How Loud is Too Loud
The musical accompaniment to our congregational worship can often be too loud. This can be true in contemporary and traditional settings. I have heard praise bands who seem to think a louder volume is more spiritual and I have heard organs and orchestras who can compete on the same volume level. How does one determine the proper volume level of accompaniment for congregational singing? My basic belief is that if the accompaniment is so loud that the singer in the congregation can not hear himself sing or those around him sing - then the accompaniment is too loud. I recently read a book by Rick Muchow, worship pastor at Saddleback Community Church, that had a chapter titled: “How loud is too loud.” I thought he made a number of excellent points on this topic.
1. The music is too loud when the volume distracts from worship. Muchow relates about a service where the congregational singing was wonderful until the organist got to the last verse. At this verse the organist did a showy demonstration and greatly increased the volume of the organ. Muchow said everyone began to take notice of the organist and the attention was no longer on the text of the song. He says “the volume of the music is just right when it is not noticed. Our bodies should feel the music, not notice the volume.”
2. The music is too loud when it is no longer musical. Muchow says that “high volume is not a synonym for excellence. Beginning musicians often try to use loud volume to make up for a lack of accuracy and practice - as if the louder they play, the better their musicianship will sound.” Muchow also shares about the plight of other musicians on stage when one instrument is too loud - they also turn up their volume to hear themselves. Muchow suggests that musicians should seek to have varying dynamics in their music. “When the music is only one volume, whether too loud or soft, it becomes less musical and has less impact. Using dynamics is a great way to improve communication.”
3. The music is too loud when it causes hearing loss. Muchow states that “repeated exposure to loud noise can cause permanent damage and hearing loss. If people need to shout to be heard above the music, then the volume is too loud.” Muchow uses a decibel meter at his sound board to monitor the level of the volume in rehearsals and services. He believes the volume limit should be at 96 decibels (similar to a hand drill or spray painter or bulldozer). A typical conversation is at 60 decibels while rock concerts are normally at 130-140 decibels. Muchow says that “it would take continuous exposure to sounds at 100 decibels - such as a very loud worship band and an energetic teacher with a microphone - for about one to two hours, the average length of a church service, to cause permanent hearing loss. Church musicians are at more risk than the rest of the congregation because they are closer to the sound and are exposed to the volume longer. (p. 170-173)
I think Muchow makes some great points about sound levels for worship music. I am quite aware of this since I work with a worship band a couple times a week and participate in worship services. I want to protect my musicians’ ears and encourage my congregation to sing. Loud music volumes can cause a congregation to quit singing and just listen. At this point the worship service turns into a performance.
The Rick Muchow’s The Worship Answer Book, (Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006, ISBN 4041-0355-4) is a quick read for any worship leader wanting to refresh his knowledge of the philosophy and practice of biblical worship.
As one who suffers from a condition know as Hyper Accuses I am very sensitive to music that is to loud and did not understand what was happening until this was diagnosed. Music that is to loud can result in a severe migraine. I suspect that many people who complain about loud music have this problem but have never had it diagnosed. Sometimes the problem is not with the volume of the music but with the hearing of the person complaining. This, however is a problem that should be taken seriously because it can result in sever migraines, dizziness and hearing loss.
I find some of your points valid, but I have observed the opposite effect when turning up the volume for our band; when we turn the volume up more loudly, people actually begin to sing. It’s almost as if they are too insecure to sing when they can be heard, but when the volume is louder, they feel less insecure about the sound of their voices.
These are some great points. Loudness does not = excellence!! I love that. A well mixed band or group of singers that practices and is talented does! Haha. As a musician I have the ability to fix the latter and unfortunately most churches stop there. Most churches don’t take the time/energy to get a well trained Sound Tech that can mix properly. It’s amazing how LOUD or quiet you can run a well mixed band. When people complain that it’s “too loud” that’s not what they’re complaining about, they’re complaining about a misplaced frequency that’s annoying.
