Having worked with dozens of churches and worship teams, I’ve come to realize that a choir is essentially a microcosm of the church itself. Every personality—good, bad, and everything in between—is represented. Some members are joyful, eager to serve, and ready to sing their love for the Lord with full hearts. Others, well, might quietly grumble about the lights being too bright, the smell of the carpet in the new sanctuary, or the kids making too much noise in the halls. Yet, quirks and all, choirs are a vital part of worship, and honestly, I love mixing them. Capturing their sound effectively requires thoughtful preparation, teamwork, and just a bit of patience with those colorful personalities.
Have you been tasked with adding production elements to support a choir in your church? Or maybe you’re still trying to crack the code in your current choir setup? Trust me, I get it—the struggle is real. Let’s dive in and figure it out together.
While much of this article focuses on strategies for “getting the choir into the PA,” it’s important to remember that not all churches require heavy amplification. In some settings, particularly those without a band or orchestra, the ambient sound of the choir may be enough. A good friend of mine, a TD at a large Baptist church, regularly works with a 100+ member choir in a space designed to highlight their natural acoustics. Their auditorium and choir loft create such an incredible sound that they rarely need to put the choir into the PA. While this setup isn’t common these days, when it works, it offers a stunning and organic worship experience that’s hard to replicate.
But for the rest of us…
Gain Before Feedback
The most important factor in miking a choir is managing gain before feedback. This refers to the maximum volume a microphone can achieve before it starts amplifying itself, creating that dreaded feedback loop. Choir mics need to be sensitive enough to pick up multiple voices from a distance without grabbing too much noise from the stage or monitors. Balancing sensitivity and control is critical to ensure that the choir can be heard clearly without overwhelming the mix.
Microphone Type and Placement
In my experience, one condenser mic for every 10–15 singers works well in most environments. That said, this calculation may be way more or way less than your specific needs. For instance, some large choirs of 100+ singers may stretch that ratio to one mic per 20–25 singers, while smaller environments might require one mic for every 5–10 singers. It’s very space-dependent.
I’ve experimented with large diaphragm mics, which can work great depending on your environment. But for most applications, I’ve found that small diaphragm condenser mics with a standard cardioid pickup pattern work well. Of course, there are also “super” or “hyper” cardioid pickup patterns that may be effective in some situations.
Placement matters immensely, especially in traditional choir arrangements where singers are grouped by vocal sections—basses, tenors, altos, and sopranos. Understanding the layout allows you to position your mics effectively. For instance, a mic placed in front of the sopranos will require different EQ adjustments than one positioned in front of the basses.
If your choir director uses a blended approach, where vocal sections are not grouped but mixed throughout the ensemble, this can offer more flexibility for creating a wide stereo image in broadcast settings. Regardless of whether the choir is arranged by sections or blended, your priority should always be capturing a balanced and cohesive overall sound.
It’s also important to manage individual voices. Avoid placing powerhouse singers directly in front of a mic. While their strong voices are an asset, the goal is to capture the group as a whole, where no single voice dominates. In some cases, I’ve had to ask choir directors to relocate particularly strong singers to more off-mic positions to create a balanced sound. It almost sounds counterintuitive: “Jeff, you’re doing great singing nice and loud—now go stand over there, further from this microphone.” But trust me, this kind of adjustment can make all the difference in achieving a cohesive, unified choir sound.
Volume Balance and Monitor Placement
- Modern worship bands—and even a single pipe organ—can generate over 90 decibels, which makes balancing the volume of the choir challenging. However, the choir must have some way to hear what and who they are singing with. Choir monitors are typically either wedge-style monitors placed on the floor or flown monitors directed toward the choir. Each has its pros and cons:
- Wedge Monitors provide a more immediate sound but have a higher risk of bleeding into choir mics, muddying the mix. Additionally, wedge monitors only benefit choir members in close proximity to the monitors. When using choir risers, some members may be completely blocked from hearing the wedges due to their positioning on the risers.
- Flown Monitors create a cleaner stage look and sound and reduce mic bleed but can feel distant to the choir, especially in larger rooms. Proper tuning is essential for flown monitors to deliver clarity without becoming overwhelming.
While we want to give the choir everything they need to perform confidently, we also need to be strategic—and dare I say, sometimes “stingy.” The quieter the monitors, the better your mix will sound at FOH and in broadcast. The fewer elements you put in the monitors, the better. Nothing can derail a FOH or broadcast mix faster than excessively loud stage monitors positioned near choir mics, bleeding unwanted sound into the mix and muddying what should be a clear and beautiful performance.
