Earlier this week we wrote about the different types of music you can find in churches. There are all sorts of church music, but you wouldn’t be able to hear the difference without a proper sound system! You might not think that church furniture and sound systems go together, but they’ re more closely related than you’d expect. Both are important to consider when you’re planning the layout of your church, because both will be used during every worship service.
Some small churches are small enough that they don’t require a powered sound system for the sermon or the music to be heard. In a small space microphones, amps, or speakers might be excessive or impractical. That doesn’t mean that the church won’t have a sound system. The acoustics of a church can act as a sound system and amplify the choir or the preacher.
Larger churches might be too big for voices alone to reach everyone. That’s when it makes sense to have a powered sound system so that everyone can hear the sermon as well as the songs during worship.
Whether you’re in a large sanctuary that requires microphones and speakers or a smaller space that relies on a powerful diaphragm, consider the shape of the room. Some churches have amazing acoustics that would make a chorus of barking dogs sound great while other other churches need a little more attention.
The size, angles, and materials in a room are what affect the acoustics. You can’t really change the size of the room, but you do have a bit of control over the material and the angles. You can place foam on back walls or ceilings which will help reduce echoes and dampen sound waves. You might be thinking, “I don’t want a bunch of chopped up yellow foam hanging on the walls in the church!” but it looks a lot better than you would think. You might have seen it before and not even realized that it was acoustic foam. There are multiple companies that make all kinds of different textures, shapes and colors of acoustic foam.
Even installing carpet and upholstered pews can help a space that is too “live” — that is, a space where you can hear every sound from all over the room. A very live space can be great for certain kinds of music, but it can also magnify sounds, down to every whisper and rustle in the pews.
A room where the sound is flatter can certainly be improved by adding microphones, but you will have to think about your pulpits and choir pews to make sure that you amplify the sounds you want to increase. Installing a sound system can be challenging if your worship furniture wasn’t designed with that in mind.
And of course the placement of the pulpit can make a difference in how well sound carries.
We’ll be happy to help with your sound team and worship team to create the perfect worship environment.
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