There are two learning tools that should be required for every new church audio tech, and they should be kept in every sound booth. One is a book, and the other is an app.
Both will help newcomers in the world of church sound to become better, more educated sound techs.
First, the book. Audio Essentials For Church Sound is written by my good friend and fellow blogger Chris Huff. He’s a sound tech passionate about teaching live audio production through blogging and in-person training, and his teaching style is known for making complex concepts easy to understand while showing how these concepts can be immediately applied for improving sound quality.
Chris got his start as a sound tech in 1990, and went from working as a one-man operation to heading up a church tech team and operating BehindTheMixer.com with more than 20,000 visitors per month. His articles from are featured on ProSoundWeb and in Religious Product News.
Chris started his site in 2007 as a way of helping church sound techs learn the fundamentals of live audio production for creating the best worship experience possible. His unique insight into live audio production comes from his experience both as a sound tech and as a former praise band musician.
Audio Essentials For Church Sound is e-book in PDF format that’s available only from his website. Find out more about the book and purchase it here.
The cost of the book is $29.97 and is worth every penny. It’s not currently available as a printed book, but if you prefer that format, you can print it out yourself. The cost would be substantially more if it there was a printed version.
I can hear some of you saying, “Gee Brian, that’s kind of pricey for an e-book isn’t it?” No it isn’t, and I’ll tell you why. What Chris presents in these 335 pages (along with a ton of equally useful free extras like mp3 files and reference charts) is pretty much a solid week’s worth of audio training that would cost at least $500 (and probably more) to get in person.
The book begins by presenting every part of the church audio process and breaks it down into easily understandable segments, starting with the purpose of the ministry and proceeding through each logical step of the process, leaving nothing out. Things are written in easy to understand language that anyone with any background (especially volunteers who have no audio experience or training) will be able to handle.
