Hi. We use a count down clock projected on screen, set for 5 minutes. At the 1 minute mark the worship team enters the stage and the same time the sound techs increase the volume of some upbeat music that has already been playing in the sanctuary and can be heard in the back where people linger. At the exact count down of the clock, the worship team begins with their first song which brings the stragglers in pretty quickly.
I'm a retired sound technician who has experienced at least part of the issue you are dealing with. Some 25 years ago our church music went from traditional organ/piano to mainly contemporary services with a full band. We also had an Allan organ. At first we experimented with the organ being part of the band, but it didn't really work. From my experience, a trained organist is more of a solo type musician who is used to carrying the entire "load" in the music part of the Service and not used to blending in as part of the band. Volume became an issue. Also, a stage keyboard which is used in most worship bands, is usually a background instrument that adds cording depth and support to rest of the musicians. In our situation the regular church organ volume could not be controlled from the sound board and in the end it wasn't used at all. Since most of our services became contemporary in worship music, we gave the organ away to another church.
I agree with your comments. I do think it is connected to the whole range of changes in worship style/music, transitioning from traditional to contemporary. A lot of todays current worship music is done by a lead vocal supported by back ground singers stringed instruments and a keyboard playing chords. Traditional church music is usually sung with 4 part music, and in my experience our organists could not (or did not want to) adapt to changing the way they have always done it. They may have the musical talents and ability but have a difficult time blending into a supporting role.
I'm going off topic here a bit, but I believe it is connected to the challenges some churches face today in mixing sound coming off the stage.
Posted in: Getting Worshipers in the Service on Time?
Hi. We use a count down clock projected on screen, set for 5 minutes. At the 1 minute mark the worship team enters the stage and the same time the sound techs increase the volume of some upbeat music that has already been playing in the sanctuary and can be heard in the back where people linger. At the exact count down of the clock, the worship team begins with their first song which brings the stragglers in pretty quickly.
Posted in: Mixing Organ Into the Sound System
I'm a retired sound technician who has experienced at least part of the issue you are dealing with. Some 25 years ago our church music went from traditional organ/piano to mainly contemporary services with a full band. We also had an Allan organ. At first we experimented with the organ being part of the band, but it didn't really work. From my experience, a trained organist is more of a solo type musician who is used to carrying the entire "load" in the music part of the Service and not used to blending in as part of the band. Volume became an issue. Also, a stage keyboard which is used in most worship bands, is usually a background instrument that adds cording depth and support to rest of the musicians. In our situation the regular church organ volume could not be controlled from the sound board and in the end it wasn't used at all. Since most of our services became contemporary in worship music, we gave the organ away to another church.
John Westra
Posted in: Mixing Organ Into the Sound System
Hi Kevin,
I agree with your comments. I do think it is connected to the whole range of changes in worship style/music, transitioning from traditional to contemporary. A lot of todays current worship music is done by a lead vocal supported by back ground singers stringed instruments and a keyboard playing chords. Traditional church music is usually sung with 4 part music, and in my experience our organists could not (or did not want to) adapt to changing the way they have always done it. They may have the musical talents and ability but have a difficult time blending into a supporting role.
I'm going off topic here a bit, but I believe it is connected to the challenges some churches face today in mixing sound coming off the stage.