What is the Right Volume for Church?

As worship leaders, we are all trying to create an environment where our congregations can engage freely with one another and our Creator.

No matter the style of your worship music, the volume can have a huge impact on congregational participation. So, how do you find the right volume?

When it comes to volume we are really looking for the Goldilocks zone: not too loud and not too soft. If we’re going for the arena type sound, loud volume is great. It’s easy to get lost in and sing loudly. However, if it’s so loud that the congregation becomes a spectator or worse, starts leaving due to ear pain, the music is no longer serving our needs. Side note: if you’re blaming your congregants for not being able to handle it, you’re doing it wrong.

Low volume lets the congregational voices take center stage but too low and singers start to feel exposed and insecure. Additionally, the music still needs to lead the way. If the singing drowns out the instruments it’s easy to for the timing to fall apart.

So how do you know if you’re at the right volume? It’s simple. Your congregation will tell you. Look for loud, confident singing that you, the leader can actually hear. 

We can all sing worship songs by ourselves at home. We come to the Sunday gathering to join other believers in song. Let’s do our best as worship and tech teams to create an environment where that can happen.

Just for fun: