When we do our live training events, this is one of the topics that I like to bring into every seminar I teach. Since we are primarily in front of worship leaders and worship techs at these training events, and since technology is such a big part of both audio and music in the contemporary worship serve, I get a chance to address a nice mixture of both the on the platform folks and the techs behind the scenes. And when I do, I like to bring up this concept of Praise Team - Tech Team - One Team.

It seems that the tech team is often treated as a support group for the praise band on the platform. Their task is to be there when the band needs them and make them sound good. They get an awful lot of the blame for what is going wrong and not a lot of the praise. Now of course I know this does not apply to your church and your ministry. I am sure the cogs of your worship machine run like a well oiled watch and accolades are spread evenly and fairly from platform to lighting console. This is for the rest of us that sometimes forget that a really great front of house engineer can make a not so great band sound a lot better. The flip side of that coin is just as powerful however! A really mediocre sound engineer can make the best band sound pretty lame. There is a lot of respect that needs to flow in each direction of this equation. There is also a lot of education that can flow between the teams. Here are a few suggestions that may make things flow a little more smoothly during your worship time and actually make your rehearsals a time of fellowship for everyone involved� even the tech guys and gals!

Everyone rehearse together.
It is funny how obvious this sounds, and yet how rarely it actually happens. And when it does happen, both teams rarely get all from the experience that they should. Now I am not talking about all the singers and the musicians rehearsing together. I am saying, that at some time in the course of the evening rehearsal time, the musicians, vocalists AND the tech team should rehearse together. The more that everyone involved in the worship service knows about where the service is going, the better prepared you can be on Sunday. I know there are a lot of churches that rehearse in a lot of different ways. Sometimes they all rehearse together. Sometimes the singers work on material on their own while the musicians work through things on their own. All of these can be valid approaches to rehearsal. I just recommend that at some time, you bring it all together so that everyone can get a feel for the 'Big picture", including the tech team. I know I have not mentioned them much, but I believe this could and should involve your lighting and media presentation teams as well. It is awesome to go into a Sunday morning with the confidence that comes from a solid rehearsal time where you have had the opportunity to see all of the pieces� and teams� working together.

Take advantage of the band in front of you!
Sound folks� once you get monitors up and running for the team on the platform, there are lots of things that you and your team can be working on. For instance, training up some new front of house engineers. It is not much fun to get thrown into the fray of a Sunday morning to cut your audio teeth. In the course of a rehearsal evening you have a live band right in front of you that might actually be interested in you becoming a confident and competent sound engineer. Take advantage of this time. There are mistakes to be made and this is the time to make them. Not on Sunday morning! Take this time to learn all you can about your instrument� which just happens to be every musician and singer on the platform. (Via the mixing console of course) There are lots of different microphones to try out and different mic placements that can make a huge difference in how things sound. Drums are notoriously tricky because what mic you use and where you use it can make a big difference. Experiment. This is your rehearsal time too! (For some good material on drum mic selection and placement, check out the resources from our friends at xxxxx) Pianos are instruments that can be tricky as well. Again, try different mics in different places.

Educate each other.
I didn't know you didn't like the way my guitar sounded out front?! Why do I have to sing so close to the mic? Why can't we set our microphones inside the monitor wedges when we aren't singing? (Believe me�. It happens!) Audio team - you need to be able to communicate to your band what it is you need from them. You are trying to make them sound as good as they can sound, so help them help you. Spend some time going over mic techniques with them. How to hold the mic. Where the most sensitive part of the mic is. Where the least sensitive part of the mic is. Let them know about proximity effect and how it can affect their sound. Make sure that their monitor placement makes sense for the type of microphone they are using and where they are standing. Speaking of monitors, share with them the issues you are dealing with due to the monitor levels on the platform. Discuss with them ways to lower the stage volume. This can include using amp modeling pedals instead of guitar amps and even digital drums and digital pianos. (We cover that in much more detail in other articles) You get the idea. Take the aspects of your job that apply to them and share with them. Knowledge is a wonderful thing and for the most part, people are very grateful to get more of it. Especially if it is knowledge that will allow them to move in their gifts more effectively.

The same goes for band members and vocalists. Be sure to let the sound folks know what you need. Monitoring on the platform is a huge compromise at best, and the more that everyone knows about each others needs and desires, the more you can do to find ways together to achieve them. Work on platform layout to best take advantage of eye contact and ability to hear each other. All the time remember that you are facilitating worship here�. Leading God's people into His presence. Everyone on that platform is a worship leader, so take advantage of all those ministers up there and make sure they can be seen by their congregant as well as heard.

Fellowship together.
I like this one the most. I know in our church, we set up our rehearsal nights as a combination of fellowship time and rehearsal time. There are a lot of things in our lives vying for our time, and often it is our fellowship opportunities outside of the corporate setting of Sunday morning that suffer. Creative people just seem to be wired a little differently sometimes, and it often takes others like us to understand us. Love each other and support each other with a full understanding that no part of your ministry stands without the rest. If needs come up, pray with each other. If you can work in a time of teaching and bible study, I think you will find that some of the questions and discussions that come from this group will be some of the most stimulating and challenging you will ever come across. Probably due to that whole wired differently thing.

These are just a few ideas. I guess the bottom line is to recognize that we are all ultimately worshippers, and in the context of the Sunday morning service, we are all worship leaders. Leading Gods people by worshiping first.