How Loud Should Our Church Music Be?

By Jordan Richmond

If you have any semblance of modern, band-driven worship, I guarantee you’ve had complaints about volume. I had a guy who would stick toilet paper in his ears every week and obnoxiously pace the foyer during the music set.

Conventional wisdom tells us that more volume equals more energy. After all people don’t want to hear themselves sing right?

So what’s the perfect volume? In this case, Disney has the answer. Disney seems to have a knack for managing expectations and providing the best user experience on the planet. They can teach us a thing or two about worship. So during my last visit to Disney World I decided to conduct an experiment. Every show I attended I would take out my iPhone and fire up the RTA Lite app. This handy (and free) little tool let’s me measure the decibel level at certain frequencies. I can see the level of the bass, mids, and trebles. The results shocked me.

  • Decibel Level – At every show and concert, the average level was about 75 db. That’s pretty soft—about the same as a dial tone with the phone up to your ear. Occasionally it might pop up to 85 db (city traffic), but not much more (hearing damage occurs at 90-95 db with sustained exposure). It was amazing how an explosion or kick drum had incredible intensity when everything else was at a pleasant level.
  • Frequencies – The frequency spectrum was linear (as opposed to flat or the typical “smiley face” with enhanced lows and highs, and reduced mids). Bass was the loudest, and it would evenly taper off as it headed toward the higher frequencies. So the sound I heard was ultimately smooth. It had impact when it needed to, and was never shrill or brassy.
  • Other Factors – Admittedly the shows I attended were family friendly—inviting young and old. EPCOT did have more concert/dance adult-oriented venues later in the evening. These were significantly louder (too loud for my taste). Also, every Disney venue featured Meyer arrays and trained sound men, so the end product was excellent.

So what did I learn from Disney?

I observed everyone, babies to grandmas, enjoying their experience. They participated. I also realized that sound is something we cannot escape. We cannot turn off our ears. We can look at something else if a light is too bright, but we cannot divert our hearing.

I attended a church service that weekend and felt almost assaulted by the sound (around 90-95 db). Admittedly I’ve subjected my church to that numerous times and wondered why they didn’t participate as actively. By all means pump the volume for youth groups. But for the large corporate service featuring all age groups (or children’s worship), it might be a good idea to bring the volume down.

More volume does not necessarily equal more energy. It insults your listeners, and robs you of the head room you need to emphasize dynamics and impacts when you need to. Turn it down. Smooth it out.

How loud is your church? Would you respond differently if the volume were different?


Jordan Richmond is a worship pastor at Idlewild in Tampa, FL. He has also served other local churches in Florida, Kentucky, and the Cayman Islands.

Posted on April 17, 2013


With nearly 40 years of ministry experience, Thom Rainer has spent a lifetime committed to the growth and health of local churches across North America.
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346 Comments

  • I have been running sound at our church for about a year. I am primarily a musician and don’t have formal sound training, but have an ear for all things related to music and have done A LOT of personal study and experimentation with running sound. There are lots of interesting comments in this blog. Anyway, I wanted to give some comments from the perspective of a sound tech:

    1. I think some people get the idea that the only thing a sound tech has in the control room is one volume dial. That couldn’t be further from reality. Our mixing board has over 900 controls and that’s just one aspect of the signal chain. Point being: running sound with a multi-member live band isn’t as simple as adjusting the volume on a radio.

    2. Most churches have volunteer musicians and sound techs. It is that way at our church. I really try to keep in constant communication with band members, but we have quite a rotation of players with new ones joining on a regular basis. All it takes is one musician who runs their amp too loud and their volume on stage overpowers what is coming out of the P.A. speakers. That is OUT OF the sound technician’s control. Ideally, something like that gets addressed in rehearsals, but…. with live music, things happen especially when volunteers are involved. The point: it isn’t a perfect world and imperfect things will happen. Some volume issues are beyond the control of the sound technician. Also, sound techs have good and bad days just like everybody else. Sometimes mixes are better than others. Expecting perfect sound all the time at a level that suits exactly what you want to hear is not being realistic.