I’ve seen the law of diminishing returns at play many times. The more elements added to the monitors, the quieter the choir may sing. Encourage the choir to rely on as little in the monitors as possible and focus on projecting their voices. Communicate openly with the choir director to find the right balance.
Let me share a common rehearsal scenario that might sound familiar: you ask the choir if they can hear the lead vocals, and you’re met with an emphatic, “No, we can’t!” from every section—bass, tenor, alto, and soprano. (Oh, if only they sang as loudly as they say the word “no.”) But before you point fingers at the choir, let’s consider the real issue: frontline singers often hold back during rehearsal.
When this happens, the engineer, trying to help, boosts the lead vocals in the monitors to accommodate the choir. Unfortunately, this amplifies everything going back into the mics, creating a muddy, unbalanced mix. Frontline singers, here’s your reminder: don’t sandbag during rehearsal! Sing with full energy, just as you will during the actual service. It’s not just about you—it’s about ensuring the choir can hear what they need, and it’s about giving the sound engineer a chance to build a mix that works for everyone. It’s teamwork, plain and simple.
Clapping: It’s All or Nothing
It’s natural for a group of singers to clap along with the music, but let’s be honest—not everyone claps on beat. When the rhythm isn’t tight, clapping can quickly become more distracting than uplifting, pulling focus away from the intended impact. Even when the clapping is perfectly in time, it can overpower the choir’s voices—especially in smaller groups, where every voice counts and even a single off-beat clap can disrupt the mix.
This is where collaboration with the choir director becomes critical. Work together to decide whether clapping is appropriate for your group. If the entire choir can clap in time and sing louder than their claps, by all means, go for it—it can add dynamic energy to the performance. However, if the majority of the choir struggles to stay on beat or sing with enough projection to balance the clapping, consider encouraging a “silent clap”—a visual gesture that simulates clapping without producing sound.
It may seem like a small adjustment, but this simple decision can make a significant difference in maintaining clarity in your mix.
Creative Problem-Solving, AKA Cheating
Sometimes, you have to get creative. I once worked with a church where the stage and auditorium seemed specifically designed to do everything except support a choir. The room had dead acoustics, a full band cranking out sound, and not a single choir-friendly feature in sight. But leadership had a vision: “Let’s start a choir!” So, armed with determination, a few condenser mics, and some strategically placed wedges, we set out to make it work.
With just 18–25 members, we equipped the choir with condenser mics and small monitors, but the sound still wasn’t cutting it. To create the illusion of a fuller choir, we leaned heavily on the frontline singers, giving them handheld mics and asking them to sing slightly off-mic in unison during choir sections. By mixing those vocalists louder than usual and creatively blending them with the choir, we achieved the desired effect.
Even with larger choirs, I’ve worked with churches that strategically placed six to eight singers with handheld mics among the choir. Some audio purists might argue this could cause phasing issues when those handhelds are near the choir mics, but I’ve personally never encountered that problem. This approach adds clarity and impact, particularly in acoustically challenging spaces, and ensures the choir remains a strong presence in the mix.
Sometimes, you have to “cheat” a little—using a combination of vocal arrangements and mixing techniques to deliver the best outcome. The goal, after all, is to ensure the choir fulfills its role in leading worship, even if the setup isn’t ideal.
Equalization and Processing
EQ is one of your most critical tools for achieving gain before feedback. Identifying and addressing offending frequencies demands precision and patience. Midrange frequencies are often the main culprits when it comes to feedback, but they’re also essential for capturing the richness and clarity of voices, especially male vocals. Tuning choir mics can feel a lot like dialing in a pastor’s headset mic—after adjusting for gain and eliminating problem frequencies, your EQ curve might end up looking more like a slice of Swiss cheese than a pristine textbook example.
You’ll often hear voices on social media proclaim that a properly tuned system and the “right” microphones should yield flat EQ curves. And yes, in a perfect system, in a perfect room, that might be true. But in the real world, where every room and system has its own quirks, the goal isn’t to achieve a flat EQ setting worthy of a Facebook post—it’s to make it sound right. Because at the end of the day, nobody’s listening to the curve; they’re listening to the choir.
