About ChurchMix LIVE
No matter the size or style of your church, music is certainly an essential component, though without the proper audio, the message can get lost in translation. Enter ChurchMix LIVE, a two day conference founded by Grammy and Dove nominated producer-engineer Paul Dexter as an extension of his website ChurchMix.com that seeks to bring decades of mixing expertise to the equipping of church audio teams. So what exactly can audio mixers, worship leaders, musicians, singers and pastors learn from this interactive two day event that will surely have their church sounding better than ever before? Aside from live bands demonstrating the concepts on stage and discussions on philosophical approach, expect full-fledged seminars on miking up drums, instruments, vocals and assembling the overall mix, plus tips on everything from leadership to volunteering.
The main group sessions will take place in the “Centre”, RockHarbor’s main worship area. With it’s capable sound system and live worship bands onstage, Paul will be able to discuss through the entire process from setup to final mix. Along the way, we hit these topics among many others:
• Sound Philosophy. We all agree that sound is essential to the worship experience, but often, there is no thought put into the “sound” a church wants. Rather, it is up to each mixer to do the best they can. We believe churches can achieve consistently great mixes across multiple audio volunteers, if proper decisions are made at the ground level.
• Removing the Hurdles Most church mixers are working around so many simple, easily solved, problems in their setup, slowing down their effectiveness to get to a good mix. We discuss clear ways to streamline and clean up your process.
• Unraveling Compression
Learn just what you need to know about the most underused (or overused) tool in our toolbox. Without dynamic compressors we can’t achieve a truly professional mix, but used incorrectly they will destroy everything you are working towards. Learn some easy tricks and settings to make your mix both come to life, and come under control.
• The Art of Listening Learn how to listen, both to your system and your CDs, including how to properly listen for how specific sounds are achieved.
• Battling Loudness Issues Turning down a poor sounding mix may not relieve the complaints about it being too loud. Creating a pleasing, controlled mix can result in a more energetic, non-offensive mix. The elders might actually get up to dance, rather than get up to complain.
• Leadership Hierarchy Take a practical tour throughout a suggested list of who’s in charge of what components, in turn, keeping everyone from the elder’s board to the keyboard player to the monitor mixer and the congregation happy and engaged in reverent praise.
• The Mix is Alive As our old adage so aptly says, “never set it and forget it,” but rather, constantly engage in faders and moving the mix along with the music.
• Sound System and Acoustics Is your system performing as it should? Many churches are sitting on equipment capable of far more than they are hearing. Learn many of the concepts and principles you can use to get the most from what you have, and things to look for when your church might be ready for upgrades. Also, learn the basics of the most critical acoustical treatment concerns. There are some very inexpensive or free tricks you can do to literally transform your sound overnight.
• Effects Tricks Get those reverb and delay units to pull their weight. Even in a live church sanctuary, the CDs we play sound great and are loaded with proper effects. We should be doing the same in our mixes.
• And much more...
These smaller breakout sessions give more focus to some particular needs.
• Help: My Church is Small
Not to fear if your church is much smaller than the large room used for the main sessions. Paul will be teaching this workshop in a small room with it’s own sound system and worship band. You can learn and hear firsthand the techniques used to get a great sound in the small room environment.
• The Lo-Down On Leadership
RockHarbor production leader Alex Magaro shares how he runs an all-volunteer team of audio mixers, plus several examples of how communication, collaboration and coordination can transform a team literally overnight.
• What Does This Button Do?
For your entry-level volunteer, ChurchMix’s Scott Clement and Alex Magaro take the beginner through the very basics of equipment. Get a comfortable handle on all the components, switches, knobs, buttons and anything else before settling into the volunteer’s seat.
Leading the ChurchMix team, Paul Dexter is a Grammy and Dove Award-nominated producer/engineer who's manned the soundboard at thousands of churches around the world. Starting out at his father’s small church as a teen in the early '80s, Dexter grew into one of the top Christian music sound engineers mixing for a wide range of artists such as Switchfoot, Tim Hughes, Bryan Duncan and Phil Keaggy. Having honed his skills and knowledge in countless church settings, Dexter formed 7k’ Solutions to design and install sound systems for churches of all sizes. Paul Dexter Productions followed recording and mixing for Motown, Word, Kingsway, and Vineyard, along with artists like Jeremy Riddle, Crystal Lewis, Nicole C. Mullen and Larry Norman, plus launching a national record label that included several successful worship titles. Dexter, with a heart for helping ministries of all sizes, expanded his audio consulting and design company to include audio mixing classes at churches throughout California
Friday:
5:00-7:00 Registration
7:00-9:00 Main Session 1
Saturday:
7:00-8:00 Morning Cafe- coffee, donuts and conversation
8:00-10:30 Main Session 2
10:45-11:45 Workshops
11:45-1:00 Lunch Break
1:15-3:30 Main Session 3
ChurchMix LIVE visits RockHarbor Church in Costa Mesa, CA from Friday, August 20 at 7pm to Saturday, August 21 3:30pm. Visit the Registration page for pricing information. Please visit ChurchMix.com for many more details on our church audio training.
Ready to go? SIGN UP HERE!