    3. In the Disney example, was that pre-recorded music or a live band? I ask because 75dbA is NOT reasonable at all for a full live band. We have brought stage volume down at our church, but it is still around 80dbA to 85dbA. Being a musician, I can say that going much lower than that sucks the life out of playing on stage. Yes, silent stages and in-ear-monitors are an option, but that can be an expense and complication some churches aren’t able to deal with. Not all volunteers have equipment designed to work in that sort of setup. The point: if a person wants music to be in the 75dbA range, they ARE NOT being realistic with regards to a live band and would probably be best served going to a church that plays pre-recorded music.

    4. I have read the same comments over and over from Shere-Ling and TyLa. I am sympathetic to the health problems you or family members have with relation to hearing. But I have a question: if a church has 300 people and ONE or TWO people have hearing-related health problems, should the ENTIRE music service be adjusted to appease one or two people at the expense of the other 298 people? I am sorry, but even with respect to your health condition, it just seems selfish to expect that. Why not lovingly respect the worship team and congregation members and make adjustments YOURSELF (like wearing ear protection, sitting in different areas, etc.). Or maybe even find a church that better fits your desires. There is certainly no shortage or churches and formats. Take away: health problems and sound level issues at church are largely TWO SEPARATE issues. Trying to intertwine the two is just going to lead to problems and frustration for people on both sides of the discussion.

    5. We shoot for peaks in the 89 to 92dbA range with levels as low as 80dbA depending on the dynamics of a particular song. This works well in our church. The music portion of our service is typically 20 to 25 minutes, so there is absolutely no chance of hearing damage. Further, we need those levels to surpass the stage volume of the band (see point #2).

    6. As mentioned, we have mostly all volunteers. But they spend A LOT of time prepping, practicing, playing, etc. This is their service to the Lord. It can be very defeating to put in all the effort and have very anointed services only to have people complain about ONE thing (volume)…even if it’s only one or two people. Please be respective and appreciative of the efforts of those in your church.

    7. If you have so much knowledge and interest in volume levels at your church, why not step up and become part of the sound tech team? Instead of just groaning about the “problem” become a fully involved part of fixing the problem. I challenge you to get good mixes and not run off musicians with 75dbA…or even 80dbA levels.

    • Stuart Allsop says on

      This is probably the best response of all, in the entire stream of comments! Parker clearly understands church sound, and has educated himself far beyond what most Church sound techs ever do. He fully grasps the concepts, and knows how to deal with them, and he understands how to use a sound level meter properly, as well as how to interpret what it is telling him, and what to do about it. And he’s only been doing this for one year! That’s pretty amazing in itself, since he’s way ahead of some people that I have come across who have been sound techs for many, many years.

      “All it takes is one musician who runs their amp too loud and their volume on stage overpowers what is coming out of the P.A. speakers. That is OUT OF the sound technician’s control.” So very true! Been there, done that… way too many times. But you CAN get control of that too… 🙂

      Parker, the only thing I’d suggest that might help you get even better control of the stage sound levels, is to route all stage instruments through your console FIRST, then back to the amps, monitors, speakers, and whatever else. Use as many aux sends as you have on your board, and route everything through them so you have full control of the stage levels as well as the house levels. Yes, the musicians will kick and scream and throw tantrums when you do that, but it really is the only way to make it work. Very few churches think to do that, but when done well, with full understanding by the musicians, it is the best possible situation. If you present it to them well, you CAN gain their cooperation, especially since you are a musician yourself. I have managed to do this in several churches, and even though the musicians aren’t keen at first, once they see the results they usually go with it, and like it.

