The role of the Public Address (PA) operator part 2 and the upcoming Maleny Music Festival
With our regular columnist, local musician Dr Michael Whiticker
Last time I talked about the PA operator as the amplifier, or more importantly the “mixer” of the sound coming off the stage, and that might seem to be all that we are doing, but in the big scheme of things our role carries more weight.
It was once suggested that the sound guy was the fifth member of the traditional four-piece group, and I like that, for many reasons. Crucially, they are balancing the music being made by each of the instrumentalists and singers and distributing it evenly around the venue. Though it’s not just the mixing that the music needs, as the audience expects it to be clear and dynamically rich, and most of them will like it loud.
But let’s extend these practical, stage considerations to the big picture. I like to think of the role of the Production (Sound and Lighting team) as operating at the meeting point of the artist and their management, the audience, and the venue management. The role of Production is to assist in the planning of the show, communicate what the artist is doing on stage to the whole room, and at the same time, be cognisant of their responsibility to the venue management, which might include keeping overall volume levels reasonable, keeping drinkers off the stage, and assisting with announcements, emergencies, and other risk management issues that performing venues need to bear in mind.
Do get along to the Maleny Music Festival on November 7–9. There will be multiple stages and tents, with the Glasshouse Musos providing the production on the Bunya stage. Each stage will have a different PA operator dealing with different needs, and after assiduously reading parts 1 and 2 of this article, you might be inclined to pull apart the quality of what we and other sound teams are doing over the weekend.
Do try to put that aside, however, and attend for the variety of great music to be heard. Where else will you have a poet in one venue, a jazz band in another, a country act on the stage next door, with a circus performer entertaining you as you move from one venue to the next? It’ll be a superb weekend for lovers of music and the arts!
The amplification of the music might seem to be all that we are doing, but in the big scheme of things our role carries more weight.
