Is this a joyful noise?
"I know God wants us to make a joyful noise, but we don't have to go deaf in the process!"
I recall that statement from a beloved member in response to the volume of our youth worship band back in the late-1990's. We had a modern worship band with drums, bass, electric guitar, keyboards and several singers leading our youth in worship in our Fellowship Hall every Sunday... it was awesome! And we would hit around 93dBA during our upbeat songs.
On the other hand, I also recall that I did not get a single negative response from any of our members (including my beloved friend quoted above) after the Wind Ensemble from Concordia University, Nebraska filled our worship center with incredible music, reaching well over 100dBA during their louder passages. The thundering percussion and blaring brass sounded phenomenal in our worship center!
The volume of music in church has been an ongoing debate for churches using sound systems for the last several decades.
The reality in many cases is that 'loud' volume is based on personal perception and preference. As in the example above... the youth band was perceived as loud, but the wind ensemble was not. They were playing at very similar decibel levels, and in fact, the wind ensemble peaked at even louder levels.
Let's cut to the chase... we are greatly concerned about volume at OSLC.
The last thing we want to do is cause damage to someone's hearing. If it were not an issue, I would not be addressing it here. We actively monitor our decibel levels during our worship songs, and we average between 83dBA to 88dBA (A-weighted, slow response), with an occasional peak in the low 90's. On average, we have about 20-25 minutes of music during our service. The spoken word during our services rarely exceeds 70dBA, and that essentially fills up the remainder of the hour long service. With this information, individuals can safely listen to the worship music at OSLC for at least 8 hours every day (per OSHA's 'permissible exposure limit').
Simply put, your hearing is not in danger at OSLC.
That said, if we can rest assured that it is not too loud for our safety, the loudness must be an issue of perception or preference... again, note the story above.
Good volume levels are critical.
Believe it or not, there are times when the volume is even too loud for me. I like to believe that I have a pretty good 'gauge' for what is too loud, even without using a dB meter. I have discovered that when something appears to be too loud, it is usually because the band is not being mixed well... or there needs to be an adjustment to certain frequencies that are annoying or bothersome. We tackle these issues head-on during every rehearsal and service.
On the other hand, I honestly believe that the volume needs to reach a certain level to help encourage more participation from the congregation. Using non-scientific methods, I have determined that people tend to sing out more when the sound of the band is more 'present.' I recall the same thing growing up when singing to an organ... it had to be loud enough to encourage singing. Personally, I will not sing out if the music is not loud... i feel that i need to hear the music over and above my own voice (so that my loud voice won't stick out in the crowd).
In addition, there are psychological and physiological responses to volume. Humans respond to dynamics... composers know this, that is why there a sections in music that are 'fortissimo' and sections that are 'pianissimo.' Louder music is emotionally exhilarating. We are drawn in to the power of music when the intensity increases. And then softer, more contemplative levels keep us engaged until the next swell. This is the very nature of music, it's why God gave it to us... to communicate our emotions... to give Him glory.
So what does OSLC do to combat the volume 'issue'?
The challenge we face when using a sound system in a confined space is to blend all of the instruments to the level of the loudest 'acoustic' instrument, the drums. The next challenge is to mix the band in a way that all instruments can be heard, and finally, we mix the voices so they can be heard above the instruments. Our audio engineers meet these challenges each week by utilizing our digital mixing console, and all of the tools therein.
In addition to the drums, there are other things on the platform that are creating additional sound. We call this stage volume. Contributors to stage volume include the drums, the piano, floor wedge monitor speakers, acoustic guitars, and voices. Keeping the stage volume lower helps us to keep the main 'house' volume lower as well.
Here is a list of things that OSLC is doing to help provide a lower volume experience.
Given all of this information, we realize that it will still be too loud for some folks.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Blessings,
Matt Kees
Minister of Media and Technical Arts
I recall that statement from a beloved member in response to the volume of our youth worship band back in the late-1990's. We had a modern worship band with drums, bass, electric guitar, keyboards and several singers leading our youth in worship in our Fellowship Hall every Sunday... it was awesome! And we would hit around 93dBA during our upbeat songs.
On the other hand, I also recall that I did not get a single negative response from any of our members (including my beloved friend quoted above) after the Wind Ensemble from Concordia University, Nebraska filled our worship center with incredible music, reaching well over 100dBA during their louder passages. The thundering percussion and blaring brass sounded phenomenal in our worship center!