Here are a few simple guidelines to help you get started:
- Use a high-pass filter: This can eliminate low-end rumble and clean up your mix. Be cautious, though—cutting too much low-end can strip away the richness of the voices, particularly for larger choirs.
- Be cautious with midrange cuts: While it’s tempting to aggressively cut various midrange frequencies to avoid feedback, this can compromise the clarity and intelligibility of the choir’s voices. Strike a balance—remove just enough to mitigate feedback while preserving the vocal warmth and presence.
- Balance individual mics: Once you’ve established a workable EQ and gain setting for each choir mic, balance them against each other. Group or buss the mics together for collective control, and apply a touch of compression or limiting to even out dynamics.
If your system allows, consider using a dynamic EQ to manage problem frequencies that only emerge at higher volumes. This can smooth out the overall tone without compromising the mix’s integrity.
Lastly, don’t underestimate the impact of tasteful reverb. A touch of reverb can add depth and dimension, making the choir sound cohesive and natural in the room or broadcast mix. However, use it sparingly to avoid muddying the sound, considering the acoustics of your space and the choir mics themselves already contribute to the natural reverberation.
With thoughtful equalization and processing, you can achieve a clean, balanced sound that enhances the choir’s contribution to worship while minimizing distractions.
Isn’t There an App For All This?
Yes, sort of. I don’t typically endorse products on this platform, but I’ve worked with a number of churches that utilize a system called ChoirFlex. It’s a multi-channel microphone processor that employs specialized DSP filters to significantly increase gain-before-feedback, making it a fantastic tool for improving almost any environment featuring a choir.
In my experience, it really works as advertised. That said, even the best tools rely on the fundamentals we’ve discussed here—proper microphone placement, thoughtful stage monitor positioning, and balanced EQ. ChoirFlex can help you take your choir mix to the next level, but it’s no substitute for attention to detail and good communication with your team. It’s one more tool in the toolbox to help ensure your choir sounds its best.
Pro-Tips: Prioritizing the Choir
When there’s a choir, the congregation wants to hear it. If you’re struggling to balance the mix, prioritize what the congregation sees. If I have to choose between clearly hearing the choir or getting the perfect snare sound, the choir wins every time.
As a good friend of mine likes to say, “If everything is big, then nothing is big.” When mixing a choir, particularly for broadcast, I aim to make it the largest, widest component of the mix. I’ll often create a broad Left-Right stereo image for the choir while condensing other stereo elements to a narrower field, allowing the choir to feel expansive and enveloping.
Nobody ever said, “I could’ve gotten to the throne if that snare sounded better.” But if the choir isn’t audible? You’ll hear about it. A good, clear choir mix—capturing their energy and presence—will resonate with the congregation and earn their goodwill, even if other parts of the mix aren’t perfect.
One more tip: when the choir isn’t singing, turn their mics down. This keeps your mix clean and prevents unwanted bleed or noise from muddling the overall sound. It’s a simple adjustment that makes a big difference in maintaining clarity and professionalism.
Keep It Positive
As audio engineers and team members, our goal is to enhance the choir’s experience, not to suck the joy out of it. It’s easy to slip into the role of the “spoiler”—barking orders like, “No clapping, no monitor for you, move away from the expensive mics!” But let’s be honest, nobody enjoys working with that person. Choir members are part of the church family, quirks and all. Some will clap no matter what. Others will wear that overpowering cologne or stand a little too close to the mic despite your careful setup. That’s just the reality of working with people.
Here’s the thing: the choir director or worship leader is ultimately in charge of the choir—not you. Your role is to support, communicate, and collaborate, not control. Build a strong relationship with the leader so you can share what’s needed to make the day a technical success. Once you’ve communicated those things, it’s out of your hands. You’ve done your part, and from there, you just have to roll with it—even if things don’t go perfectly.
Capturing a choir’s sound requires technical skill, creative problem-solving, and teamwork. From managing gain-before-feedback to fine-tuning EQ and balancing monitors, every detail matters in making the choir a compelling part of worship. While we can’t do much about the smell of the new carpet or the lights in their eyes, we can ensure their voices rise above it all, creating a beautiful and uplifting experience for the congregation.
Whether you’re just starting your journey into mixing a choir or you’ve been at it for a long time, I hope this has been helpful.
I’d love to hear from you. Drop me a line at rcochran@worshipfacility.com Until then, don’t forget to listen!