2 things however that I’ve noticed though:
1 - Fortunately, congregants at a church are the last ones that are at risk of suffering hearing loss. Most churches don’t run it loud enough or LONG enough.
2 - Like Jeremy, we find that people don’t want to hear themselves sing. They don’t want to be blasted out either but even myself, as a singer, when I’m at a church visiting and its so quiet I can hear myself over the band and vocalists singing out, it’s distracting. I don’t like it.
There’s a delicate balance b/w too loud and too quiet that the church dances around every Sunday.
I agree with the fact that a good sound tech is so important, even the best worship band possible is not good enough with out a good sound tech. Its a team effort, singers sound tech and band members got to work together.
We recently joined a church who has had a praise rock band for the last 4 years. The 2nd service is always praise band time. The band leader is tone deaf, the drums and bass are way to loud, and makes our child cry sometimes… We have the feeling that the band leader monopolizes the service, if you don’t like it -tough. We are so disappointed that we think about switching to another church, which means 60mins on the road more every Sunday. In my opinion, unless you are in a megachurch, there is absolutely no need for amplification, and drums. Drummers just cant play soft enough.
I’m now searching for another decibal level. At what point does the guy in the auditorium no longer hear the people around him singing…and at what point does he no longer hear himself singing?
Is worship about dbs? Or is it about community? I’ve come to realize that if I don’t hear those around me, I feel alone at church. And if I can’t hear myself singing, I subconsiously stop singing. So at some DB level, worship is not facilitated, but halted.
SO my practical question, what DB levels are the two I just mentioned? How do we move from one zone to the other to facilitate or defacilitate worship?
In my experience, certain level of volume is required for the congregations:
1. As a support for their singing, to sync.
2. As mentioned above, congregations don’t want others hear what and how they sing.
3. A higher level of the organ(not too high) could encourage the congregations to sing.
4. It always someone complains you too loud, but, at the same time, equal amount of complains of too silent or they can’t hear the music.
Therefore, it is impossible to make everyone happy. So, my principle is, at least, make myself happy with what I am playing.
Psalm 150… Hit it hard!
Psalm 150 was written before amplifiers were invented, and David said “loud” not “painful”.
We shouldn’t be seeking to please ourselves, but to please God. We often say “our body is a temple of the Holy Spirit” when telling someone they shouldn’t smoke. That applies to taking care of our hearing as well.
It is ironic that we blast the ears of the congregation, choir and musicians just before expecting them to listen to a sermon. We induce temporary and even permanent hearing loss just before giving them the word of God. I’m not sure God finds that helpful!
I have a daughter that will have headaches that last for three to six weeks after we have been in a loud service. It’s not worth it.
There are at least four churches that we considered membership in that were eliminated because the volume in the services or in the youth ministry was too high. We had to change denominations to find a service that wasn’t too loud. Over the years My daughter has often had to leave services during “worship”. When the music is that loud, even I find it distracting, though it doesn’t cause headaches.
Before disregarding that as an isolated concern, it would be good to read Ezekiel 34. How we deal with the weak is of great concern to God, and we need to seek his guidance in this issue.
Interesting points posted. Some I agree with, others not so sure. As a worship leader I have found over the years that people do like to hear those sing around them, but not louder than the team leading the worship. It is hard for the worship leader to lead when someone in the congregation is louder and leading from where they are. This is hard going for the worship leader. I agree that the sound technian is worth his/her weight in gold. They can adjust and mix levels and frequencies so they are not painful which may be mistaken for being too loud. I am not a fan of extremely loud worship services. However, I believe that the level should be loud enough to cover noises that could distract worshippers from engaging with God. These noises might be kids having tantrums, bored people talking etc. I think it is our place as worship leaders to do everything humanly possible to help facilitate worship.
Hey! drums are good - do not be afraid. They are spoken of in the psalms as instruments of worship. A good drummer will know how to play softly or loudly and when to. Drums can really bring a praise song to life and facilitate joy where the particular song may otherwise sound like a dirge. Whenever we are missing a drummer on a service you really notice it and you have to choose songs that will work and hold together without drums.
I apologise to all the people on behalf of overly loud worship services. How awful for you that you had to leave and got a headache.
Worship Band dB levels is a very important topic and I agree w/many of the posts. With over 20yrs of leading worship bands and worship leadership and administration and running sound having been trained by pros (but am still not a pro audio guy) here’s some advice.
The key to great appealing sound is to first have a well trained or pro audio engineer and a good sound system. The sound tech needs an artistic ear and needs to have the respect of the worship band in offering advice on the acoustical dynamics of the room used for worship and make recommendations. Sometimes a drummer needs to play in an enclosure if the room has cynder block walls or use acoustical panels around the drums to help absorb dBs allowing the drummer to still play w/expression. If an electric guitar is leading worship it is sometimes best to have such plug directly into the house system from their pedal board as stage amps can cause dB competition amongst other players on stage. IN EAR monitors help rid stage volume problems; yet not all musicians like IN EARS as they feel they loose stage presence/artistry.
A huge benefit to any worship band is the ability for musicians and sound engineers to all be on the same worship page and work together to achieve the most appealing sound to benefit the community gathered to worship. This effort takes intentional communication weekly between both the sound tech and worship band. Positive relationships between both is essential as well as prayer. I always tell my Worship Arts Ministry (WAM) musicians to leave their egos at the door. Such allows all to work together for the common goal of leading worship w/appealing dB levels.
“How loud is too loud, but how quiet is too quiet?”
Psalm 150 NLT
1 Praise the LORD!
Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heaven!
2 Praise him for his mighty works;
praise his unequaled greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flutes!
5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD!
Praise the LORD!
Although the topic of volume in church music has been a hotly contested conflict in the church since I can remember, it honestly wasn’t even on my radar until I left the secular music scene and began to use my gifts as God intended, for His glory and for the expanding of His kingdom. Many people have written on the subject, and many of them have great perspectives. So why would I write something else? Because I want to remind those of us that have taken the step to serve in this way what our duties are. When we present songs of praise and worship to God’s people and those seeking Jesus, we need to create an environment where there’s a connection to God, where people feel comfortable praising God. After all, worship isn’t about us, it’s about him. If we do something hindering that connection, we are failing at our duty. Music can be both, an amazing compliment or a lasting detriment to that cause. He created something in us as humans that responds uniquely to music like nothing else can, and we are to be good stewards when handling that “something.”
Rick Muchow wrote that music is too loud when it distracts from worship, when it is no longer musical, and when it causes hearing loss. Each one of these points is completely accurate and in line with God’s plan. Nowhere are we commanded to distract from worship, not be musical or cause physical damage to those seeking Him. That does a great job discussing “what is too loud” and while I may disagree with him on actual SPL levels, as I have visited Saddleback (and was totally and utterly blessed by Rick and his team to experience their praise and worship), this is where I would like to discuss the alternative perspective of “What is too quiet?”
In order to do that, I would like to reference Rick’s points; Distracting from worship, no longer being musical and causing hearing loss. The second and third point do not come into play as the musical part of music is largely discernible even at low volumes and a lack of sound pressure doesn’t have an adverse affect on the physical condition of the human ear (unless I’m ignorant of some new findings). So let’s discuss, what’s too quiet?
One of my favorite chapters in the Bible tells us how we are to praise God. That chapter is Psalm 150. I began this discussion with it because it tells us so much about how we are to praise God. Paraphrased it says, “Praise God wherever you are in this world, that God has made, praise Him for His works and who He is. Praise Him with every instrument and with dancing. Clash the cymbals loudly and let everything that is alive sing praises to God!”
