Too Much ‘Me’ In the Monitor….

The Problem

Every singer who has ever set foot on a platform or stage of any kind faces that special uncertainty that can accompany live sound: Will I be able to hear myself?  There are two sides to this predicament and I’d like to take a fresh look at some ways we can help ourselves as singers to be able to better hear ourselves.

First of all, the reasons for wanting to hear ourselves are multiple. If we can hear ourselves then we have a much better chance of actually sounding good and singing well/in tune.  Additionally, if we can hear ourselves well, then there’s less chance of us trying to ‘out sing’ the band. When we attempt to out sing the band, which is impossible, we will invariably strain our vocal cords.  This is especially true of singers who are untrained and have a tendency toward straining anyway.

I’m also deeply concerned about volume levels on stage and in our congregations.  We need to take hearing conservation seriously.  My generation is seeing unsurpassed levels of hearing loss at earlier and earlier ages. I recently read that one the best places to invest is with hearing aid companies! If this is true for MY generation, how much more true will it be for our children who constantly have ear buds in theirs ears as they listen to Ipods,  videogames, DVD players, etc..

I have attended church services that were so loud that even with earplugs it was nearly unbearable for me and yet, I’ll look over and see some apparently unaware young mother dancing around with her baby on her hip! What kind of damage is that child sustaining?!  This needs to stop. The church needs to be a safe place for all.

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