Headphones? In this day and age? You’d be surprised to know how many functions and forms headphones can take. Something so unique that even thinking about it can make you feel in awe and we took them all this while for granted!
Singers wear headphones to be able to hear clearly what other instruments are doing. Depending on the scenario they find themselves in changes their requirement to wear headphones as well. In the studio, they wear them to listen to the backing track and they wear in-ear monitors when they’re performing to listen to their bandmates.
But what particular role they play during these different scenarios is important to know and how best you can prepare yourself to adapt to different environments will be better served with you knowing about them.
While Performing
When singers are performing they need to wear in-ear monitors.
They are not headphones. But they are not some ordinary piece of equipment either.
The reason why singers and many other performers wear in-ear monitors when they’re performing is simple. It allows them to listen to what others are playing in a very controlled manner.
As everything is mic’d up, from the drums to the guitars, the audio engineer present there will make sure everything is dialed in and as a result, everyone else can listen to each other as clearly as possible.
This becomes increasingly important as it becomes hard to hear what others are doing in a large space. So, when the space shrinks, for example, in a room or something, these become redundant.
But there is a reason for the way they are. It allows the audience to see the best performance whilst giving the musicians full clarity of what they’re doing.
The primary objective when you’re performing in front of a crowd is to give them the best show of their lives. They’ve spent the money and now it’s on you to give them the best you’ve got. Plus, it’s hugely fun.
While Recording
Continuing on the same principle.
Singers wear headphones in the studio as well.
They need to wear them to clearly hear what music they’re singing. If they do not wear headphones then the sound coming from the speakers will penetrate the mic and the audio recorded will contain both the singing and the music coming from the speakers.
You also have to make sure that noise and the volume of the headphones are decent because it can alter how singers are perceiving the sounds. Loud sounds within the headphones can make the singers sing softer as they can’t perceive how loud they are. The opposite is also true.
Obviously singing with headphones on during a recording session is something that every singer needs to come to terms with. So, if you haven’t done it before, I suggest you try fooling around with it.
Both are Important
This is where a very important discussion needs to happen.
As a singer, you need to get accustomed to this. So no complaining or whining in front of the studio engineer or your friend who’s recording or performing with you. There are enough whiny singers out there, don’t be one.
This happened with a friend of mine while we were recording. He had to put on the headphones for the first time. It was a completely new sensation for him. It took him quite a while to get used to it. And if you struggle with it then that means any singer who’s starting out will as well.
So, if you want to get good and make a great first impression then I suggest that you do that by showing up with the experience of being aware of how to be in a studio.
Not sure how you can get that experience because in order to get that experience you need to have an opportunity and for that opportunity to come you need to have experience. Sorry, I couldn’t control myself to take you on that small word rollercoaster.
Ask a friend who owns a home studio and try to record something until you feel confident recording with the headphones on.
What Headphones Can Reveal
What can headphones reveal though? When you’re listening to every nuance, what secrets will come out of the dark abyss?
I always point out in the article that when you’re pursuing to become a better singer you eventually reach a point where you’d like to be validated by someone other than yourself to know for sure if you’ve started to sing better or not.
One of the best ways to do that is to record yourself and listen back to your singing through a pair of headphones.
I also recommend this because you don’t need to buy a high-end pair of headphones. You can get by with a pair of cheap ones as well, as long as they’re headphones.
They will reveal all the small inconsistencies you have in your singing and the reason this kind of hearing is important is that if you can hear it, you can fix it.
Imagine being aware of what you need to work on in the next practice session. Quite valuable. This is going to help you tremendously to improve yourself.
Is Your Ear Good Enough?
The only skill that will be able to tell whether or not you are singing correctly or not will be your ear.
Whether you can listen to something being wrong or not. If you can’t listen to anything being wrong and while there may be something wrong, you’ll pass it as good enough. Which is something we do not want.
The only way through this hurdle is to train your ear. If you haven’t yet, you need to understand ear training and start practicing it and even starting to listen to the nuances of arrangements and even harmonies.
So, you can imagine that as musicians we need to have our ears to tell whether or not we’re playing or singing something correctly. We use them for everything, from composing to teaching ourselves and even others.
But in order to understand how ear training works you must have a basic understanding of music theory. Because everything that you need to understand the relationship between the notes will be based on the terms musicians use in music theory.
So, if you haven’t started yet, you need to start reading and studying both subjects.
What if You Sound Bad?
But, what do you do when you sound bad and you’re sure of it?
I always say this here, knowledge precedes practice and if you don’t know how to progress through things then I suggest getting knowledgeable about singing.
The best in my humble opinion is through online courses. They allow you to become not just knowledgeable but show the exact steps you ought to take in order to become really good at singing while avoiding the common pitfalls one may encounter if they are learning to sing.
I have curated a list of courses that you can look into when you do have the time so that you are able to choose the right one for yourself and you can find that page here.
But if you do end up purchasing any of these courses, it’s going to give you a lot of material for you to practice for a long time to come and even if you decide to practice just 30 minutes a day you will be able to see progress at a steady rate.
I also don’t believe age is a factor when you have to learn something, especially singing. To that end, talent doesn’t count as well. So, what’re you gonna do?
Put on some headphones and practice some singing!