[rodgersorgan] Re: You have a right to remain silent,
- From: "Keith Jones" <sheriffkjones@xxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2003 10:40:16 -0400
From the perspective of the sound man:
It's quite easy to give the sound person a lot of grief sitting behind an
instrument. But perhaps you could benefit from some perspective.
For instance... Playing the right track on a tape or CD would be easier and
better facilitated if such things were arranged during rehersal. Instead,
as is often the case, the solist or choir director waltzes up to the sound
booth, tape in hand, utters something akin to "so-and-so will need this
played for her solo. It's all set to go." and walks off toward some loftier
mission. It's up to the sound person to figure out what the heck just
happened and how to meet their expectations.
Next we have a consortium of instumentalists that insist that they be heard,
each one of them, over the rest of the instruments. Those whose instruments
are plugged in to some kind of amplification (organists included) tend to up
the volume AFTER the sound check is completed because "I need to hear myself
and I can't hear what I'm playing over the (insert any other sound
generating device here, including the choir)".
Now we move on to the choir. The director insists that he/she be able to
hear the choir through the monitors so that the supranos can hear the tenors
and the altos the basses. Then the sound person has to deal with the fact
that several of the choir members cannot sing, so we somehow have to
eliminate them from the mix all together. Musical credentials, you say? I
would like to suggest the same thing to choir members who claim that they
can sing and read music, but can't carry a tune in a bucket.
It's exhausting trying to make everything sound perfect to everyone. It's
worse when the sound person is reduced to spin control between musicians,
directors, performers, and pastors. Not to mention members of the
congregation who comment "I can never hear the piano over the organ" and in
the next moment "All I hear is the piano." Meanwhile, the pianist and the
organist are exchanging remarks within their inner circle of supporters that
the other is to blame and that their instrument is the most important for
meaningful worship.
In the end, you have what Noel describes. Microphones everywhere, every
instument with it's own mic, humming and feedback because there is not
enough time to EQ every channel on the sound board because of all the last
minute demands of the people in charge.
Keith Jones
Sound Man, among other things.
Holland, MI
>From: "F. Richard Burt" <effarbee.aaa@xxxxxxxxxxx>
>Reply-To: rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
>To: <rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
>Subject: [rodgersorgan] Re: You have a right to remain silent,
>Date: Mon, 28 Apr 2003 07:03:18 -0500
>
>
>Good Morning, Noel:
>
>Perhaps you should ask for the sound man's musical
>credentials "...to play that thing." From your
>description, he has no concept of the music being
>played, and, ...as most choir directors I have known
>over the last 50 years or so will tell us, ..."If
>you don't know what notes to sing, mouth it, but
>don't make noises that detract from what the rest
>of us are singing."
>
>I know both sides of the business: choral expression
>with natural acoustics and amplified sound. The man
>is treating the orchestra, harpsichord, etc., as if he
>were recording in a padded studio. That is not how
>to reinforce the music of a choir and orchestra. He
>can only destroy what the musicians are trying to
>express.
>
>If a player could not hit the right notes at the right
>time, he would not be allowed to play. If the sound
>man cannot reinforce the sound without having to
>mix everything from scratch, ...which is impossible
>to do (not enough ears and hands on one person), then
>he cannot possibly do his part in playing the right
>notes at the right time as the musician do. He ought
>not be allowed "to play."
>
>The essence of good sound reinforcement is accomplished
>with as few mics as possible, and, when it is done right,
>no one will even notice that sound is being amplified,
>and above all the musicians will be in control of their
>sound expressively. There are few sounds so beautiful
>as a dimenuindo that slowly fades to silence at the end
>of an otherwise beautiful expression of music. Most
>sound men, unfortunately, do not understand the musical
>dynamics at all, and will never allow dimenuindo.
>
>May you find grace from the Lord to endure this nonsense
>until He can straighten things out in His own time.
>
>Appreciatively,
>F. Richard Burt
>
>
>.
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: noel jones
> To: rodgersorgan@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
> Sent: Sunday, April 27, 2003 12:53
> Subject: [rodgersorgan] You have a right to remain silent,
>
>
>
>
> You have a right to insist the sound system be shut off!
>
> Today at church the children signed Jesus Loves me...after a 3 minute
>wait while
> the sound person played the wrong tape, then searched for the right
>one...just
> after rehearsal a few minutes before.
>
> Then the soloist sang with tape...played perfectly except for a very
>high howl
> of feedback throughout the whole song.
>
> Could things get worse?
>
> I then went to a large church where my wife is playing continuo on the
> Roland/Rodgers harpsichord today.
>
> She performed with this community chorus two years ago, also doing the
>Messiah
> in the local college auditorium, with string quintet and it was lovely.
>
> Today during lunch I mentioned that the sound guy would probably plug
>directly
> into the harpsichord.
>
> When we got to the church he had already patched directly into the
>harpsichord,
> had 4 mikes suspended over the chorus and had soloist microphones up and
> running. He seemed to be looking over the string quintet instruments
>rather
> carefully, looking for the 1/4 sockets to plug his microphone lines
>into.
>
> Following a short heated meeting whit my wife, during which I
>(peacemaker!) told
> him that if he didn't disengage from the harpsichord she wouldn't play.
>Hey, am
> I tactful or what? He then turned up the stage monitors which amplified
>the
> strings into the choir area, then turned up the soloist mic's.
>
> At this point the string players and the harpsichordist are hearing
>themselves
> playing and also being surrounded with the sound of themselves
>playing...and
> hearing the soloists bigger than life.
>
> How loud should they play? If they play soft, the sound man turns them
>up...loud
> and the sound man turns them down. We moved the harpsichord up into the
>center
> of the orchestra to get it away from the choir mikes, and, as I was
>leaving, he
> was putting microphones at each string player.
>
> Where have we all gone wrong?
>
> One year a delightful chamber performance of the Messiah, much as it was
>heard
> in small venues at Handle's time...this year the power...but not the
>glory...of
> the Mormon Tabernacle Choir and the Utah Symphony Orchestra without the
>payroll
> to match.
>
> What hat Edison wrought? Moderation in all things. Using electricity
>to power
> a blower on an organ, using electricity to make the sound of a pipe
>organ
> available to even those humble churches without the means for
>instruments made
> of pipes.
>
> --
> noel jones, aago
> athens, tennessee, usa
> -------------------------------
> frog music press
> rodgers organ users group
> www.frogmusic.com
>
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