Blog – Motion Worship – Video Loops, Countdowns, & Moving Backgrounds for the Christian Church

A New Sound System Won’t Make Your Musicians Better

I love new gear, don’t get me wrong. Diving into a new piece of equipment is inspiring, both creatively and technically. Whether it’s a new instrument, a new light fixture, or simply some new hardware, new gear opens new possibilities. Herein lies a common trap. While new gear may create renewed creativity and encourage you to spend more time honing your craft, it won’t inherently make y...

When Someone Says The Music Is Too Loud

If your church plays modern, pop/rock style worship songs, you’ve likely heard this complaint: “The music is too loud”. For those of us who are musicians and tech team members, this can be frustrating feedback. You’ve put hours into preparing the service and the environment, and instead of focusing on the impact the service is having, you’re staring down what can feel like an endless st...

Hire or Contract? Sound Professional Edition

Most churches find it important to have someone available to run sound for rehearsals and services. While some are lucky enough to have a sound-board-savvy volunteer on the roster, most of us find that hiring a professional either to be on staff or contracting week to week can be a simple way to elevate production quality. When it comes to contracting or hiring, how do you know which route is b...

Guide Track Tutorial | Ableton in 5 Minutes

Download your free guide cue samples here! This "Ableton in 5 minutes" series is hosted by Chris Fleming, Motion Worship Creative Director, professional drummer and music director from Minneapolis, MN. In this collection of concise tutorials you will learn how to use click tracks, guide cues, and multitracks in your setlists. In this specific video tutorial, we'll cover how to use vocal ...

Should You Be Recording Your Worship Rehearsals?

If you’ve upgraded your mixing console in the past 10 years, it’s most likely a digital desk. And while a new sound board isn’t going to magically make anyone better at singing, playing an instrument, or mixing, here’s something you can do that has the potential to directly impact the quality of your musicians and techs: Record Your Rehearsals How often do you change the arrangement...

Advanced Click Tracks for Worship | Ableton in 5 Minutes

This "Ableton in 5-minutes" series is hosted by Chris Fleming, Motion Worship Creative Director, professional drummer and music director from Minneapolis, MN. In this collection of concise tutorials you will learn how to use click tracks, guide cues, and multitracks in your setlists. In this specific video tutorial, we'll cover some more advanced methods of customizing click tracks for your...

Building Basic Click Tracks for Worship | Ableton in 5 Minutes

This "Ableton in 5 minutes" series is hosted by Chris Fleming, Motion Worship Creative Director, professional drummer and music director from Minneapolis, MN. In this collection of concise tutorials you will learn how to use click tracks, guide cues, and multitracks in your setlists. In this specific video tutorial, Chris will walk you through the most basic method of setting up click track...

Tips for Getting a Professional Mix at Small Churches

I’m continuously surprised by how many FOH engineers I’ve met at churches that show no interest in improving or caring about the sound on a Sunday morning. They just want to make sure everything is on, pull up their presets, and purely play a game of damage control if necessary. But there’s clearly no drive to really focus on getting their mixes sounding professional and trying to strive for...

Tips for Buying & Tuning Church Drums on a Budget

Drums are incredibly expensive. I know because I’m a drummer. And I have a drum gear hoarding problem... But buying drums on a budget is a bit different than other instruments. With a guitar, bass, or keyboard, you have to buy one at it’s list price and that’s what it costs – you have the instrument. With drums, it’s much easier to mix together snares with different drum kits, cymbals...

Making Livestream Church Services Look Professional

Church service livestreaming has certainly gotten popular since the pandemic hit. While it’s a step in the right direction, it’s been a huge stressor for several churches across the nation. Making livestream church services look professional is tough. There are so many factors that contribute to the look of your services online - lighting, cameras, lenses, number and angle of shots, and the...

Worship Tracks: 5 Most Common Ableton Pitfalls

Ableton is an incredibly powerful tool, especially in worship music. Churches of all sizes around the world are using it during live services for a variety of purposes. It enables keyboardists to run synth patches, pianos, and other instruments. It can be used for complex automation of keys patches, tracks, and other instrumentation during a worship service. And of course, it can be used as a simp...

Worship Pastors: How to Talk to Your Drummers

Worship pastor to drummer communication has got to be one of the most stressful things to be a part of within a worship team, but I think there’s a reason it’s so common. The drum set is such an oddball instrument, and also the only one who’s role is entirely different than most contemporary worship instruments. Unfortunately, it also happens to be the loudest and one of the most important a...

What Drum Equipment Needs to be Replaced at My Church?

Drums are supposed to be the life, dynamics, and foundation of any worship song. But usually… church drum sets sound BAD. If you’re reading this article, you probably are experiencing it firsthand. Obviously, as with anything sound-related, getting a good drum sound is a multi-facetted topic with endless factors including equipment, room, acoustic treatment, mics, mixing, the drummer who’s a...

Ditch the Drum Shield: A Message to All Churches

Drum shields are a touchy topic. Primarily because everyone seems to be super opinionated about it. Drummers *hate* climbing into an enclosure, and sound guys *hate* dealing with loud drummers. I’ve played drums in countless - differently sized - rooms for various styles of music and I can tell you with full certainty that drum shields are not necessary. Don’t get me wrong - I completely, 1...

How Often to Introduce New Songs at Church

You want worship music to be engaging and reflective of your church’s culture. Every church will have a unique selection of songs that fit their congregation best. However, while sticking to your roots is smart, that doesn’t mean you need to leave your congregation singing the songs over and over. In fact, if you are frustrated that your congregation is not involved and engaged in worship as m...

3 Crucial Church Snare Drum Mixing and EQ Tips

Mixing drums in live worship music can be really difficult. Not only are you battling the mix of the entire band – the room you’re in has limitations regardless of how small or big of a space it is. On top of that, the mics used, sound equipment installed, and mixing board will all play a role in the final sound of your mix. However, there are a few concrete “principals” that can be applie...

Making Church Drum Mics Sound Good: The Ultimate Guide

Drums are a doozie for tech directors and sound engineers. So many mics, so many cables… so much sound. And don’t even get us started on drummers (an article for a later point in time.) Micing a drum kit can get a bit confusing if you’re not completely informed on what you should be doing. Here are just a few frequently asked questions we’ve gotten from church tech directors: “Do I...

Where to Invest Money for Church Music Gear

Church sound systems are never cheap. And when you dive into all the necessary additional instruments, DI’s, speakers, wedges or in-ear systems, cables, and sound boards that are needed, costs stack up really fast. Generally speaking, most churches can figure out where to start – getting a simple sound board and speaker system up and running. But ones a worship ministry has its bearings and ge...

What is the Fundamental Pitch of a Snare Drum?

Snare drums receive the most amount of attention out of any piece of a standard drum kit when it comes to mixing – and for good reason. Snare drums are the backbone of the groove in any song, and in church worship music they are especially important. Not only does the snare serve as a “timing landmark” for a song or groove – giving structure to the pocket and rhythm section – it also pro...