Psalm 150:5 tells us to praise Him loudly. It says nothing of praise Him loudly, as long as nobody is offended. Praising Him loudly in church, I have found, can offend people. These are often reasonable people that just aren’t used to praising as we are taught. It is possible to offend faithful followers of Christ through playing music as God has instructed us. This is where the core issue of volume comes up in churches today. The problem persists however because the conflict is not being addressed according to God’s word. It’s a matter of communication and a matter of convenience. I’ll get to that point in a moment but first let’s look at how Jesus taught us how we are to address conflict between believers in Matthew 18:15-17.
Matthew18:15-17 NLT
15 “If another believer sins against you, go privately and point out the offense. If the other person listens and confesses it, you have won that person back. 16 But if you are unsuccessful, take one or two others with you and go back again, so that everything you say may be confirmed by two or three witnesses. 17 If the person still refuses to listen, take your case to the church. Then if he or she won’t accept the church’s decision, treat that person as a pagan or a corrupt tax collector.”
Jesus tells us that we are to go to another believer in private if someone sins against us, or if I sinned against someone, that they come to me. The proper way for someone to inform me that I have offended them with the music being too loud then, is for them to come to me in private and then tell me, (communication) not write it in a complaint on a card and have someone else complain to me. (convenience) The frustration that arises from worship leaders and musicians in the church comes from this incorrect method of communication by means of convenience. The answer to this problem is not fun or easy. It requires leaders and worship leaders really doing some ministry one on one with people. It requires people that will open up to leaders and worship leaders. With regards to time, it is easier for a smaller church and next to impossible for a large church. Those are the excuses. That’s why we give in to using “anonymous complaint cards” and why we harbor frustration as leaders. I can honestly say that God gave me peace the day I took those verses in Matthew 18, to heart. I no longer give weight to anonymous complaints and happily request any feedback from someone who is willing to meet me to discuss how I’ve sinned against them. I will also seek out those who I notice are offended by my actions, as we as believers need to be proactive in this communication as well. So now, how quiet is to quiet?!
The music is too quiet when it distracts from worship. When I can hear the person next to me as loud as I can hear the un-mic’ed shaker, in one of the vocalist’s hands, forty feet away from me, it’s uncomfortable for me to sing openly to God. This wasn’t because I’m uncomfortable with my voice, but rather because when I sang openly, half the congregation of 80 people looked at me. This honestly happened. In an attempt to appease the anonymous complaint cards that stated we were too loud, our worship team went to an electric drum set and set levels based on it at a peak SPL of 88. That day was considered a success by the leadership because there were no complaints that it was too loud. The act of musical worship however was sacrificed because the environment created, was one where the overall congregation was focused on other people and not on God. It felt like I was standing by myself in front of everyone singing. I am a worship leader and I’ve been a lead singer in a rock band. I am very comfortable with myself and my singing ability and I can say that singing in that environment was one of the most uncomfortable experiences I’ve ever had. I can only imagine how it would have been for the church member who wasn’t as confident. Connecting with God in that environment is difficult at best. When the environment is easy for people to let go of focusing on themselves and focus on God, our jobs are done well. My research and experience has led me to state, that while taking into account the leaders relationship with Jesus is healthy and their gifts well developed, a dark and suitably loud worship service will bring an environment conducive to openly worship God.
Here’s why. When it’s reasonably loud, people aren’t worrying about whether or not the person next to them can hear them. When it’s reasonably dark, people aren’t worried about the person next to them seeing them. When these worries are eliminated, people can open up and focus on God. Whether or not they choose to open up to God is still up to them, but at least we’ve created an environment where it is “safe” to sing praises to the Lord, just as we are told in Psalm 150. The end result is the maturing of the congregation to sing without any sound. If you’ve ever been in a church like that, where the music stops and all that’s heard is the giant chorus of praises being sung to God, it’s absolutely astonishing. I still get goose bumps even thinking about those musical worship experiences.
