PLAY IT LOUD
The last thing most musicians concern themselves with is microphone technique, although how you sing into a mike is as important as how you finger a chord or hold a pick. Part of the rock litany, “I can’t understand the words,” results from the improper use of the microphone as a musical instrument.
PLAY IT LOUD
by Guitar Arnie
Kama Sutra Position No. 96: Proper Mouth Technique
The last thing most musicians concern themselves with is microphone technique, although how you sing into a mike is as important as how you finger a chord or hold a pick. Part of the rock litany, “I can’t understand the words,” results from the improper use of the microphone as a musical instrument. But, where pick-ups and the other circuitry of rock instruments are adjusted at the factory for optimum performance, the microphone relies on the individual user’s abilities to be effective.
The recurring problem with mikes is that most performers think that they have to shout into them with their lips just touching their wind screens. The distorted sound that results is usually explained away by complaints that the p.a. system is poorly designed or not acoustically balanced.
The two cardinal rules of mike use are: 1) Don’t shout into it; 2) Keep your lips six to eight inches from the end of the mike. If you observe these rules and still get distorted, inaudible sounds, then there is something wrong with your p.a. system.