The first time I saw a musician using an in-ear set, I thought to myself that the musician had a hearing problem, and thus needed to use a hearing aid. The only persons I saw ever using a device that went right into their ear were those I knew had a hearing problem. The musician’s in-ear set had a clear cable, very similar to those used by hearing-impaired persons. Well, maybe I have learned a lot since then.

An in-ear monitoring system has become a must-have, rather than a good-to-have. The biggest need for members of  a performing band is correct monitoring. This enables the band play better and tighten their groove. Within this blog post, I wish to break down the reasons why a band needs to implement an in-ear monitoring system.

1. Creating Personalized Mixes – Before the era of in-ear monitoring systems, the band on stage had to rely on a stage engineer to create mixes on wedges. However, if there was a limitation of monitoring wedges on stage, then the band has to make do with imperfect mixes. Each member of the band, be it a singer, drummer, guitarist, etc. has a specific need to hear certain elements louder than others. For example, a drummer would want to hear the bass and percussions, a keyboardist would want to hear the drums more than the guitar, etc. An in-ear system eliminates the need for a stage engineer by allowing each member to create their own separate mix without affecting the front-of-house mix.
2. Reducing noise on stage – Recording engineers will tell you that their biggest challenge is to record a performing band that does not implement an in-ear system. The microphones on stage pick up a lot of ambient noise created by loud wedges on stage. It is very difficult, probably impossible, to remove that ambient noise from the recording. If the band utilizes in-ear mixes, ambient noise from loud wedges can be eliminated. Further, if guitarists opt to use amp and cab emulations instead of actual hardware on stage, the noise reduction on stage can be reduced to almost 80%. This greatly cleans up the front-of-house mix and any recordings being done.
3. Saving the ears – The ear is the most important organ to the musical and audio domains. A gigging musician constantly being bombarded with loud music from wedges risks impairing his/her hearing. With noise-isolating in-ear monitors, a musician can use low volume levels to monitor him/herself, increasing the longevity of this vital organ.
4. Using guiding tracks – An interesting trend in the gigging world is using backing tracks to fill the performance. Musicians using backing tracks need to be in perfect sync with the tracks. Using wedges on stage introduces a few milliseconds delay between the track and the performing musicians. While the delay timings may look insignificant, bands that use guiding tracks without in-ear monitors find it quite difficult to tighten their groove. An in-ear monitor reduces any form of latency, ensuring that all musicians sing and play right on time.
5. Band Cues – One of the most important aspects of a band is to have effective communication during a performance. Ideally, the band’s music director needs to clearly communicate with the band members to ensure an in-sync performance. At times, gestures can be used, but very often get misunderstood; especially if impromptu improvisation is required. With an in-ear monitoring system, the music director (and at times, all band members) can have a microphone on stage, through which he/she can communicate with the band. Additionally, backing tracks may have a cue prompt that should only be heard by the band and not at the front-of-house. Without an in-ear monitoring system, it may not be possible to use such cues.

In the next blog, I will cover various methods to implement an in-ear monitoring system. Some are rather dear to implement while others will not break a bank to implement. Each method has its pros and cons, which I will cover in the next blog.

At Zamar Studios, we have implemented an in-ear monitoring system with the ability to distribute over 10 separate mixes. Should you wish to utilize this system for your rehearsal session, be sure to arrange this with the studio before your rehearsal session. Live band recordings utilize the system as part of the package.