      When I teach seminars at churches, this is one of the key points: get the musicians to understand that the stage is not the final aim of the praise and worship service: the stage is just a work environment, and as such only needs to be functional, not necessarily comfortable. The final aim of the service, is to serve! That’s what the name implies. Both the sound team and the praise and worship team are there to serve the congregation, nothing more, nothing less. And “serving” in the Biblical sense…. If that means that the stage levels have to be increased or decreased at some points in the service, to better serve, then so be it. Since the musicians are NOT in the congregation, and therefore cannot know what it sounds like among God’s people, then they must learn to rely on the judgement of the sound tech, who IS part of the same team, and working towards the same purpose: If the church is set up correctly, the sound tech is IN the congregation, part of it, so he hears exactly what it sounds like, and can make all the adjustments necessary.

      You’ll likely meet major resistance from some musicians when trying to do this, especially from those musicians who think far more highly of themselves than anybody else does (!), but musicians who truly understand their calling in the church, and the purpose of what they do, will likely be far better inclined to give it a try, and learn how to help you make it work, for the good of the congregation. Those who love the congregation more than they love themselves will be willing, for sure.

      If you can pull this off, then your church will be far better for it, as you’ll be able to keep ALL levels under control, including the stage spill, not just the FOH system.

      One key point to ask the praise and worship leader: “Can you yourself actually hear the congregation singing while you lead?” If you get that blank stare, or the blinking “deer in the headlights” look, then you know you have struck the right nerve. Follow that up with: “How can you lead someone if you don’t even know if they are following you? How can you lead praise and worship if you can’t hear anyone praising or worshiping?”. That is the entire point. They need to hear the congregation just as much as the congregation needs to hear them. If you can get to do one service such that the musicians get to hear the congregation singing, then you have won half of the battle. They won’t want to go back after that. And since musicians in most churches never have heard the congregation, due to the high sound levels on stage, it will be a brand new experience for them.

      I pray that you will be able to do this successfully, as well as anyone else who happens to find this article, as it makes an unbelievable difference to the service.

      Stuart

  • Remember the phone app may not be the most accurate way to tell decibels. I’d bet they were running louder than you think.

  • This is an issue that has made my heart sad. I found a church where the messages were wonderful and was excited about attending there with my family so that we could receive spiritual nourishment. I had listened to the messages on-line. When we actually attended the services we found that it was an effort in futility to try to worship, as we could hear nothing coming out of our own mouths, and couldn’t hear the congregation at all. My 14 year old daughter said she kept trying to worship but couldn’t. A neighbor who visited also said she was not able to enter into worship. I brought my husband who said he would not attend a church where he is blasted out of his seat. So, sadly, we are no longer attending that church. We’ll instead listen to the sermons on-line. Even though I love contemporary worship songs, minus the blasting volume, we are now attending a traditional church with hymns, not my first preference, but it is an overall more worshipful and corporate experience. I just really do not get this mentality of louder is better. It’s not necessarily an issue of young vs. old, as I said my teenaged daughter couldn’t worship, either. Something is seriously wrong here, folks.

    • I know this is an old thread, but I read through this and couldn’t believe the distain that came across. There is obviously a major issue being stirred here. I can say that a contemporary church wants people to feel the music. Modern worship emphasizes the entire multi sensory experience. Try playing a song for someone in the car. At a certain level, you feel energy from the sound waves. When you experience pain, you aren’t experience a pain from general volume. There are frequencies that are hurting your ears should have been EQ’ed by the sound guy.

      The deeper issue lies in the petty consumerism. If you are there to worship, and it’s too cold for you in the sanctuary, you can put on warmer clothes. They will lean to the colder side, because you can only take off so many clothes. Everyone experience warmth and cold on different levels. But churches will lean towards the cold.

      In a modern church atmosphere, we lean too the loud side…not to be loud and annoying, but to bring energy. We want people to want to clap and tap there toes…we want to inspire dancing. So we lean to the loud side. Because you can’t inject energy if it’s too quiet, but you can wear ear plugs.

      And what is the deal with having to wear earplugs? When I go to the shooting range I don’t go to counter and ask for everyone to put silencer’s on their weapons. I wear ear plugs. They don’t make me. But if I don’t, I suffer the consequences.

      If you can’t edify other believers, if you physically cannot worship God because it’s too painful, then use ear plugs or go to a different part of the room.

