Audio, Band, Players, Singers, Tech, Vocal Team
Watch Your Tone With Me Young Man!!
Five Monitor Settings To Engage With Your Band To A Better Mix
“Watch Your Tone With Me Young Man!!” These were famous words around our household growing up. My mom and dad held a steady radar to detect things from us kids like: talking back, being loud and causing a ruckus. Musically speaking, I believe the radar still applies to our playing/singing as a team.
You’re not loud enough! Fighting over monitor volumes is a losing battle. By the time you turn up your level, so has every one else. Before you know it, your IEM’s or floor wedges are about to explode.
Each channel is up so high that you can’t hear the music, only the noise. How do we readjust? Here are five things I do to keep my monitor levels balanced and rich.
1 Start from scratch.
Bring all the volume knobs down to zero. Make sure your sound engineer has mixed the FOH to their specs. Next, if you are using floor wedges, perform your sound check to the monitors. If you are using IEM’s, bring your personal control volumes down – every channel. Bring every other setting back to normal as well: balance knobs and eq (if your controller supports). Get a check of your own instrument, set it at 50% and the rest of the band at 50%.2 Dial in only what you need + the leader.
This must go by what we call “the listening chain” covered in our Weekend Workshops. Suggested map below: Yourself – 50% up, leave the remaining 50% for the rest of the band.Bass Guitar – drums (kick and hat), keys, acoustic guitar and vocal leader Drums – bass, piano/guitar and vocal leader Guitars – drums (kick and snare), bass and vocal leader Piano/Keys – bass, drums (kick and snare), slight guitars Vocal Leader – drums (hat and snare), rhythm guitar or keys, vocal team Vocal Team – slight drums (hat and snare), rhythm guitar or keys, vocal leader *Notice not all instruments/voices need to have all guitars, keyboard, or percussion and horns for that matter in their entire mix. Next, trim each channel + yours to create a perfect 50/50 blend.
You are no more louder than the other channels and vice-versa. Also notice how I always end with inserting “vocal leader.” This channel is the most essential button on your monitoring system. If you don’t know where the vocal is, you will not have a clear listening path to the song. In studio, the vocal channel is always delivered first. This directs musicians to the song’s flow and gives better guidance for the format, tone and dynamic.
3 Use balance knob (if your controller supports panning).
You may be surprised, but you’ll get more out of your monitor by using basic 3 point panning. Instead of turning up volumes, you can pan (1) bass to hard Right, (2) guitars or keyboards hard Left, (3) vocal and drums to Center. *If you have an eq setting, try adjusting the highs and lows per instrument to trim or cut frequencies to your mix.4 Don’t be concerned about hearing the whole band.
Stick to the basics: lead vocal, your instrument/voice and the rhythm section.5 Control your instrument.
Another way is to get out of the way. The volume starts with you. By learning how to approach your instrument by bettering the control of your playing will dictate the volume.You don’t need to be loud, you just need to play better. The good musicians I know are more concerned about making good notes to support the role of the team. They actually have their instrument turned slightly down among the others. The idea is to be low and slow: to hear themselves more quietly so they may be more sensitive to each other.
“For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you.” #Rom12.3 Serving your team is being a good steward of your sound.
@BranonDempsey @worshiptt
Worship Team Training® Is your worship team stuck? Want worship leading to be better? Want to be free? We can take you there. Inspire, create and transform the leading of worship. Get a WeekendWorkshop
Copyright 2017 Worship Team Training®