You’ll notice something I stated previously, that the services are to be reasonably loud, not just loud and reasonably dark, not just dark. I said it that way for a reason. Each service is looking to appeal to a specific demographic, if it’s not, then the ministry isn’t focused and will generally have a small mix of all demographics or unwittingly appeal to a demographic and have a majority by default. That being said, your sound and light levels will want to match your demographic for the service.
The optimal decibel level for each congregation will be different. If you’re service is geared towards the elderly, a peak level of 88db during music might be optimal. If your service is geared towards the youth, your service might offer peak decibel levels of up to 120db. You’ll notice that grandma has no problem belting out Amazing grace from the front row, no matter how quiet the sound is, but that a 13 year old kid with his friends from school, tends to only open up and sing when it’s cranked. Volume is needed.
Rock concerts, for instance, are often measured at 130-140db. A clearly noticeable difference in sound happens at a change of 5db, with a 10db change being approximately twice as loud. With a decibel level of 110db, you’re still four times quieter than a rock concert. It doesn’t have to be a rock concert, but it should match the demographic. Dangerous volume levels have been another item of contention with regards to music in the church.
OSHA Daily Permissible Noise Level Exposure states that at 105db, the permissible level of exposure is 1 hour per day. You will not hear me say in this discussion that OSHA’s recommendations are overkill. What I will say is that OSHA rates the SPL for a power lawn mower at 107db. That means that it’s more dangerous for you to mow your lawn than to go to church with a peak SPL of 105db. Most churches limit their SPL to 96db.
There are also sound equalization and mixing attributes that are more or less noticeable to the human ear. For instance, the SPL created from my old truck sound system reached a sustained 142db. I felt that more than I heard it because it was a low frequency created by subwoofers and was tolerable, but a higher frequency at the same SPL would be deafening. I bring it up but these issues speak more to the development of the gifts your sound man has and aren’t something worth getting into too deep at this point.
So when I say that the volume is too quiet when it distracts from the worship of God, if we aren’t making it loud enough for the majority of the congregation to worship without worry, we should turn it up.
It is too quiet when the music is no longer musical. This point like the third isn’t really of a concern as music is noticed at very low volumes. Performing music though, is different than leading worship. The one point I do want to add to this is that certain acoustic instruments are naturally loud and the musicality isn’t lost as much the natural musical tone and sound. Anyone who’s ever run sound or been a part of a modern worship team knows what I’m talking about. That’s right, drums. Rarely have I ever heard of a sound man complaining that the stage volume was too loud because of that pesky acoustic guitar or obnoxious piano. The drums and cymbals are naturally loud and are meant to be played as such. I will again refer to Psalm 150 where it even tells us how to play them. “Loud clanging cymbals” don’t tend to go over too well with the anonymous complaint card writers though.
The ideal setting for us to play the cymbals, as we are instructed, is in an open environment. Large churches will fight stage volume issues with musicians but the FOH is usually capable of evening out that sound issue in large churches. Sound dampening movable walls and plexi-glass only make it that much easier. In smaller churches without such luxuries however, the issue gets compounded and often sacrificed is the energy, volume, tone and dynamics of the drums and cymbals. One thing you can do to help avoid this issue is with the sound check. The order you sound check in changes everything. Coming from a secular club and concert environment, I found that churches don’t always sound check properly and it can negatively affect the sound. Please sound check in this order or in a way that prioritizes the instruments in this way. Drums first, core lead instruments followed by superlative instruments with vocals last. And as with everything else, there’s a reason for this.
Because drums and cymbals are acoustic, they utilize a higher degree of dynamics than a guitar signal which is often compressed and changed by the fader of a mixing board. When the drums are forced to sacrifice dynamics, the musical aspect of the instrument is also sacrificed. It’s like asking a guitarist not to strum, only pick. Because the drums are loud, everything else needs to be mixed around them. The alternative is a mixing nightmare and sound checks can go on for 2-3 times as long as needed.
