Introduction to Live Audio for Church

When?

Next course: Saturday 11th March 2017

Who?

This course is suitable for anyone involved in live audio in churches, whether you’re a veteran with decades of experience of a complete beginner looking to get started. You might be a regular member of your church’s volunteer sound team, a pastor, warden or caretaker who occasionally has to operate audio equipment, or a musician or worship leader seeking a better understanding of what your sound operator actually does.

What?

This course takes a ground up approach to understanding acoustics, sound system design and configuration, how to use the sound desk, how to run a sound check and assemble a mix, and how to troubleshoot and manage common problems in church sound. For beginners this offers an extensive foundation in fundamental sound engineering principles, whilst for more experienced operators this is a great opportunity to refresh your understanding of core concepts, plug any knowledge gaps and ensure habits are aligned with best-practices.

Agenda

• Fundamental audio concepts: frequency, loudness, decibels and sound perception.
• Basic acoustics: sound propagation, how does sound behave in an indoor space? Why is sound so difficult in churches?
• Understanding the sound system: overview of sound systems for live sound re-enforcement, loudspeakers and microphones.
• What are the goals for a sound system?: system design fundamentals, the hierarchy of importance.
• What do all the knobs do?: understanding the sound desk.
• How to run a sound check: including practical experience using multi-track playback.
• Putting the mix together: including practical experience using multi-track playback and discussion of appropriate mixing for different musical styles and contexts.
• Discussion and practical experience of handling common church sound problems: feedback, “it’s too loud”, troubleshooting processes.

Prerequisites

There are no prerequisites for this course. This course is suitable for students of all levels of ability and prior experience.