The worship leader
can focus mostly upward in hopes that his or her example will cause the
congregation to follow; or the leader can focus mostly on helping the
congregation enter in. Determining the best balance between these two
approaches can be difficult, but it is seen as the worship leader’s responsibility
to do so. The ultimate goal is that the worship team not lose their connection
with the congregation nor with worshipping the Lord. One contributing factor
that the worship leader should consider when striking this balance is the
makeup of the audience: how many newcomers, unbelievers, and/or mature
believers are in attendance. For example on a Sunday morning there may be
unbelievers and people who have widely varying levels of maturity in the
faith. At this venue the worship leaders need to be aware of maintaining the
connection to the congregation and keeping them engaged in worship. At a
prayer meeting, conference service, or other venue where mostly mature
believers are present the worship leader can ‘take off’, and be more
experimental.
•
•
Worship leader focus. There is sometimes a tension in leading worship
between focusing on the “vertical” (God) and the “horizontal” (the people).
We want to worship the Father and direct all of our selves upward to him. But
we are also responsible as the worship team to lead the congregation to do the
same. The Father enjoys the worship of all his children - not just those on the
worship team. The goal is worship that is a fragrant offering that also includes
the congregation. The worship leader is responsible for both these vertical
and horizontal aspects.
Song selection. KNCF has historically provided leeway in song selection and
trusted the worship leaders. We basically use an approach that song selection
and types of songs (e.g. up tempo, reflective) should be appropriate for the
venue and time allowed for worship. This also applies to various types of
spontaneous songs, musical interludes, prophetic expressions, etc. We have
found that trying to codify this type of thing can be counter-productive and
limit creativity. However there are times and instances where a leader can go
too far or not far enough. With freedom comes not only responsibility but
accountability. So we ask our worship leaders to be receptive to feedback
from the Senior Pastor, Director and WLT in these cases.
Worship Leader Assignments.
Worship leaders are assigned various
opportunities and services by the Director in consultation with the Senior
Pastor. (For example: Sunday mornings, Evening Prayer, Outreach Services,
etc.)
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II.
So you’d like to join the worship team?
The order of Things:
1. Read through the Worship Handbook and understand all requirements
2. Submit the application form
3. Audition (By auditioning, you are in agreement with the requirements)
4. Apprenticeship/“Trial Period”
5. Member of the Team/Ongoing development of your gift
A. Audition Process
Auditioning is a necessary step even if it is difficult sometimes to be ‘on stage’ in
front of your peers. For musicians we usually ask them to jam with a team so that
we can determine the level of accomplishment. It’s important that a musician
have the ability to play spontaneously from only a ‘chord’ sheet, which has only
chords and not notes.
For singers we have regularly scheduled auditions by existing worship team
members who will evaluate vocal range, quality, ability to sing harmony and
ability to sing on pitch. We will provide a written assessment of all auditions, and
auditions will always involve the consideration of the WLT so that a subjective
judgment is not made by only one person.
B. Apprenticeship
After the audition process, one may be accepted onto the worship team for an
apprenticeship or “trial period” (to last about 3 to 6 months). During this time the
apprentice will be asked to join team rehearsals and sing periodically at services.
This time period exists to accomplish the following:
•
•
•
•
The apprentice is given the opportunity to learn by doing and get firsthand experience with worship team involvement.
The apprentice and other worship team members have time to musically
“gel”.
It gives worship leaders a chance to better understand the apprentice’s
abilities and style in order to better place them with the right team.
It provides the opportunity for the person's calling and heart to be proven
and affirmed.
The trial period is intended to be a time for two-way communication in which the
apprentice and worship leader(s) can communicate with one another openly
about their hopes, expectations and observations as they find where they fit best
in the team.
At the end of the trial period, a decision will be made by the WLT to determine
where the apprentice fits best in the overall dynamic of the worship team. It is
also possible that the leaders, or the apprentice, may decide that they are not a
good fit at this time.
