ear pieces

[tooj]

why do modern singers andmusicians have their ears blocked?
is ikt a tape recording of what they are playing so they dont forget or is it to sgtop them going deaf?

[Answerprancer]

They are for monitoring.

[Buenchico]

Some musicians (particularly drummers and those performing near to them) wear ear plugs to prevent hearing damage.

But some musicians also have earpieces which let them hear the performance as the audience (or recording equipment) is doing, rather than only hearing what's going on around them. So, for example, a drummer can tell whether he's playing too hard or too soft, or a singer can adjust their tone and inflection to meet the rhythm of the music.

I'm no musician but I've done some presentation work for local radio. People often ask why people in radio wear headphones, even when they're only interviewing a person directly in front of them, but I can tell you that it becomes automatic to change your voice slightly in response to the output which you're hearing through your 'cans'.

Chris

[deggers316]

you can't hear yourself signing on stage with all the music going on and the earphones contains their voice and a track beat to keep them in sync
some use on stage monitors (speakers)facing up from the floor towards them but you can get a problem with those (feedback) its a bit techincal

[boxtops]

I can remember the days when a lot of singers used to perform with their finger closing off one ear - now they wear an ear defender instead.

[beso]

deggers: //their voice and a track beat//

Don't think so. This is sometimes done in a recording studio where the tracks are laid down with just one performer at a time but on stage the performers are hearing the mix.

Stage monitors were the norm before radio in ear monitor systems were introduced relatively recently. Feedback is not a problem in a properly set up stage because the monitors and microphones are placed to minimise the feedback.

Microphones have a cardioid response pattern such that they have a much lower signal produced from sound directed from an angle behind the mic where the monitor is placed.

In ear systems allow the performer to wander around without missing out on the foldback.

[birdie1971]

I've done a bit of on stage warbling and beso's quite right. It's simply an updated version of the floor monitors which also helpfully eliminates the possibility of ear-splitting feedback for the audience.

Whether you use floor monitors or an in-ear system, it's fundamental to a good performance. It seems counter-intuitive but when you're singing on stage without some form of monitor you quite literally can't hear yourself. It's bizarre but true.

[beso]

Not just for the audience birdie. Feedback through the monitors is pretty rough too. Being on stage with the PA on the edge of feedback is a bizarre situation.

I have been in performance with no foldback. It is hopeless. All you can do is sing the same as other vocalists so together you can get enough back from behind the front speakers to at least say together. Unfortunately this only lets you synch the bass spectrum because that is all you can hear. The high end is very directional and can't be heard from behind at all. Harmonies are out of the question.

[AlBags]

They are listening to Radio4 on their personal players.