Why you should learn about your sound system. (and some ideas for getting started)

Have you ever walked into the sanctuary on Sunday morning and found that nothing was working? The sound board is on, but nothing’s coming out of the speakers. It looks like the personal mixer is on, but there’s nothing in the ears. Or maybe there’s all kinds of feedback and you don’t know why. Or you don’t know where to plug in your microphone. Or you don’t know how to mic your electric guitar player’s amplifier. 

If that sounds like you, you’re not alone. In fact, sound gear is often extremely intimidating to worship leaders. It was for me. But after an embarrassing number of Sunday mornings spent in a panic, praying God would perform a miracle, I decided to do something! I finally spent some time learning about my church’s sound gear. 

The sound system is a tool every worship leader uses. I’m a big believer that we should learn to operate the tools we’re using properly. And here’s the thing: It doesn’t have to be difficult and you don’t have to become an expert. Start by:

1)   Finding a user manual for your sound board. 

Chances are one came with it when you bought it. If you weren’t around for that though, a google search will likely find one! It might even bring up some training videos!

2)   Asking someone for help. 

If your church has a sound engineer, ask him to show you the ropes! If you have a volunteer who knows about the gear, schedule a meeting with her! If you don’t, reach out to another church and ask if they’d do a training with you. 

Even learning some basics can help you tremendously. Learn how different pieces of equipment turn on, where different cables plug in, and what the names of things are. If you’re able to, ask about issues you’ve had in the past and how they were resolved. Ask about common problems. Learning this tool will benefit you and your team in a number of ways:

1.    In Identifying and Fixing Problems

If you learn your sound gear, then the next time you walk in and nothing is working, you’ll know where to begin looking for the issue. If you know where to start, it’s much more likely that you’ll find it!

2.    In Communicating with Your Sound Team

If you have a sound team, or if you will in the future, learning your gear will help you communicate with them clearly. It’s much easier to resolve problems when you can communicate clearly! This is also helpful on days where there are no problems. You can speak to the sound team clearly about your needs and they can do the same. 

3.    In Training

If training is part of your job, and it most likely is, learning your gear will help. Not only should your production team know how to work your system, but so should you and probably a number of people on your team. Everyone doesn’t need to know how to run sound, but they should at least be able to set up their own gear. 

4.    In Serving Off Stage

Learning your sound system will allow you to serve in an off-stage position if need be. That’s good for all of us once in a while. And it will be really helpful to your production team if you can fill in holes where it’s needed! 

Like I said before, I know learning new equipment can be intimidating. But I really think the advantages of learning outweigh any intimidation or learning curve. If you’re in a smaller church, or don’t have sound engineer, or if you only have one and he goes out of town sometimes, it’s especially important! Learning your gear will take a lot of stress out of your Sunday morning.