The Technicality of Sound Production in Church

Welcome to Church Talk! Today Pastor Priji converses with Ebin George from Dubai who would be talking about his heart on excellence in church music and production. Stay tuned to learn as he shares from his experience.

Transcript:

Pastor Priji: How did you get interested in desiring to be technically involved in the church? What sparked your interest, because sometimes when we think of serving in church, we only think of preaching or singing. I acknowledge that technical sides and other aspects also are included in the ministry. So how did you get passionate about serving the church in this particular way?

Ebin: I was practically born into the church because my parents were always serving in the church as singers and in music. This got me too to be involved in worship and instruments. My roots are in the church and as I continued to serve musically and with production, my roots grew deeper in it.
I would say that about 80% of what I’ve learned is from just being involved and serving in the church. Not that I reached where I am today in just 2 months or 6 months but over a period of years.
I kept growing through young age by being involved in a worship team with the little and then growing to now, a point where I am able to coach others, coach people who too want to serve in this particular part of ministry.
We’ve all been through life where you’ve probably volunteered to help and then God sees your servitude and causes you to grow from there.

Pastor Priji: How did you transition from an immature server in the church to ultimately becoming a professional who now trains others?

Ebin: I feel like it’s mainly towards your interest side. I know many who are volunteering, but only in one spot where they continue to do and not wanting to progress any further.
I’ve always been interested in the production side.
It’s not like I went to universities and took up sound production and mastered the art or anything as such, but it was mainly from my passion for it that helped me continue to strive and progress further.
Also, it can be based on the church too, a factor where the church is open to allow for the implementation of new technology and software, skills, and various things to further the cause. So if the church is flexible and allows for it, then you can grow there as well. Being open to change and improvise, also to invest in people to learn, grow and transition would also further the cause in that particular ministry.

Pastor Priji: In my opinion, I feel like the sound engineers are almost the backbone of a good-sounding service. From your perspective, what tips would you give to upcoming sound engineers or production teams, whether they’re preparing for Sunday worship or live stream or in-house worship service? Advice for the preparation team.

Ebin: One thing I’ve noticed is that the production team and the worship team do not go hand in hand. Both have to be in sync so that the attendees who come to experience and worship can take part in the best possible production from the church to voice God.
But usually, the sound engineer and the worship leader, for example, might not be on the same page because both of them have their own individual attitudes.
I’ve been in both shoes where you need the quality to be a certain type or at a certain level. We have to have a servant attitude rather than our individualistic attitude so that we can be in sync with the service. This is something the church needs to fix, where there’s possible friction and lack of synchronization.
But from a production team’s perspective, I would say that they are serving towards perfecting the worship team’s sound for the worship team to be able to produce the songs at the optimum quality for the church attendees and worshipers.
The worship team comes prepared with prayer and having received the song list required for that week’s service, so then the sound team needs to adapt and adjust to fit what songs and music have already been established to be produced by the worship team, on stage. So I would say that the worship leader has the final say because as production members, you can provide advice and adjustments but the worship team is on the frontline main stage, so the production team needs to assist and support the front line.
None are bosses to each other, but everyone is serving the same God in different teams, but as one body, playing their parts and serving in their roles.
So, the worship team and production team must not be looked at like 2 different sets of people, but as one team that works within their roles.
Another thing I would encourage those who do work for the lyrics, you need to prepare and take time to understand the song list and accordingly prepare whatever is required to be done in advance. Good preparation is required. This will provide in being synchronized with each other and won’t allow for confusion to take place.
There are cue points where sometimes the lyric team or production team needs to know when the bridge of the song would come in, or when there’s an interlude so the lyrics don’t need to be displayed there, or when a drum solo is arriving and to adjust the sounds to fit accordingly. Striving for perfection in every facet is key.
Even camera crews who if they have listened to the songs in advance, would know that a solo is coming up so then the camera can pan onto the solo and capture that feed.

Pastor Priji: On that note, I would like to ask you as a pastor that is employed in the church, working full time from Monday through Saturday. Some of the people who serve though are volunteers or working part-time, so speaking of how they need to prepare during the week but not just on Sunday morning service. So how did you manage your time during the week, given your commitments to your marriage, career, education, personal walk with God, etc.? All of this management without compromising one from the other but with enough emphasis on each category.

Ebin: Whenever we put emphasis on one thing, time gets ruled out on another. But most times, it’s about asking myself ‘where is my heart?’, my heart is in serving the church but if I want to fellowship with some friends, then that’s up to priority for servitude and church.
In most of the churches, worship teams are purely voluntary and they’d keep aside a day for preparation and practicing the songs, etc. So if they are able to put time and effort to perfect that, so then why not the production team also take time off and put effort to prepare accordingly. Why not come on the same day as the worship team possibly, then you can be in the same sync without confusion on a Sunday.
It’s always good when you can meet together on a rehearsal day, but also ensure to spend time praying together in preparation before you start rehearsal. Both teams need to be in line with each other.

Pastor Priji: When you’re planting a church and you’re starting off fresh, what are some of the key people you have to keep in mind to train, for the production team? Where the church can invest in particular skillsets and people to train for to establish the church in key departments.

Ebin: For a church to start off, let’s say a home church, then reach to a venue as the church grows, then need speakers and mics to invest into for worship, etc. Then the main key area according to me would be ‘sound’. Without sound there is no worship team, if it’s a big venue and you need to amplify the sound to cover the hall and to reach people at all ends, then the sound team would be that comes first in hand.
Even in invest, it would first be sound.
Then secondly would be, projection, lyrics, bible verses, powerpoints, etc.
Third, broadcast. Not just those in the venue but to reach people outside the venue and all over the world.
Fourth could be lights and decor and venue to create the ambiance etc. But I don’t consider this to be a very big priority over others because the main focus should be that people are engaged in the worship, hearing the word, feeling involved in the midst of God’s presence at hand.

Pastor Priji: I like how you mentioned that the goal is to make sure that everything done in the church is Audible and Clean for everyone in every room to receive the sound.
I went to your website and noticed you train others, could you tell us a little about some of the courses that you offer?

Ebin: Pre-covid, everything was physical, sit down with teams and go to churches, etc. I made an online course called ‘Church Production’. The aim of the course isn’t to make money, the fee is very less, but rather to teach about worship settings and how to conduct the work, giving information on different software being used effectively and in different church settings.
I plan to conduct this course again this year in August.
The link to find the details is ebingeorge.com
The teaching vision here is to help the church grow and not for commercial purposes, but at a minimum to maintain equipment availability for conducting the course. You can register on the site, the link is shown on the site itself to connect to this course.
If there are a lot of people interested then I go ahead and conduct the course for the month.

Pastor Priji: What suggestion would you give to churches that especially want to do their online production a little better?

Ebin: It’s a vast topic but, even if your church just has only one single camera and you want to put the content out there then it comes down to how good your sound is, not even the camera angles. If it’s online, with your eyes closed in the presence of God, worshiping and receiving Him, you’re not watching what’s happening on the worship set or the stage or around you but you’re more focused on hearing and meditating in the worship. So the sound is a primary focus and needs to be invested into very much so.
I would recommend more investment into the sound aspect so you can deliver authentic quality. Also, sound engineers, I would advise you to never use the speakers or auditorium as your reference point but need to also know how it sounds for those hearing from their homes live or online.

You can contact Ebin George via his Website, Instagram & Facebook!