Perfection is a futile and unforgiving pursuit. Demoralise, create unnecessary pressures, cause anxiety are amongst its long list of consequences. Although not everything in the list is negative but one has to admit that it is a pursuit with diminishing returns the more invested we are towards it. 

Personally, I am guilty of that exact said pursuit. I saw perfectionism as the ultimate purpose for every work that I embarked on. 'Ism-ing' it in my guitar playing, music writing, mixing,  work, fitness, relationships... the list goes on like a mantra and a habit. Perfectionism made sense then but I never was able to accomplish anything much. Instead it really held me back from my greatest potential. It was a miserable time for me as a creative. 

You see, perfection is goal oriented, extremely absolute. It is all about the result and anything less than 100% is a failure. That mindset is really destructive and counter productive. It is disadvantageous for people in groups with different drive levels and expectations as perfectionism is a terrible motivator. This also makes it a terrible motivation for individuals because the results are unattainable regardless of effort. The world is not perfect as our lives so that means it will always yield to external factors that are beyond our control.

So how do we break this crippling philosophy called 'Perfectionism'?

The 'Excellence' philosophy. 

Where perfectionism is goal oriented, excellence is about the process. The focus is on the journey, about personal growth and empowerment. A sense of greater purpose rather than crippling reasoning.

I embarked on this philosophical journey of excellence a few years ago and to say the very least has been very life redeeming. A sense of freedom to test my strengths, my limits. To test my character against the odds, the challenges of life. Even when failure is the result, I would still be able to come out of it better and hopefully wiser. 

Results are important. Do not go around mistaking the fact that our very lives are bound to results and consequences. But that does not mean that the actions taken justifies the results at the end. Hitting your sales target but at the expense of friends or colleagues. Achieving work KPIs but neglecting your relationships. I hope you can see a pattern forming.

This was and still is a profound discovery for me. To not be crippled by the limitations of futility is very important. Failure means room for improvement. Shortcomings gives way to progress and growth.  I hope this will also be a great step towards personal growth for you. 

Excellence is a philosophy and a habit very much like perfectionism. But where it diverges is how it impacts your mental health, lifestyle and well being. 



Notes:
I would like to share my deep gratitude for my friend and musical mentor David Gary for investing your time and resources into my life even though I was such a pain to deal with. For sharing your life experiences and teaching me the 'Spirit of Excellence'. Thank you!

Photo by Hailey Kean on Unsplash

This "Mixing Cheat Sheet" is provided courtesy of Daniel Krishnan, founder and lead engineer of Adventure Man Creative Services. Please visit his website at ADVENTUREMAN.NET to learn more!

This short article may have been written for worship bands in a house of worship setting but every tip shared is still relevant for settings otherwise intended. Everything is copied as-is. 

If the article beneficial to anyone you know of, please do share it. Thank you for reading and I hope you were able to learn something.

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See you at the next blog post.


MIXING TECHNIQUES FOR WORSHIP

What is a good mix?
The ability to hear each instruments/singers.
The audience does not focus on the sound system but rather the worship and remains engaged in worship.

What is the core of a good worship band?
Hear each other
Hear the lyrics
Hear God

How to get a good mix?
Balance the instrument singers according to who should be the loudest to the softest
Listen to your favourite worship song and try to emulate it.

LISTENING SESSION
(write down what you hear from the loudest to the softest)


BALANCING  MIX CHEAT SHEET
KICK DRUM // LEAD SINGER // LEADING INSTRUMENT
BASS GUITAR // BACK UP VOCALIST
DRUM KIT
ELECTRIC GUITAR // ACOUSTIC GUITAR // PIANO
SYNTH // PADS

How to use equaliser?
When boosting a band of frequencies, always WIDE
When cutting a band of frequencies, always NARROW
Find the most problematic/annoying/harsh/causing feedback frequency, this is done by boosting a narrow set of frequencies, then swipe it to the left and right to hear the disturbance. Once found, cut that frequency with a NARROW Q. 

How to use compressor?
Start with the threshold, adjusting it lower until the compressor is attenuating the peak. this will help to reduce any over the top volume that can cause hearing damage etc.
Make sure the singers are singing their loudest.

Introduction 
The church has a unique setting when it comes to worship band soundcheck and rehearsals. There is a finite amount of minutes for setup and soundcheck during rehearsals or pre-service setup.

Noticing that there is a need to assist and educate houses of worship. I made short notes for the benefit of music directors or leaders for their quick reference.

These notes are freely available for distribution but please leave the links and references in the notes intact for copyright purposes. I am also available to conduct trainings for sound system operators and worship band. You can reach out to me via the Contact page.

Here we go!

Team effort

• front-end (the band) + backend (sound & media) = worship ministry
• everyone plays an active role to serve each other, the church & corporate worship
• importance of understanding the tools used
• staying a step ahead and being pro-active
• Sound check IS NOT the time for mixing. It needs to be efficient and quick
• 3C. Clear communication, Co-operation & Calm Composure

Stage/instrument/vocal setup

• Awareness
• Know each musician's setup
• e.g. drummers kit place, guitarist/bassist setup if they're running individual pedals or multi-fx. which mic is the singer using
• Take note of positions for each member on stage

Line Check Flow, Gain Structure & Fader Levels

• A standard line check flow but can be changed to suit sound check efficiency 

• Kick - Snare - Tom 1 - Tom 2 - Tom 3 - Hi-Hats - Overheads/Underheads 1 - Overheads/Underheads 2 - Electronic Triggers - Backing Tracks - Bass - Electric Guitars - Acoustic Guitars - Keyboards - Vocalists from left to right of stage - Wireless Mics

• Fader up to unity, use meters to determine healthy gain amount, lower gain incrementally if feedback occurs

No incoming signal cheat sheet:

• check phantom power if required i.e. condenser mics or DI box
• quick swap of mic/instrument cables
• verify patching is correct
• instrument output volume is up (you’d be surprised)

Monitor Send

• Pre-requisite - know how to send channel audio to monitors in console
• Identify monitor placements and their corresponding send channels
• Have a diagram or map out the stage marking out placements of monitors and instruments
• Monitor check to follow line flow check
• Ask musicians/singers their monitoring preferences

Closing

• Take a few minutes to listen to monitor sends on stage
• Open to criticism and improve further
• Be supportive towards the singers and musicians especially beginners with words of affirmation

Happy May 4th and may the force be with you and don't forget to subscribe to receive instant updates!.



​Download the PDF Note HERE!