Big churches aren’t the only churches who need a worship producer. A few years ago when I was the music director at a church of about 300 I found myself in a typical scenario: I was so consumed with making sure the singers and band were on track right before the service I didn’t have the bandwidth to worry about much else.
After a trip to one of those megachurch worship conferences we learned about the concept of a “worship producer.” One of my friends, Joe, took up the mantle, so I’ve asked him to create a list of what he did each week as producer:
Overall Goal: Protect/Enhance the Worship Experience.
I basically just kept my antennas up for anything that would negatively impact the worship service.
Prep:
- Come early to make sure the tech team is ready to go.
- Sound system on BEFORE rehearsal.
- Mics checked BEFORE rehearsal.
- Videos tested BEFORE rehearsal – does each video play successfully with audio?
Rehearsal:
- Ensure the sound was not too loud for our group (this can range anywhere from 85-105 db depending on your congregation)
- Make sure the sound is loud enough (if you have electric guitars, you at least need to be in the low 90 dbs) – This is normally a problem for newbie sound guys to have the sound too low. When the sound is too low, it sounds muddy because you’re hearing stage monitors instead of hearing the house speakers.
- Ensure the MIX was good – can I hear all the parts well? Is any one part too loud?
- Ensure the words used for media are on time OR EARLY! Late words are death to congregational singing.
Room Considerations:
- Check the room temperature.
- Pick up any trash on the floor.
- Are the chairs straight?
- Are any of the tables dirty?
- Check for any annoying lights coming in through the windows.
- Is the stage clean? Band members often leave coffee cups and other trash on stage during practice.
- Are the aisles wide enough? (We set up chairs each week) Sometimes seats and rows are put too close together and no one can get in or out.
- Keep the doors closed while rehearsing – only people directly participating in the service should be in the room to prevent distraction.
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