Why do we have ear plugs available in the lobby? It's not a joke. It's serious. We have the music louder than most churches. But we do this for specific reasons. Before I even explain why, I know some people can't get past the volume. That is seriously why we have the ear plugs. - also loud, soft, too loud - all relative terms. What is loud to one person is not loud to someone else. We actually added a decibel reader at the sound board to find a range of loudness since loud means something different to everyone. FYI - over the last 3 weeks our decibel range average is around 80dB for the music. It is a little more if you sit near the subwoofers (thus sitting in the middle front or way back is less loud). Not that loud (equal to busy street) - average rock concert is 115 dB.
So why louder than most churches?
- as mentioned before, we are trying to create more of a concert like environment (I don't expect quiet at Unity festival next week).
- as mentioned before, we lean more towards the rock genre (that's not soft rock)
- we have a lot of people with limited church experience, so participation is not as high
- many people feel more comfortable singing if the aren't going to be heard well by the people around them
- there is more energy in the room
I know we can't please everyone with the volume of music - for that I am sorry - but I hope this helps you understand our vision. Also, ear plugs are available - it's not a joke.
What?
Posted by: scmtim | 08/02/2009 at 07:47 PM