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III. Requirements
A. Musical Excellence
•
Musically proficient and skillful
•
Able to play or sing within a band
•
Open to constructive criticism, lessons and improvement
•
Ability and openness to instrumentally/vocally move with the Holy Spirit
during spontaneous times of worship
B. Commitment to growth
•
Spiritually, musically, relationally
•
Pledge to be spiritually prepared to minister in worship (personal prayer and
worship, seeking God’s heart for each individual service you are a part of)
C. Yielded heart towards leadership
•
Regular participation in the life of KNCF
•
Honor and pray for your leadership
•
Respect and follow guidelines set forth by the leadership
•
Consider modesty and propriety regarding how you dress and conduct
yourself
D. Commitment to open lines of communication
•
Honorable communication between yourself and leadership, as well as fellow
team members
•
Develop healthy relational team dynamics through encouragement and
exhortation
•
Exemplify an attitude that is quick to receive instruction
E. Time commitment
•
Rehearsals, sound checks, events, private practice time
•
Punctuality
F. Ability to function as a team
•
Be a team player
•
Grow and flow together with a cooperative attitude
IV. Expectations & Guidelines
A. Ongoing Development/Training
It is important that we see our abilities and talents as precious gifts from God that
are in constant need of watering, cultivating and pruning. Just as in the Parable of
the Talents (Matt. 25) where the servants were entrusted with coins which they
were expected to invest and multiply, the Lord holds the same standard for us.
With that as our benchmark, each member is encouraged to be a perpetual
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student of their instrument. As you become proficient in your gift, it becomes
easier to step out and flow creatively/spontaneously.
All members who wish to be involved in the worship ministry are expected to
develop and enhance their individual skills. Some examples of how this can be
accomplished are:
•
•
•
•
•
•
Regular practice at home
Further education in Basic Music Theory
Playing/practicing with other Musicians
Voice lessons
Learn how to read and count music
Subscribe to trade magazines, internet articles and blogs, etc.
B. Commitment to Excellence
A commitment to excellence comes from the desire to give God your best and
cannot be exemplified by simply following a set of rules. It is instead an attitude
that permeates your choices and behavior. Even so, following are a few practical
guidelines to help explain how we on the KNCF worship team view excellence as it
pertains to team involvement:
•
•
•
•
Punctuality. Everyone on the team makes time-sacrifices. Perpetual or
excessive tardiness communicates disrespect towards others’ sacrifices. If you
require time to get settled, (arranging music sheets, tuning your instrument,
etc.) arrive early so that you are ready to play/sing when you are expected to.
Learn the songs/chords ahead of time that you are asked to learn. It is
distracting when the team doesn’t know the chords or words to a song. It is
also easier to respond to the Spirit’s direction if the team is prepared
musically.
Bring all items you will need with you (including music sheets, etc.).
Bring a “let’s get to it” positive attitude.
C. Time Commitments
While it is impossible to foresee every meeting team members will be asked to
attend, the following basic time commitments are expected:
•
•
•
•
Model a determination to be at various meetings throughout the year such as
retreats and fellowships.
Attend one rehearsal in preparation for a service. Though you may rehearse
longer than two hours voluntarily, two hours is the maximum that you will be
required to do.
Arrive at church prior to the beginning of the service for sound check. Sound
check will be one hour maximum.
Our Sunday service typically involves playing some songs at the end. However
our service sometimes goes long and people may have commitments or
meetings after church. Our senior leader understands this and we always
have the option of playing with a reduced team or arranging for a CD to play
after the service.
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Of course, conflicts arise. If you are not able to attend any of the above, please
give as much advance notice as possible both to the scheduled worship leader and
the person that publishes the worship team schedule. If there are multiple events
that you are unable to attend, your status as a worship team member may be
evaluated by the WLT.
D. Effective Rehearsals
Music
We encourage individual team members to keep their own music books. Also
we ask that all music be removed from music stands after each service. If
anyone has taken music from the master file it is their responsibility to return
it.
Rehearsal Etiquette
Effective rehearsal time requires cooperation from everyone. As the worship
leader directs the rehearsal, please be sure not to pursue individual
conversation or play your instrument over top of instructions being given. If
you need to work out a part, do so as a team.
It is always a good idea to look to the leader at the end of a song or at the end
of sections for direction (especially during the service). Fortunately, we also
have the Talk Back built into the sound system to give instruction.
The Sound Team
While sound techs are there to serve and support you, they cannot effectively
do so if you are unable to clearly communicate what you need from them. This
should always be done with patience, love, and with the understanding that
they don’t necessarily hear what you are hearing. Please let your comments
be encouraging and full of grace.