I do not believe we should sacrifice the quality of the musical worship we bring by being too quiet. I do not believe we should sacrifice the energy we bring that is lost when we are quiet.
We get the opportunity to sing praises to our Lord loudly, I am grateful for psalm 150 and I am grateful for all of those who have heard their calling to lead others in an offering of musical worship. We must remember that the true act of Love is to serve and that serving doesn’t always result in being asked to fix things right away. It most often is a test in patience but with benefits far beyond that which we can see as God uses us to work in others. I’ll be praying for you and your ministry that God will be praised and that the lines of communication be opened so that you can show others God’s love for you through how you interact with them.
Psalm 150 NLT
1 Praise the LORD! Praise God in his sanctuary;
praise him in his mighty heaven!
2 Praise him for his mighty works;
praise his unequaled greatness!
3 Praise him with a blast of the ram’s horn;
praise him with the lyre and harp!
4 Praise him with the tambourine and dancing;
praise him with strings and flutes!
5 Praise him with a clash of cymbals;
praise him with loud clanging cymbals.
6 Let everything that breathes sing praises to the LORD! Praise the LORD!
My neighbor’s two-year old had a tendency to run out in the street every time he got out of the house. But I never met a teenager who would do such a foolish thing. What is my point? That with age comes maturity and understanding. Teenagers that continued have exposure to 120+db music will be wearing hearing aids by the time they are 40.
Soundmen have a positive feedback loop. The more they mix, the more damaged their hearing becomes, and the louder they turn the volume. Most laypeople, youth included would be just happy with 90-95db levels and a good mix. Perhaps a short course in human anatomy should be required of all sound men.
The bible gives us instruction to praise with loud noise, but understand that loud back then was not north of 100DB, and certainly nowhere near 120-150. I do not believe that it is possible to honor God with music cranked to a level that orders of magnitude beyond what he designed our ears to safely process. What we are worshiping is our own fleshly desire for stimulation. We desire experience, God does not.
The above comments are a pretty accurate cross section of my experience over the years. I still can’t see a Godly way to balance them. For any given situation, you will face the loud vs quiet war, the musical style war, organ vs piano vs drums war, showy performance vs excellence war, spirituality vs human ability war, hymns vs modern music war, onstage volume vs FOH sound mixer war, the sitting near the speaker sitting far from the speaker war, the too loud for the induction hearing aid loop vs FOH war …
I have heard them all expressed with varying levels of grace - including none at all - to me. I have had various sympathy levels for the positions involved. I must admit, sometimes it has seemed that people chose to forget that I turned up three or four times a week as an unpaid MD volunteer, trying to train a band of unpaid amateur volunteers with a minimum of kit all hopefully to help people enjoy and engage in their personal worship more. They almost seemed to believe that if any/all of the above were wrong for them that day, I had personally planned out at home how best to annoy them… sorry. I didn’t.
How on earth can we who are responsible for musical worship in churches ever hope to please such a diverse set of constraints?
As far as I can see:
1. Cave in to one side at the expense of the other side, be it quiet/loud, hymn/pop etc
2. Compromise. Neither please nor offend anyone with the bland pastiche of music that remains.
3. God’s way … which would be? Any ideas?
I really do have sympathies for those upset/physically harmed by excess volume esp when it is your children who are upset. I have sympathy for MDs who can do no right. I have sympathies for unpaid volunteers who are continually asked to do and be something they are not. I have enormous sympathy for the joint enemy: The Church Drummer. I wouldn’t be one of those for love nor money. They have a list of enemies queuing back to the coffee shop …
Another question inspired by the idea that the OT worship could not have been loud without amplifiers. You’re probably right, but IIRC weren’t there hundreds/thousands of brass instruments and temple musicians? How many were on shift at any one time and how big was the building? I have heard brass bands indoors and they can be tremendously loud if there are enough of them. I’m not saying I would have liked it, but I would like to see those opinions substantiated before we all accept them as fact.