choir and band on stage

[jwemmorris]

Currently we have both our choir and our worship band on stage. The choir is on one side and the band is on the other. Right now the stage just appears lopsided when the band is there and the choir is not. I am trying to come up with some designs on moving the choir to the center and splitting the band to either side of them. We have a pretty good size stage. I will post dimensions as soon as I can. Has anyone else done this? Just looking for some general ideas and this point and any pics you may have where it has been done.

[jksbc]

It's hard to give an answer without knowing the dimensions or layout of your stage or the size of your choir. Most churches that I've seen with choirs do it one or two ways. Traditional churches have choir "lofts" that span the width of the stage behind worship bands, leaders, song directors, etc. Contemporary churches usually have a portable choir riser. The ones I've seen are normally behind the band off to one side. This is usually done at large churches with very large stages. We don't use a choir at all because we just don't have the space. This may not work at all for you if you have a large choir that leads songs. The ones I've seen in contemporary churches are normally small and used as backup vocals.

[[Admin] osborn4]

I would think splitting the band may make it feel disjointed.

We have the choir come up and sing in front of where the band is, then go back and sit down.

[cmchamp]

As a musician, I'm with Joel. Especially if there is a quantity of acoustic sources (acoustic piano, drums, guitar amps, floor monitors) there will be a great deal of smearing of time.
Research has shown that classically trained musicians can stay together with as much as 13ms delay, but 10-11ms or less for lesser trained musicians.

[Paris MkVI]

A lot depends on your stage design. Center is not optional for us; we have banners with our mission statement center stage. (Visit wbcc.net and click the "Adults" tab on the left to see an image).

We're also split, so when the band returns at the end of service there's no choir, but no one seems to mind. Maybe the risers for them leave enough "virtual weight" to compensate.

Perhaps if your stage design allows some elements could be added behind the choir that create visual interest. When the choir members are no longer in front of the elements they would help "hold" that side of the stage.

[rePete]

Our situation is nearly identical. We have a choir of about 25 which sings both specials and for worship. The choir mics are hung across a symmetrical center point up in the loft. Currently we (the band) are off to one side of that. We're getting comments that the drums are too loud on that side, ya think?

We really don't know what to do. Before the choir reappeared the band was centered in the choir loft. Here's a pic

http://www.evangelnet.com/index.php?/services/

any advice?

Pete

[Paris MkVI]

Two possibilities - enclose the drummer or transition to a digital drum kit.

OK, another possibility is to get the drummers to switch to different sticks. I forget the name, but there is a type of drumstick that is actually a bundle of much smaller sticks. They are used to control volume levels if the drummer isn't experienced enough to back down their playing. These sticks play "softer".

This presumes you are mic'ing the drum kit. If they're just booming in a very live room (appears to be a gym?) an enclosure will help you get them under control.

[rePete]

Thanks for the comment, yes it is a gym and those sticks are sometimes called HotRods.

My struggle is this: for the cost of a good drum shield and roof, we can get very close to a good set of electronic drums. In theory, if we can get control of the volume on stage from the band, the choir will not grouse as much on the placement. We could then go to some sort of wired IEM and eliminate most of the stage sound except the acoustic piano.

Praying for funds now.

Thanks,
Pete

[Robert Ward]

"Been there, done that" in small, average, and large sanctuarys. Keep your rhythm section together. I split the brass, winds and string instruments up all the time except for major musicals when I move them into the orchestra pit. Keep your choir together. If stage volume is a problem, go with the electronic drum set. I've used every sort of drum shield around, including a custom full-range absorber reflector which cost $5000 or so. When you bring the drum volume down, everything else should become far more manageable. And when your drummers complain that they don't feel or sound like the real thing... share their pain then hold tight to the bigger picture issues.

[TheWordSpreader]

I run sound for the church i attend... small church of about 250 or so on Sunday mornings. I will say that the sound quality of acoustic drums are far better than the electric drums we currently have (Yamaha DTEXPRESS IV) but when it came to controlling the volume level in our small sanctuary electric drums were a must... after some EQing we finally got the drums sounding fairly decent... my advice take the extra time to save up and buy a high-end electric kit such as the roland td-20 (ok so this one is a little ridiculous on price but well worth it in my opinion because its about the closest thing to a real drum set although roland does sell similar drum sets for less) first thing is first do your research before buying an electric drum set and try to find a place that will let your drummer try them out first... best of luck

[bradneal]

I am a drummer and switched to the high-end Roland V-Drums a few years back. there was definitely a transition period adapting from acoustic to electronic drums, but man I just love playing them now. I can play with all the exuberance and expression that I used to be able to play in the larger venues by simply turning down the volume. I was so sick of hearing about the drums being too loud, so I said, ok let's give the Roland's a try. They are stupid expensive, but they are the best of the best. And as WordSpreader says, don't buy an inexpensive kit - your drummer will hate you for it.

If your drummer is an old-schooler purist, the first time he sits down behind an electronic kit, he'll probably say, "thanks, but not for me". Have him stick with it, he'll come around and learn to love them.

The better kits also come with individual outs, so you can eq and mix each drum. I recommend at least running the kick drum and the snare to their own channel on your mixer.

-Brad