ups and downs

[kayre]

Sunday morning was a mixed bag. My handbell choir performed brilliantly, and even did a hymn descant I wrote. But at the moment I'm leading worship on our little Kawai electronic piano while the organ is being repaired. It's quite adequate for the task, since we run it through our new and very good sound system... except that halfway through my prelude, I heard the sound stop coming out of those speakers. If I had any doubt, the strain I could hear in singing confirmed that the instrument was no longer sending any sound to the front of the room. When I had a long enough break, I went to the sound station and told the sound engineer, who hadn't noticed. No improvement, so I cranked the volume to max on the Kawai and finished worship that way. It was a relief that Pastor noticed and mentioned why I'm playing the Kawai, which gave me a chance to mention the sound system problem to the congregation.

After worship 1) people sitting in the back of the church all assured me that there was nothing wrong and the music had been wonderful (the Kawai is in the back); 2) the three men in the tech area all insisted there hadn't been and wasn't a problem, until I had them go around and listen under each speaker. They spent some time tweaking the system, and then insisted that it was now set exactly the way it had been during worship-- at which point I stomped over to the Kawai, cranked up the volume the way I had in worship, and nearly blew them out of the room.

I've since realized that I can record myself playing the Kawai, and then turn on the sound system and use that recording to set the levels to my own satisfaction this week. Still won't fix the problem if, as I suspect, the sound engineer thought I was too loud, turned me almost completely off, and ignored my concerns.

This is all made more frustrating by the fact that we have been offered a baby grand piano at an incredibly generous price (1/10 of market value); have had it inspected and are satisfied; and the powers that be are simply dragging their heels about completing the process, to the point that I'm afraid the current owner will back out.

The saving grace of the day is that during coffee hour a friend idly asked if my family watched the Super Bowl. I replied that I'm a game-watcher, but hubby and kid are commercial-watchers who tire out around halftime. He said nothing then, but an hour later I got a text inviting me to join his family-- his wife, and their son who is one of my piano students. They are serious football fans, who even took the time to pick up some non-dairy "cheez", so I got to enjoy the game along with a spread of mini pizzas, wings, pretzel nuggets (homemade), nachos, grapes and cookies! And I have just discovered that along with the leftover nondairy mini pizzas, they sent the rest of the pretzel nuggets home with me. It may not have been the most entertaining Super Bowl ever, but the company made it totally delightful for me. (By the way, if you actually read all this and are feeling the urge to say something patronizing or negative about the game or football in general, please go do it in your own journal. Thanks.)

Comments

[sine_nomine]

I am glad the day ended well... and how unfortunate that some people at church don't seem to understand the point of music in worship - or how having lovely instruments can be transformative.

[ranunculus]

Um, I'm a professional Stagehand. The sound op, no matter how important he/she thinks they are, should be tuning things to your specs, not theirs. That is what Pro's do.

[gingicat]

I’m glad you were able to do something enjoyable to you with other people who enjoy the same thing.

Also, sheesh, sound guys.

[amaebi]

May the sound guys next appear in sackcloth if not in ashes, with skin visibly irritated, and them weeping.