      If you’re preference is to hear yourself better when you sing and when you don’t get what you want in regards to that preference you can’t worship God, you are worshipping for the wrong reasons. If my daughter told me ” Daddy, the lights are too bright…I can’t worship Jesus.” That clues me in to re align her thinking about why we worship Jesus.

      If you’re playing the preference game, you’re leaning into the consumeristic nature our churches have created, and you better be comfortable with church shopping. Because next it won’t be loud music. It will be the bathrooms. Or the old or new facilities. Or the way the church spends money. Or the way they ask you for money. Or the way the parking attendant looked at you. Or the joke the pastor told.

      Consider why a church would possibly want to create an environment, using aggressive audio mixes as one of the tools. Don’t just write it off and discourage an entire movement of people under 40.

  • May God have mercy on a “church” that learns worship from Disney and loves entertainment over self-denial. I sure hope the Gospel Coalition reposted this critical revival-centered piece.

    • Stuart Allsop says on

      “May God have mercy on a “church” that learns worship from Disney and loves entertainment over self-denial. I sure hope the Gospel Coalition reposted this critical revival-centered piece.” It seems that somebody didn’t understand the article too well! Perhaps it would be good if you were to go back and read it again, since it does not, at any point, suggest that churches should “learn worship from Disney”, which is what you apparently think it says! In fact, it suggests that churches could do well to learn how to control their SOUND LEVELS better, like Disney does. How, exactly, that could be misconstrued to mean that Disney should teach them praise and worship, is pretty hard to understand.

      There is nothing at all wrong with taking cues from entertainment companies on how to run sound systems: Nothing! They know how to do that correctly, while churches do not. What is wrong with learning a technical skill, or copying a method, layout, arrangement or calibration system from a non-Christian organization? If you truly believe that churches should reject all non-Christian advice, skills and know-how, then you should probably burn your Bibles, since the were most likely printed on presses made by non-Christian manufacturers, using paper and ink made by non-Christian companies, edited on computers made by non-Christian corporations, and all done using skills originally learned from non-Christians. You should also insist that all the musical instruments and equipment in your church be thrown out the window, since it is very likely not designed or made by Christian factories, and the chairs, carpet, paint and even the building itself should go, since it is highly probable that most (if not all) of that was manufactured and built by non-Christian organizations, every bit as badly tainted as Disney seems to be in your opinion.

      And that would probably be fine for you, since “self-denial” seems to be far more important to you than providing an uplifting spiritual environment of praise and worship in your church. If you followed that conviction to its logical conclusion, the only possible place you would allow your church to worship, would be standing out in the rain, in the middle of an empty field, with not even the faintest trace in sight of anything made by a company that might (Gasp!) not be entirely Christian.

      “I sure hope the Gospel Coalition reposted this critical revival-centered piece”. So do I, since it is a well-written, sound, factual, truthful article that provides useful information that churches can use to help set up their sound systems: I don’t agree with the SPL levels that are suggested, since the method used by the author to measure them is flawed, but I certainly do agree with the spirit of the article, and the suggestion for using (Oh how terrible!) “worldly” sources to learn skills and techniques that can benefit churches. So even though your comment was clearly intended to cynical, even sarcastic, I’ll agree with is in the exact opposite sense, and I’d encourage ANY church organization to re-post it, or post links to this very article, so that the many, many churches that don’t have a clue how to run sound, can learn from people who DO know how to run sound, including even (Horror!) Disney.

      May God have mercy on those who aren’t willing to learn extremely important church skills from others.

      Stuart

  • Shere Kraus-Yao says on

    One lady in my church brought up her concern to me when we couldn’t hear each other at the greeting time while the band was playing two years ago. I wrote emails to church’s Director of Worship Art Community for her and for people who are affected but might not express their concerns. This lady eventually asked me to “let it go” and hinded that I just wanted to win the case by citing scientific data. She also wrote that be cause of my persistence, church leaders would not listen to me any more. She was totally missed the point. It hurted me when she claimed that she was my friend and yet tried to “play safe” without first including me in her reply. Her solution was to just go to a different service while I cared for all congregation even if they didn’t know their ears might be injured in the future.

