Ch 4: Supporting Services
In this lesson, we’ll be talking about best practices around using the MD mic. Being on stage with a microphone comes with responsibility. Here are some practical tips for using the mic well during services:
Your Tone
As leaders, we’re charged with helping shift the tone and atmosphere not only of the music but also of the headspace of the team. When the team is navigating an unforeseen change, they want to be led by a calm yet decisive leader. They want to know there is no need for panic. It’s also necessary to channel our passion, joy, and energy into our instrument and not have “excited puppy syndrome” in the mic! Even though the emotions are different, the outcome is still felt the same by your team. Remember: Your tone has the power to convey either stress or stability. Choose wisely!
Your Volume
We want to be aware of the volume we speak into the mic because, depending on our campus, our voice may be acoustically heard if the moment is low enough. What the team is playing may sound loud in the in-ears, but that may not accurately represent how loud FOH is putting the band. A great way to make sure you stay low is to scan the front row while talking and see if you’re getting any head turns.
We also want to ensure the volume we speak is relatively consistent across the service. If we’re constantly shouting calls during the set and everyone adjusts levels accordingly, you’ll likely not be able to be heard when you have to bring your voice down a bit in low dynamic passages. As mentioned before, we also want to make sure we’re speaking stability into the set, and when we yell or shout (even if we’re excited at what the Spirit is doing!), it can risk feeling chaotic.
Your Timing
Be strategic and thoughtful about when you are giving instructions or asking questions. Taking up a lot of sonic space in an intro right before the count-in for the verse is not wise. Also, when a Worship Leader encourages or shares their heart with the congregation before or during a song, say as little as possible. In fact, if possible, don’t say anything at all. Remember that the WL has their ears in and anything said may throw off their focus. It’s also imperative to remind the team of this if you find rogue ear changes happening while the WL is exhorting or speaking in between songs.
Your Verbosity
Say only what is necessary during service so the Worship Leader and song leaders can lead without distraction. A good rule of thumb is to use four words or less when possible. For instance, instead of saying, “Alright guys, we’re coming up on the hits,” say, “Here’s the hits,” or “To the hits.” William of Ockham once said “It is vain to do with more what can be done with less” and there couldn’t be truer words for an MD.
Your Loquaciousness (Overtalking vs Undertalking)
The need to speak into something during service heavily depends on factors such as the rostered team, the songs, and the service itself. An MD can say the same things two weeks in a row (same songs, different team) and be overtalking for one service and undertalking for the other. A great MD will call chords or remind the team dynamically what’s coming next in the song only if he/she feels there are question marks. This could be based on conversations with the musician team or how confident and prepared they came to rehearsal. If there are well-prepared, conference-level musicians rostered with very familiar songs, a great MD will not find the need to call out much at all during the songs. On the other hand, if you hear an ill-prepared team member struggling with a progression during rehearsal, call out the chords during the service and chat with them afterward.
Optimally, we’ll never have to call out chords or remind of upcoming parts or dynamics during a service, but when we do, it highlights areas of growth opportunity in our teams to call them higher! Our goal is to build competent, self-sufficient musicians who don’t need an MD to act as a babysitter!
Your Audience
When you make a call, remember everyone that can hear it: all the musicians, vocalists, worship leader, producer, screens/lyrics operator, monitor engineer, service director, stage manager(s), etc. Even if a great MD somehow knows everyone on stage saw a Worship Leader’s hand signal, they’ll still call it out for the sake of the media/lyrics operator and anyone else who may not have seen it and would need to know.