The volume of music in church has been an ongoing debate for churches using sound systems for the last several decades.
The reality in many cases is that 'loud' volume is based on personal perception and preference. As in the example above... the youth band was perceived as loud, but the wind ensemble was not. They were playing at very similar decibel levels, and in fact, the wind ensemble peaked at even louder levels.
Let's cut to the chase... we are greatly concerned about volume at OSLC.
The last thing we want to do is cause damage to someone's hearing. If it were not an issue, I would not be addressing it here. We actively monitor our decibel levels during our worship songs, and we average between 83dBA to 88dBA (A-weighted, slow response), with an occasional peak in the low 90's. On average, we have about 20-25 minutes of music during our service. The spoken word during our services rarely exceeds 70dBA, and that essentially fills up the remainder of the hour long service. With this information, individuals can safely listen to the worship music at OSLC for at least 8 hours every day (per OSHA's 'permissible exposure limit').
Simply put, your hearing is not in danger at OSLC.
That said, if we can rest assured that it is not too loud for our safety, the loudness must be an issue of perception or preference... again, note the story above.
Good volume levels are critical.
Believe it or not, there are times when the volume is even too loud for me. I like to believe that I have a pretty good 'gauge' for what is too loud, even without using a dB meter. I have discovered that when something appears to be too loud, it is usually because the band is not being mixed well... or there needs to be an adjustment to certain frequencies that are annoying or bothersome. We tackle these issues head-on during every rehearsal and service.
On the other hand, I honestly believe that the volume needs to reach a certain level to help encourage more participation from the congregation. Using non-scientific methods, I have determined that people tend to sing out more when the sound of the band is more 'present.' I recall the same thing growing up when singing to an organ... it had to be loud enough to encourage singing. Personally, I will not sing out if the music is not loud... i feel that i need to hear the music over and above my own voice (so that my loud voice won't stick out in the crowd).
In addition, there are psychological and physiological responses to volume. Humans respond to dynamics... composers know this, that is why there a sections in music that are 'fortissimo' and sections that are 'pianissimo.' Louder music is emotionally exhilarating. We are drawn in to the power of music when the intensity increases. And then softer, more contemplative levels keep us engaged until the next swell. This is the very nature of music, it's why God gave it to us... to communicate our emotions... to give Him glory.
So what does OSLC do to combat the volume 'issue'?
The challenge we face when using a sound system in a confined space is to blend all of the instruments to the level of the loudest 'acoustic' instrument, the drums. The next challenge is to mix the band in a way that all instruments can be heard, and finally, we mix the voices so they can be heard above the instruments. Our audio engineers meet these challenges each week by utilizing our digital mixing console, and all of the tools therein.
In addition to the drums, there are other things on the platform that are creating additional sound. We call this stage volume. Contributors to stage volume include the drums, the piano, floor wedge monitor speakers, acoustic guitars, and voices. Keeping the stage volume lower helps us to keep the main 'house' volume lower as well.
Here is a list of things that OSLC is doing to help provide a lower volume experience.
- Most of our musicians are using In-Ear Monitors to help decrease the stage volume.
- Many of our instruments plug directly into the audio system as opposed to amplifiers on stage to help decrease the stage volume.
- The drums are behind a plexiglas 'cage' to help keep the sound from bleeding into other microphones.
- We use a high quality audio system through L-Acoustic speakers that provide a very evenly dispersed signal so as to avoid 'hot spots' in the room.
Given all of this information, we realize that it will still be too loud for some folks.
- It is true that some people are more sensitive to volume than others. If this is the case for you, we do offer earplugs available at the Connections Counter or at the AVL Booth (where all the tech stuff is for worship). These earplugs will help lower the dB level up to 20dB.
- We have two overflow rooms at the back of the Worship Center. The 'Family Room' is accessible behind the AVL Booth, and the other overflow room is accessible from the lobby behind the Connection Counter. Each of these rooms has a speaker with volume control. You may use either of these rooms to worship in during the musical portions of the service if you desire.
- We also realize that some folks have hearing loss and need help hearing the spoken word. If you need an Assistive Listening Device, you can pick one up at the AVL Booth from one of our technicians.
If you have any questions, don't hesitate to contact me.
Blessings,
Matt Kees
Minister of Media and Technical Arts