SOUND ADVICE:
Using a Mic for Maximum Performance

By Sandra Miller-Long

A BIT ABOUT MICS

Simply stated, a microphone changes sound waves into an electronic signal which is transmitted to an amplifier and then to speakers or perhaps a tape recorder.

For the purpose of most singers, the type of microphone most commonly used will be a cardioid type, which has a narrow pattern of audio sensitivity. This unidirectional pattern will pick up sound from a source directly in front of it, but will tend to avoid sounds from other directions. This is helpful in preventing bleed-in to the mix from unwanted sounds or in the attempt to control feedback, etc.

Test your microphone. What type of mic do you have? Speak into the mic head from the front and then from the side. If the sound is fairly even from all sides, you have an omnidirectional mic. If your voice fades when you speak from the side, you have a unidirectional mic.

Wireless mics use a tiny transmitter to send audio to a receiver connected to a sound board. A limited variety of mic types are available for handheld or lavaliere use. These mics are great but are not without their drawbacks. They run on batteries (always use alkaline) which have to be changed regularly, are sometimes subject to transmitter interference or ìdropoutî (a lapse in the received signal), and do not offer the variety of types and qualities available to hardwired.

A lavaliere (or lapel) mic is tiny, hardly noticed mic clipped on a personís clothing, great for amplifying speech, but not so good for the broad dynamic range of singing and there is no dynamic control over the volume (by lowering and raising the mic).

GOOD MIC TECHNIQUE

When holding a microphone during singing itís best to hold your mic approximately 3 to 4 inches away from your mouth. If you hold the microphone father away, the KJ must increase amplification, and unfortunately, when excessive volume must be used to amplify your voice, it may also amplify other surrounding sounds. This makes it difficult to ìmixî or separate your voice from other nearby sounds or singers which may ìbleedî into your microphone.

Holding a mic too close can also be a problem. This can create ìdistortion,î which makes your voice sound fuzzy and indistinguishable. And whatever you do, move the mike further away from your mouth during loud notes. I attended four different karaoke venues this week and I can't tell you how many times I've heard singers misusing the mike. Even really good singers. Poor use of the mike can take what would have been a great performance and turn it into a nightmare.

During moments that a microphone is not being used, it should never be held randomly in any direction. If the mic is still ìliveî and not used, it should always be held in an upright position, lowered from your mouth if so desired until you need to use it again. Due to the concern in delivering sufficient power to the monitors for the singers to hear themselves, the ìfeedbackî threshold is often stretched to its limits. By inadvertently pointing the mic toward or near a speaker may create shrill feedback.

There is another problem which is caused by holding two or microphones too close together. This is called ìphase shifting,î and creates unpleasant, unnatural sounds. It is advisable to never allow two live mics to come closer than two feet from each other.

A COUPLE OF OTHER DON'Ts

Donít blow into a mike to see if itís on. This sound is annoying and you might blow harmful moisture (spit!) into it. Itís a better idea to say something like "check" or tap it lightly with your finger.

2. Do not speak directly into a mic. You'll usually create a popping sound, especially if you make a ìPî or ìTî sound. A wind screen on the mic will help to reduce this, but itís best to improve technique by speaking across the mic rather than into it.

3. Donít abuse your microphone. Donít drop it, subject it to shock, or hold it dangling by the cord, etc. It is
a delicate instrument and may be expensive to repair or replace.

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Good Microphone Technique:
Hand Held Microphones
by Pete Horsman

Overall mic handling technique is somewhat of an art unto itself. The biggest problem you will face with a hand held microphone is not the design of the microphone, but the design of the head--the human head. In short, the mouth is too close to the ears and since it's unlikely that a vocalist will allow very many adjustments to his or her head, it falls to the sound person (KJ) to make the best of a bad situation. A vocalist needs to hear what's happening, and this entails the placement of a monitor speaker nearby. At the same time, an open mic is placed five inches (or less) from the focal point of that monitor--the ears. Because we are pointing both a speaker and a microphone at more or less the same point in space, the most natural, most predictable, and most annoying result is going to be feedback. To overcome this, a good vocal mic must be uni-directional enough to pick up quality sound from the intended source (the voice), while rejecting, as much as possible, all nearby superfluous sounds. Cardioid mics, (with their heart shaped pick up patterns and strong rejection of sounds from the rear of the mic), are particularly well suited for this kind of situation.

The design of the head is not the only problem you face when dealing with hand held microphones. The hands are no small problems themselves. Two major problems predominate: The first problem is the tendency of a person singing (or speaking) to grip the microphone too close to the microphone head. This behavior destroys the directional characteristics that are necessary to controlling feedback. While at first glance, it might seem that such a hand position would help mask the excess sound entering from the rear of the microphone, it actually increases the microphone's tendency to pick up such sounds. Directional microphone patterns depend on the reception, and subsequent cancellation, of unwanted sounds for their pattern control properties. When a singer (or speaker) "chokes" the mic like a little leaguer would a bat, he or she is destroying this carefully designed cancellation effect. This results in greater background noise, not to mention the swishes and clunks that accompany the handling of the microphone itself. The second problem is the natural tendency of a person to cover the front of the mic when suddenly faced with feedback. This destroys the microphone directional pattern, creating more feedback, not less.

A singer must be aware of the principles at work with the microphone he or she is using and how the mic is being used. As a vocalist moves about the stage, mic contact with other speakers is constantly a problem. Accidentally pointing a microphone at a speaker will cause truly horrifying effects, while keeping the mic tucked into the shadow created by the singer's body minimizes this potential problem. Because the pattern of most vocal mics is intentionally very limited, when a singer moves back and forth within the microphone's pattern (and with relation to the mic's proximity effect) it will cause frequency and level shifts that are impossible to compensate for. And while many vocal mics boast of a rather high indestructibility quotient, dropping the mic onto the stage is not a good idea--if it doesn't break the mic, it just might break the loudspeaker.
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