Hard Work
Make no mistake about it, good rehearsals are hard work. It is important that
the team is able to experiment with new ideas and rework the arrangements
until they’re ready. Many times this involves multiple repetitions of small
sections of each song until everyone is together. This can require intense
focus and a spirit of cooperation. Everyone has to push through when things
aren’t coming together. Patience is required when one team member needs
extra attention to get their part and everyone else has to review the section
several times for their sake. This is all part of being a team.
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V. Some Technical Points
A. Monitors
It is very important that you can hear yourself and other team members clearly.
This enables you to play/sing your best and blend well with others. KNCF has a
modern digital board (Roland M-480) with top of the line personal mixers
(Roland M-48’s) which enable each musician to create their own individual stereo
mix in their earphones. In light of this it is a requirement that each team member
become proficient in using the personal mixers.
The building we occupy presents some technical/sound challenges due to its low
ceiling, non-elevated stage and the close proximity of the congregation to the
worship team. We discovered over the years that floor monitors (‘wedges’) were
not a good solution in our building for a number of reasons. The congregation
hears the wedges just as easily as the mains. The sound people had little control
in mixing the house because of the contribution of the wedges (one Sunday the
sound person forgot to turn on the mains and no one noticed because of the
volume from the wedges). Worship team members are very close together and
hear each other’s wedges. This forces them to turn themselves up louder to hear
themselves clearly and then this escalates.
Given the above we have instituted a policy of not using wedges. Everyone on our
teams uses either headphones or earphones (we provide Sennheiser HD280
headphones and Westone UM2 and UM3 earphones). In order to solve the
problem of being ‘disconnected’ from the congregation and not feeling the room
with earphones plugging our ears, we have installed a stereo mic pair in the ORTF
configuration above the stage to provide room ambience. This is present in stereo
on a channel on the personal mixers. We also have a ‘talkback’ system that allows
the worship leader and drummer to communicate over the earphones to team
members and not be heard through the mains. With these additions we find that
using earphones or headphones works well.
Each team member is responsible for removing their tips and returning the
earphones to their personalized storage drawer after both rehearsals and
services. These devices are very expensive and should not be left out.
B. Amplifiers On Stage
Sometimes musicians will want to use an amplifier to produce the type of sound
they desire from their instrument. This is especially the case with electric guitar
or bass. We have some specific policies concerning this given the size of the room
and our desire to make good quality multi-track recordings.
For bass guitar we have a Markbass cabinet on stage (2x10 plus 1x15) with a
Little Mark amp. The FOH engineer has remote control over the volume of the
amp since it is effectively part of the mains.
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On the other hand we use the mains to carry electric guitar. If the musician uses
an electric guitar amp, we will either use a speaker simulator to connect it to the
board or mic the cabinet in a sound isolating enclosure so that it does not
contribute to the sound levels on stage or in the house. We try to maintain a very
quiet stage so that we can achieve good multi-track recordings.
C. Drum Room
We found in our building that the acoustic output of the drums would overwhelm
everything else. With the low ceiling the sound has nowhere to go except
horizontally out into the room. The rest of the team is also standing in close
proximity to the drums. We tried drum shields but these had little effect.
To solve this we could have either used e-drums or built a sound isolating room.
We chose the latter because the preference of our drummers was to continue to
use acoustic drums. This solution has worked very well, and we have provided a
talkback mic for the drummer to communicate with the team from inside the
room. We have also installed sound absorbing materials in the drum room so that
it is easier for the drummer to hear himself as well as improving the sound from
the drum mics.
We have tried very hard to convey the full impact of the drums through our
mains. We have an aux-fed sub that carries the kick and toms and additional fill
speakers that augment the front mains. We use high quality mics on the drums.
D. Metronome
We have installed a Boss DB-90 metronome (the ‘click’) in the drum room. It has
a pedal for the drummer to start/stop, and is carried on a channel on the personal
mixers. We find that using the click helps our teams become more skillful. The
extent of the use of the click is a decision made by each worship leader.
E. Use of Facilities
Members of the worship ministry can request the use of the facilities for jam
sessions or recording (we can record 48 tracks simultaneously on our Roland R1000 hard disk recorder). It is the member’ responsibility to ask a sound team
member to help them (and this is voluntary) or to take the classes to operate the
sound equipment themselves. Wire ties on existing cable bundles cannot be cut
and all equipment must be returned to the original locations.
“All the nations you have made
shall come and worship before you, O Lord,
and shall glorify your name.”
Psalm 86:9
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