Many churches encourage their congregations to take an active role in worship, recognizing that broad participation fosters a feeling of close kinship among believers. It's a great idea with one caveat: live microphones in the hands of laypeople can prove exasperating for sound operators.
As we all know, proper mic technique requires basic understanding of pickup patterns and capsule sensitivities. Most pastors, worship leaders and praise band members learn the essentials intuitively, even if they don't know the terminology.
Laypeople are another matter. Many do not know how to hold a handheld wireless microphone, nor do they understand how to keep a proper distance and angle from a podium microphone. The result is often poor intelligibility, feedback, or a combination of both.
Fortunately, such awkward moments are preventable with education, advance preparation and simple hints.
Wireless dynamics: Slides and leader modeling
Participatory worship, meetings and discussion groups often require “pass around” wireless mics circulating in the auditorium. This is inherently problematic as the mics are in the field of the main speakers. If your system has uniform coverage and reasonably flat response, you'll have fewer problems. But if you have “hot spots” in some seating areas, poor mic technique can trigger feedback.
The best way to educate the congregation is to prepare a slide to put up on the video screens. The one shown here (photo 1) was prepared for a participatory worship series we did a couple years ago. It was shuffled into pre-worship announcements and projected again just prior to the participatory segment. Within two weeks, overall mic technique had improved dramatically.
If you don't have video in the room, or if the visuals crew finds the slide intrusive to their design concept, try to give the worship or discussion leader a wireless handheld, even if already using a headset. That way, he or she can provide an immediately visible model for proper use.
Condenser podium: One adjustment fits all
In some worship services or community gatherings, you will have speakers of varying heights using the same podium microphone and engaging in self-adjustment. That can lead to problems, particularly when a tall speaker points the mic nearly straight up and the following very short speaker (invariably a soft-spoken one) neglects to readjust and speaks directly into the gooseneck. The required gain before feedback just isn't there.
If at all possible, try to pre-adjust the mic for the optimum vertical “sweet spot” and keep it there. If you hit it just right, you should be able to accommodate speakers within a range of well over a foot. In our congregation, I'm getting acceptable results when James (6'3”) is immediately followed by Cherie (5'1”).
My standard adjustment is shown in photo 2. The microphone is a Countryman Isomax 4RF hypercardioid set at 4' 7” high and tilted about 30 degrees upward. Countryman's data sheet states “the pickup area is approximately a 90° cone extending from the tip of the microphone,” which is typical. The photo model (my daughter Hannah again) stands 5” 9” with boots on.
Obviously this puts James right at the edge of the pattern and more than 18” from the mic, but it works fine for two reasons. One, he is usually reading, so his head is tilted down toward the mic. And two, like most taller folks, he has a strong speaking voice.
Cherie, on the other hand, has the mic pointed at her forehead. But she's well inside the pickup pattern, and must hold her head straight forward in order to read from the same podium. True, having the gooseneck directly between her eyes and the congregation can be disconcerting, so I advise her to shift about a foot to the side to maintain eye contact with most seating areas. This also prevents p-popping should she tilt her head back and speak directly into the mic.
Right below the mic connector we have a small sign, neatly lettered in red:
PLEASE do not adjust!
1 ft to 2 ft from mic OK
Lavalieres: The rule of thumb (and forefinger)
In most worship applications, our lavs have been supplanted by headworn mics. Still, a couple times a year we pull out our trusty Sennheiser “Mickey Twos” in order to mic up laypeople for various events. When a sound operator is not available for placement, I advise using the “rule of thumb and forefinger.”
It's simple. When facing straight forward, place your forefinger under your chin. Then stretch out the thumb and put it against your upper chest. Put the lav there, or as close as possible directly below it. Since hand size is usually proportional to height, the lav should sit just below the collarbone notch. This avoids the low-mid muddiness you can get when it's sitting right on the throat, but it's close enough to the mouth to get good gain before feedback.
