Musician VS. Sound Man
For years and years I have seen sound men and musicians bicker. “your tone sucks”, “your mix sucks”, “is it to much to ask for you guys to play in the same key”, “your kick drum sounds like a piece of cardboard”, “I can’t hear”, “I need more reverb”, “could you please try to tune your guitar” Well who is wrong and who is right?
Sound man, Trust me I will generally side with you, because I have been the one getting stuff thrown at me during a show. But its time to step up and learn to communicate with your Artist or Worship Leaders. Usually you will have to dig deep into them to figure out what they are trying say. Don’t be afraid to step out on the stage to listen to what they might be hearing. It is our job to provide the best sound environment possible. Also help your Artist or Worship Leader to learn the lingo to help you understand better. Remember, most guys only understand how to play and do not understand what exactly we do. When something goes wrong, do not shy around the situation, fix it and keep your musicians in the “know”. Also never lose your cool. Make sure you let your band know when they sound great. They need your reassurance. Your job is as important as theirs.
Musician, We may be limited to what we have to work with. I am sorry that this room does not sound like the acoustic treated studio that you are used to working in. Lets figure out what would be the best solution to help each other. I understand that your amp sounds best at a certain volume, but it is over powering everything. How can we solve this together? Be patient, I am dealing with everyone on stage, not just you. Teach me how would be best to communicate with you. Also please remember we are using lots of different pieces of gear and connecting them together, things happen that are not always explainable. Please don’t be afraid to step up and ask if you need something, we will not bite, well at least we shouldn’t. The job of a sound man is just as important as yours. A “Thank You” every once and a while could really go a long way.
Obviously, the key to everyone wining is communication. This week step back and look at your approach to how you work with one another. Don’t forget why you do what you do. Help each other out. Without one another, your service, concert or event would be pretty boring.
-Kevin
agreed man. communication goes a long way.
Nice Post, Kevin. To learn to communicate well is probably the most important thing ANYONE can learn to do better.
Kevin
Thanks man. You really sparked somethings in me today. Thanks for listening.
Great post Kevin. Thanks for reminding us of this very important part of ministry and music. COMMUNICATION!
Great post Kevin. I tell people that easily more than 50% of the sound man’s job is people skills. It seems like it could be just a technical field where you get to turn knobs and listen to music, but that couldn’t be further from the truth. Often times, we are on the front lines of a battlefield, and our negotiation and social skills can be principal to calming the nerves of the musicians, performers, pastors, producers, and the rest of the technical team.
How right you are Kevin! … And I enjoyed talkin to you today!
I also would like to point out that most people don’t realize how important of a role that you play as an audio architect. In my opinion, the sound guy is just as much a critical role in the band as the guitar player, drummer, bass, keys and yes even the singer.
Creative audio production makes or breaks the performance and I can’t count the times a good soundman has made me sound great ( when I didn’t deserve it) and I can also say that without good mix the beat performance is perceived as a flop.
I hope we can continue to work together … Sounded awesom tonight!
Much Love and God Bless,
Dave
[...] mic different, this week try to talk to them about good technique. Look back on the previous post “Musician VS. Sound Man”. Learn to communicate with them. All they know is what habits they have created. Find your happy [...]
EQing without using a EQ. « More Than Just A Sound Man said this on March 13, 2010 at 11:14 am |