Here’s Why Mix Engineers Should Listen to The Setlist

To some people this is considered a completely useless tactic, to some it’s their bread and butter, to some it’s something thing that they haven’t even thought of. I’m a strong believer in listening to the setlist when I’m running sound. There’s so many things that this can help you with. Here’s the top three reasons why mix engineers should listen to the setlist. 

1: Know Where The Song Sits Sonically

The first reason you should be listening to the setlist is that it allows you to know where the song should be sitting, from a sonic standpoint. Listen to how the bass and kick work with each other. Is the song vocal heavy? As a practice, see if you can get the background vocals and lead vocals to sit similar to the album. A song can sound pretty empty if it’s supposed to be lead by something like an electric guitar that’s not in the mix properly. Things like reverb and delay are something else to consider when listening to the song. In my personal opinion, you should try to keep those trails similar, mostly because it will cause you to be more cautious about trails bleeding into the next note. You don’t have to get this perfect, just get the vision of the song. One thing that you don’t want to do is get so particular about this that it becomes a hindrance. 

2: Know What’s Coming Next

Preparation is always a big factor in making any worship service effective. One way that listening to the setlist can benefit mix engineers is that it allows them to know if there’s a lead guitar part, a synth hook, or something unexpected in vocal world coming up in the song. You don’t want to be the guy or lady that waits until halfway through a lead line to get the volume loud enough to cut through properly. A few minutes of listening to the song goes a long way.

3: Invest In The Vision of The Worship Pastor

I had a worship pastor tell me, as a band member, that we should listen to the exact arrangement / version of the song that the worship pastor schedules solely because it helps you line up with the vision that God placed in them for that setlist. I think that this applies to lighting and sound engineers too. Our worship pastors pray and seek God each week, trying to be in line with what God speaks to them. We should be valuable assets to help take that vision and turn it into a reality.

Is this something that you’ve thought about before? Is this something that you’ve done for years? Do you find listening to the setlist important?