    Just yesterday I forwarded this blog to her and she asked me to stop talking to her about this very issue and warmed me to not forward her writings to others
    without per permission. It saddened me to receive her very passive reply again.

    • Injured Aspie says on

      If we complain we are labeled troublemakers. I have been told “No one else has complained” when I know that is NOT true. The sound guys know that they have been getting complaints and their reply has been, “The Pastor and Music leader want it that way”. I can tell when the house speakers are basically turned off because the monitors are so “hot” on the stage the congregation can hear everything from them, too loudly too. But I am a troublemaker because I say anything. I did not demand anything. I presented that it hurts, there is damage being done to the flock. It fell on deaf ears. Some of the sound guys tried, thats how we ended up listening just to the monitors.
      I have left 6 churches in the first 5 minutes because when they start up, ouch! too loud. I simply walk back to the sound board and ask politely what db rate they are running. I get strange looks. Its always above 90db. I ask if they always run the sound at that level, when they say yes, we leave. No use getting in yet another battle over sound. If a church is handing out ear plugs they need to get a clue. But they don’t. I dare churches that are having complaints to drop to one mic and one un-amplified flat top guitar and a real piano and see what happens in that worship service. It will amaze you. The people join in. They are no longer being hurt. Does that mean it has to be that way forever? No. Just try it. Try running the sound at 80db. See the difference.
      I am an aspie, (thats aspergers syndrome) and sounds over 80db hurt physically. Autistic kids also have pain with loud music. People with epilepsy also have issues with sound being painful. I want to attend church. I want to join in. I cannot when your sound system is hurting me. We are not to injure the sheep. Should there be churches for the loud folks? Sure. Then when they have hearing damage they can join the rest of us that like it softer.
      I am tired of looking for a church that does not hurt its people. I even considered going to a Church of Christ where there is no music, but I am drawn to the Assembly of God’s and Church of God’s type of churches. I had a church director tell me, “we had been wondering why everyone is not participating like they used to”. I said its the volume. Quit hurting me, please! All I got was a blank stare. They do not get that it hurts. I hate it when I get in my car after church and I can hear my ears ringing. I have cried all the way home. Not wanting to go try again but wanting to part of a church. The arrogance of its just you being difficult, is horrid. It not just me. Sound is destroying our churches. The opposite of what He wanted. Love does NOT hurt. or at least its not supposed to……

      • Stuart Allsop says on

        “The sound guys know that they have been getting complaints and their reply has been, “The Pastor and Music leader want it that way”. I can tell when the house speakers are basically turned off because the monitors are so “hot” on the stage the congregation can hear everything from them, too loudly too.” That’s sad, actually: Sad that the sound guys are getting blamed for something over which they have no control. As you mentioned, when the main FOH speakers are turned off (which is the only thing the sound guys have control of) the level FROM THE STAGE is too high. Unfortunately, the sound guys back at the console do not have control of stage levels, in the majority of churches. Those levels are frequently (and incorrectly) under the control of the musicians. So when the sound guys told you that the musicians want it that way, they are also telling you that there is not a thing they can do about it, as they do not have control over those levels. All they can do for you, they already did: they turned of the FOH speakers. So they are not to blame. The musicians are to blame, and especially the praise & worship leader. And they are to blame for two things: One is the loud levels, and the other is for not getting proper training! If they were properly trained as a team, they would understand the need to keep the levels low on the stage so that the sound in the SANCTUARY can be good. The musicians on stage do NOT need rock concert levels to do their job: They do need good levels, yes, since they MUST be able to hear themselves in order to play properly. But those levels need to be under control, the monitors need to be correctly placed. correctly oriented, and correctly mixed.

