Acoustic: An Important Consideration for the New Sanctuary
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The physical size, shape, and what's in a hall affects how the preacher will sound The result of building an acoustically bad hall CANNOT be corrected with an expensive sound system!
Bad acoustics is like a mud road full of huge holes. An expensive sound system is like an expensive sports car. Do you think a low profile full faring sports car on this mud road will perform satisfactorily?
A hall with bad acoustics produces unwanted reverb and echo. Here's a simulation on how bad things can sound:
The main ministry on any church service would be the ministry of preaching, teaching and the worship of Almighty God. However, it can only be effective if the people hear God's word CLEARLY.
A clear sound is determined predominantly by good acoustics. Good acoustic is determined by the size, shape and interior artifacts of a hall. In short you determine this at the onset of your building plans after consultation with an acoustician. Architects are not qualified acoustician.
Why are there so many churches who built their own building only to end up with bad acoustics? Here's a few reasons based on my observation and professional experience:
• Quantity not quality. That is the number one consideration when building a church. How many people can it sit? Usually the shape for a maximum sitting hall produces bad acoustic.
• Aesthetic importance. A church may look nice with high 50 feet ceilings, tainted glass, L or T shaped hall, and marbled floor. These are acoustic disasters if you use amplification or a modern band with drums.
• Ignorance. They simply just did not realize.
• Budget. When churches say they don't have the budget, it simply means they place the first 3 points more important than a clear presentation of God's word on Sunday services. Mind you Sunday services for the next thirty years!
• We'll fix it later when we have the funds. That's the most ridiculous thing I've heard. Do these brothers know what they are talking about? It means re-shaping and re-sizing, and a complete renovation of the interior of the hall. How much would that cost? You could buy another building with it!
Seriously, how much would it cost to treat the bad acoustic of a hall? I've had a number of concerned church members from various churches ask. Here's a true Malaysian example. Church X built a building of 2 floors in the 1980's for 1 million ringgit. Their hall sits about 600. A few years ago they wanted to improve the sound system so they got me in for an inspection. I found out that it was the acoustic of the hall that was causing the bad sound. Reverb time was over 2 seconds. I told them to lower their ceiling and other treatments; which would cost about RM700,000 excluding sound system. On top of that they had to rent another place for their services while the renovation was being carried out.
Pastors and brethrens, all who sit in the building committees, please consider the acoustic of your sanctuary when at the pre-construction stage. The people who ultimately suffer from bad acoustics are your parishes. Ironically they are the ones who contribute to the church building fund.
In my next article, I'll give some examples of things not to do. It is my prayer that this article will help curb God's money in our churches fund from being wasted. If we can learn from our mistakes the savings can be channeled to where it matters most: missions.
© 2004 Timothy Lee
Email : author@gsus.biz
http://www.gsus.biz
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