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These days, most churches have inspirational bands that perform as a part of the service. For some church buildings this means that for the first time, speakers, amplifiers and drum sets are being introduced to the main hall. While these halls may have been acoustically sound for the pastor’s speaking voice, the deep bass of the drums or a bass guitar might be quite another matter.

Deep bass tones in confined spaces sometimes create what is called a standing wave. In other words, there may be spots within the church where bass is either non-existent due to the cancellation cause by the sound wave reflected back upon itself, or places where the bass level is overpowering because of constant reinforcement of the bass sound wave from nearby resonant surfaces. This means that for some of the people in the church the music sounds as if there is little to no bass at all, while others hear too much bass.

Too help alleviate this problem with church acoustics, many churches, both old and new, may need to apply some acoustic treatment to the room. The application of bass traps to absorb some of the excess bass energy or acoustic foam panels to reduce wall reflections can make a huge difference in the quality of the sound in problem areas around the church hall. There are even DIY acoustic panels available so that a church can install their own acoustic treatments with the help of a few volunteers.

The first step is to identify whether a problem exists and if it does, to map out the areas where the sound quality is noticeably poor. This can be accomplished by have a couple people assigned to walk around the hall during band practice and make notes of the sound quality throughout the room. Using several different listeners and comparing notes will give the best results. This is really the only way to tell if the church has acoustic problems. Just because the music sounds good in the front row or the center aisle is no indication of the music’s quality near the side walls or in the back corners of the church hall.

Once a problem has been identified and specific problem areas have been noted, it’s time to figure out the best solution. Acoustic panels, bass traps, and other room treatments can be found online. Some of the better online suppliers will also offer expert advice and recommendations for your particular application. They will also have good general advice available on their website that may address your issues. Either way, if you pick up the phone and give them a call, you can usually get the advice you need from one of their qualified professionals. If the supplier doesn’t have any experts available, it might be time to look somewhere else.

Music is becoming more popular in church services because it enhances the emotional impact of service in a positive way, but if proper attention isn’t paid to the room acoustics, it can make sitting through the worship service unpleasant and even drive people to find another church.