        Unfortunately, there’s this “more of me” syndrome among musicians, who think that they alone have the right to be heard above everyone else. Once they are properly trained to understand the real purpose of a praise & worship musician, that can be fixed. Provided that there aren’t also issues of pride, stubbornness, and attitude… Once they get past the common incorrect belief that their job is to “play good music”, and start to understand what there REAL job is, then the stage levels can absolutely be controlled, which means that the sound guys can then do their job properly too.

        I never can figure out why churches spend large amounts of money on getting their pastors, preachers, and teachers well trained, but no money at all on getting their musicians and sound guys trained…

  • I am so glad that I am not alone when it comes to the loud worship music in todays church. It saddens me to think that people are leaving churches because of this technical devision. I have very sensitive hearing and really loud environments will leave me with a ring in my ears that will last quite a while. I also have a medical condition that makes it uncomfortable to feel the base boom in my chest. But, I am just one of a few that cannot tolerate loud music right? There are many that really enjoy it, but I believe that it should not be so loud at every service.
    Todays technical advances have allowed churches to reach the world and to create performances to attract the unchurched, but we need to sometimes step away from the technology and get back to the basics. We need to ask ourselves, can we worship without the sensationalism and the emotionalism that loud and overproduced worship creates. Yes. God says to be still and know that I am God for a reason. New christians need to be taught how to hear God and not get hooked on the emotional high that comes with loud music, bright lights and production. We need to teach them how to worship in a corporate setting and how to worship God alone. I believe that it can become a crutch for some. I had a friend say that he realized that he was getting a high from it because he found himself depressed when he came down from it. He was having a mountain experience without the support of accountability and discipleship.
    Besides, I really miss hearing the people around me sing and I have heard that particular statement from many.

    • Dawn- I have a feeling that there are many, many worshipers who are also troubled even offended by the performance like atmosphere that seems to have taken over most “evangelical” churches. I have heard people sneeringly refer to “puritan” songs when referencing ancient hymns. It breaks my heart that the place that should provide a refuge from the cacophony of the world has become rather like it in another way. I pray that this is a fad, and that soon, there will be a wave of “rediscovering” how we need dignity to truly worship God and that is not a product of guitar riffs and drum solos.

  • Yes, too bad for those lame, old people who gripe about the noise. I am not surprised as much as I am disgusted by the” cool” people here who have decided that the “energy” they have to have is more important than the people around them. Worship is about God. It is not about you rockin’ out and having an awesome experience. I have a daughter, a young woman who suffers from epilepsy. She is a very serious believer but you know what? She cannot go to church anymore because you all have to be pumped and love pounding bass and screaming guitars. Grow up. Calm down. Be Still and know that HE is God.

  • Saw a bumper sticker that said: YOU CALL IT WORSHIP, I CALL IT CONCERT. GOD
    The American church is like a concert hall with stage props, smoke, and strobe lights… Don’t get upset if this is a mirror of your church. If you were to remove the entertainment element of your body, and if that’s all your congregation came for, would you still have a church?

  • Shamir Roshan says on

    There is a verse in The Scriptures wherein God speaks of “the noise-some pestilence.NSP” – that is what this overly loud, literally bone shaking and mind numbing
    sound or volume that has infiltrated and invested the congregations of The Church is.

    I do not know what the decibel or such is but, it does quite literally rattle every bone in my body and numb my mind so that after just a few moments I get dizzy, nauseated and disoriented, and at times in some places feel like I am having heart seizure.

    This level of sound is purely demonic in its origin. This common and rampant practice in our congregations is just inconsiderate and totally Biblical. My husband and I have been to almost fifty different congregations (across the denominational board) trying to find a group of fellow believers who do not yield to NSP (we live near Houston, TX) and so far have found none. The style of music is not the problem (albeit I do not care for Rap, Hip-Hop or Rock) this kind of stuff happens even when the more older type songs and hymns are used.

