My Church Gig

If you go to Cornerstone you might be interested in our recent adventure with Steve’s podium mic.  Last Saturday and on the previous weekend he wasn’t as easy to hear as usual.  We moved his mic to the back side of his notes stand which left the mic a few inches further away.  (Top pic … it used to live there before.)  His level dropped into the 50s and low 60s in decibels.  Two things happened: 

1. People noticed the difference.
2. The congregation was not as responsive as usual.

It was a somber message in a subdued tone but our congregation is typically more responsive any day of the year.  On Sunday we moved it back to its optimal place (like the bottom pic … thanks Steve!) and bam, we were back in our target range; somber message heard and understood.  Doesn’t look like much of a change in those pictures.  This either shows the delicate nature of our business or my completely OCD approach to audio.

With that in mind I wanted to mention a few things about how volume levels affect congregation response and listener fatigue.  I hope this is helpful for pastors and teachers too.  I hope you guys care about this as much or more than your sound guy.

Decibel meters kind of match thermometers here in the Fahrenheit-loving United States.  Imagine standing outside in a t-shirt.  Anything over 90 is pretty hot but, hey, some like it hot.  The 80s is warm; fun summer weather for all ages.  The 70s is pretty comfy and the best part is you can drink coffee outside.  The upper 60s is still ok but if it dips to 60 or below, most of us begin to crave new fall fashion apparel and accessories.  New shoes couldn’t hurt either.

Normal conversation happens from the low 60s to the low 70s, kind of like an early Spring afternoon.  It’s what we’re used to.  When we listen to speech for a long while (like a 50 minute sermon) listener fatigue happens when it’s either too loud for too long or when it’s too quiet for too long.  Being too loud is rarely a problem.  The laws of physics, feedback, a reflective room and the pastor’s general performance make getting his voice in the upper 60s a real feat of engineering some days.

Here’s what happens when the pastor’s voice drops into the chilly regions of 60 and below:

• People are tired after church and they don’t know why.  It took real effort to listen.  Their brains worked long and hard, and now it’s nap time.
    
• The congregation isn’t as responsive as the pastor secretly wishes.  They can’t be.  I’ve sat in churches where people feel trapped, unable to move or flip a page in their Bible because they’ll miss something.  (No exaggeration.)
    
• Some people will check out after 20 minutes and the rest will check out after 40 minutes if the presentation of the message is not compelling.

Our target for sermon levels at Cornerstone is around 63 to 73dB A-weighted, like a friendly conversation outside Starbucks in May.  We don’t have any assisted listening packs but we don’t get asked for any either.  In fact I’ve been told by a few hard-of-hearing friends they never have a problem hearing Steve.

I got this in an email today from a kind lady who has a hearing condition:

“…I wanted to say thank you for putting so much effort into good sound.  I can always hear Steve’s word even when he speaks softly and that is important to me.  It may seem silly, but I struggle hear people’s words in so many other areas of my life that it is really nice when I can hear all the words for a change.”

Thanks Elizabeth.  You are my new favorite person.