Mixing Monitors for Worship - Part 2
 | Sound Advice
by Leon Sievers
Sound Professional
August 13, 2007
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Once the worship team has
settled into a comfortable monitor mix, you can turn on the house sound
and repeat this process for the house mix. You can usually accomplish this
without interrupting the band and adjusting each channel / instrument /
vocal while they continue their rehearsal. Check with the worship team
to see if the presence of the house sound system requires any adjustment
to their monitor mix.
When mics on stage are not
being used, it is best that they are muted off, this prevents unwanted
feedback and eliminates ambient echo and phase shifting. A “sound gate”
will perform this function automatically - it will mute the mic when no
one is speaking, and will open instantly when someone speaks (sensitivity
is adjustable).
Identify the vocalists who
sing best on key, and highlight their volume slightly - not a lot, just
slightly! Reduce volume and high frequency gain slightly on those who sing
off key. Less high gain tends to take the “edge” off of sour notes. Whenever
a normally good singer is consistently off key, it usually means they cannot
hear themselves, or cannot distinguish their voice from the music or other
singers. Slowly raise their individual mic gain in their monitor speaker
and see if this corrects their singing - it usually will. If it doesn’t,
slowly return fader to original position so that you don’t mess up the
settings for everyone else.
Most worship teams get used
to hearing their voice through speakers and learn to gauge their vocal
volume and tonal quality by what they hear. They need to have a consistently
good monitor volume to feel confident with their voice. Too little volume
through the monitor will cause the vocalist to “eat” the microphone to
make it louder. It will also cause them to strain their voice from trying
to sing louder. Too much volume will cause them to draw the mic too far
away and cause them to sing meekly. Watch where they hold their mike -
if too far away, lower the monitor volume. If too close, raise the volume.
I recommend spending the
extra time to be part of the worship team’s rehearsal process. This is
when you can spend the extra time to eq each member’s vocal or instrument
and become familiar with what works best with your worship team. Practice
makes perfect.
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great article don't forget monitor placement
Unless I missed it. Monitor placement is important when sharing a common mix. Those who want it louder can benefit from a raised monitor just put it on a chair to see if it solves the I can't hear problem. If it is too loud move it farther away. ...more
Submitted by: Jerry Wood
Location: Redondo Beach
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