    We have voiced our concerns and objections to the noise at these congregations and are met with foolish responses such as: “This is the first complaint I ever heart” YES! Your congregation is going deaf. “Well, we had an expert in here and he said 95db was fine” well yes that would be good if one is outside in the open air but, this is a closed and sealed building. “Our ministry is to reach the young people and the lost” O brother, you do not care that the youth are losing there hearing and the lost will not be able to hear much less listen to what words are being said. Give me a break!!! It is one thing to be outdoors – a place where you’d expect

    These well meaning and sincere brethren are not thinking rationally nor are they being considerate of other believers.
    God tells us that if we share His Love between one another first He will be lifted up and people will be drawn to Him. He also tells us that He is not deaf, but can hear even those sounds we do not or cannot even utter.

    I cannot understand why so many Christians are so bent and stubborn about their belief that this loud inside sound is necessary – it is heart breaking.

    My husband and I are starving for Christian fellowship and yet we are driven out of our Paps House because of hard-hearted inconsiderate Christians. The Church is to be a house of prayer for all peoples, a place where all Christians can fellowship and share The Lord with one another, where the praises of God’s people can raise our voices and create a throne for God to sit amongst us and enjoy His little darlings, and a place where if there are any ignorant Christians or unbelievers they will be able to experience and taste and see just how Good, how Great and Wonderful The Lord, our Lord God The Messiah Is and either gain wisdom or become a redeemed one.

  • I am not that old, and have had to leave two churches because of the volume. If you can feel it thumping through your chest or smashing (physically) around the crown of your head, then it’s too loud.

    To all those that need it loud: please remember, you are excluding some of us from corporate worship. I like the modern styles. I dislike hymns and church organs, but that is where the modern church has pushed me. Anything to be able to worship in song with others.

  • The parish I belong to is in a very old victorian era church. The church has a smaller pipe organ that is original to the church and hasn’t functioned in several years. An upright piano has been the source of musical accompaniment for the choir. Last year a new younger pastor thought of bringing in a more youth oriented praise band. The problem being is that this is not a very big church, and the praise band had enough audio gear to be heard miles away. The band consisted of a bass player, two drummers, three guitarists and backup singers. The band members were as young as 15 years old to as old as 48 years old. The bassist was the oldest member of the group and also the loudest. Their speakers were huge. One was over six feet high for the bassist and had several huge speaker cones inside the cabinet. The first day they played the bass guitar was so loud that two of the original stained glass windows above the altar cracked form the vibrations! Even the ring on my finger was vibrating and buzzing on the wooden pew form the bass! Children were crying and some of the old folks were holding their ears. Also, the plaster ceilings developed cracks from the loud bass. I could see the old hanging ceiling lights getting jostled around from whenever the bass player plucked a string on his guitar. The congregation was not happy and the pastor dismissed the praise band for future worships. The damage to the church was repaired and now the old upright piano is gone in favor of a portable digital keyboard that won’t rattle windows my ring finger or my sanity!

    • Ron Bartels says on

      When glass can be shattered by sound waves, (watch video) what can happen to the human ear drum, which becomes much more fragile as we age. The human ear drum, even in an infant, is more fragile than a wine glass. It takes years of hearing damage to scar a human ear drum to withstand the sound generated by rock bands. http://youtu.be/17tqXgvCN0E It is rude for pastors with scarred ear drum to expect middle aged and elderly with un-scarred ear drums to keep attending churches where pastors are so inconsiderate. While sound is measured in many ways, the critical consideration are decibels of sound (penetration of sound) and hertz (pressure of sound). If a person purposely wanted to scar their own ear drums to withstand more decibels and hertz of generated sound, then ear buds are the way to go. However, the scarring is permanent.

    • Ken Burneau says on

      Chuck I agree to a point that move volumes equals more energy. There is a point where we need to be responsible with the volume so as not to cause injury to people. If it causes pain, discomfort and injury, then it is not of God and it is not what God wants. Again it is a matter of responsibility of the sound people to be educated, know the size of the room they are playing in and understand how sound travels and bounces off objects. I have lost 30% of my hearing due to my trade in the military, I am also a safety rep for my unit. We now push for hearing protection

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