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Keeping it Real – Section 2

This is Section 2 of Becky Pell’s 3 Section Article on Using psychoacoustics in IEM mixing and the technology that takes it to the next level. Section 1

Acoustic Reflex Threshold

Have you ever noticed how you and the band can take a break from rehearsing, come back half an hour later, and when put your ears back in everything feels louder? And then how after a few moments it settles down and feels normal again? It’s because of a reflex action of the stapedius muscle in the middle ear. When this little muscle contracts, it pulls the stapes or ‘stirrup bone’ slightly away from the oval window of the cochlea, against which it normally vibrates to transmit pressure waves to be converted into nerve impulses. This action, which is a response to sounds of between 70-100dB SPL, effectively creates a compression effect resulting in a 20dB reduction in what you hear. However, the muscle can’t stay fully contracted for long periods, so after a few seconds, the tension drops to around 50% of the maximum. Whilst the initial reaction, at 150 milliseconds, is not fast enough to fully protect the ear against very loud and sudden transient sounds, it helps in reducing hearing fatigue over longer periods. Interestingly this reflex also occurs when a person vocalises, which helps to explain why a singer’s in-ear mix of the band might sound loud enough in isolation, but when they start singing they find they need more instrumentation. This happens in conjunction with the fact they are hearing themselves not only via the mix but through the bone conductivity of their skull. It’s well worth trying to sing along to an IEM mix that you’ve prepared for a singer to experience what this feels like for them because it’s a very different sensation from simply shouting down the mic to EQ it.

The acoustic reflex threshold also means that transients appear quieter than sustained sounds of the same level, and it’s the thinking behind a compression trick that is often used in studios and film production. When you compress the decay of a short sound such as a drum hit, it fools the brain into thinking the drum hit as a whole is significantly louder and punchier than it is, although the peak level – the transient – has not changed. Personally, I’d advocate caution if you’re going to try this in a monitor mix – the drummer needs to hear what their drums ACTUALLY sound like, and getting things such as drum tuning and mic placement correct at source are vital – but it’s an interesting thing to be aware of.

All in the timing

Our ability to perceive sounds as separate events is not only dependent on there being sufficient difference between them in frequency, but also on timing. This phenomenon is known as the ‘precedence effect’ and the ‘Haas effect.’

These effects describe how when two identical sounds are presented in quick succession, they are heard as a single sound. This perception occurs when the delay between the two sounds is between 1 to 5 ms for single click sounds, but up to 40 ms for more complex sounds such as piano music. When the lag is longer, the second sound is heard as an echo. A single reflection arriving within 5 to 30 ms can be up to 10 dB louder than the direct sound without being perceived as a distinct event. In 1951 Helmut Haas examined how the perception of speech is affected in the presence of a single reflection. He discovered that a reflection arriving later than 1 ms after the direct sound increases the perceived level and spaciousness (more precisely, the perceived width of the sound source), without being heard as a separate sound. This holds true up to around 20ms, at which point the sounds become distinguishable.

This can be an interesting experiment to try with a vocal mic and your IEMs. If you split the vocal mic down two channels, and delay one input somewhere between 1 and 20 ms, see what you notice. Then try panning one input hard left and the other hard right, and see how the vocal sounds thicker and creates a sense of width and space. Play with the delay time, and you’ll see that if it’s too short the signal starts to phase; too long and you lose the illusion. This game does make the signal susceptible to comb-filtering if you sum the inputs back to mono, especially at shorter delay times, so be aware of that.

Once again I would advocate extreme caution if you intend to use this in a monitor mix, as ‘tricking’ a singer in this way can backfire! However it’s a useful principle to be aware of if you have the opportunity to get creative with other sounds, and I use it a lot when adding pre-delay to a reverb – try it for yourself. No pre-delay creates a feeling of immediacy to the effect, but just 5-10ms creates a slight sense of space. If you’re after a little more breathiness and drama – ‘vampires swirling’ as I once heard it described – try increasing the pre-delay up to 20 ms and feel how it changes.

The Haas effect is also something to be very aware of for IEM mixing when it comes to digital latency. Every time we take a signal out of the console and send it somewhere else in the digital domain, a degree of minor time delay known as latency is introduced. Different processing devices introduce different amounts of latency, and obviously the less, the better. The more devices we add, the more the latency stacks up. Whilst a few milliseconds of latency may be totally imperceptible for, say, a guitarist; it’s a different matter when it comes to vocals. A singer will often be able to perceive something as being not quite right, without being able to put their finger on it, because when we vocalise and have that signal returned to our ears, the discrepancy between what we hear at the moment of making the sound, and the moment of it returning, becomes heightened in our awareness. Something to be vigilant about when dealing with any digital outboard such as plug-ins, for a singer.

Location Services

The Haas effect also affects where we perceive a sound to be coming from – the supposed location of the source is determined by the sound which arrives first, even though the sounds may be from two different physical locations. This holds true until the second sound is around 15dB louder than the first when the perception of direction changes.

Sound localisation is a very complex mechanism performed by the human brain. It’s not only dependent on the directional cues received by the ears, but it is also intertwined with the other senses, especially vision and proprioception. Our ability to determine a sound’s location and distance is called binaural hearing, and in addition to all the psychoacoustic effects discussed so far, it is also heavily influenced by the physical shape of our heads, ears, and even torsos. The outer ear or ‘pinna’ functions as a directional sound collector which funnels sound waves into the ear canal. The head and the topography of our face and torso influence how sounds from any position other than a 0° angle are heard, as they create an acoustic ‘shadow.’ Our brains process the differences between the information that our two ears collect, and interpret the results to determine where a sound is coming from, how far away it is, and whether it’s still or moving. At lower frequencies, below about 2kHz, this is mostly determined by the inter-aural time difference; that is, the discrepancy in time between when the sound reaches each ear. Above 2k the information gathered comes from the inter-aural level difference; that is, the discrepancy in volume between the sound that each ear hears. This clever evolutionary adaptation is due to the relative lengths of sound waves at different frequencies. For frequencies below 800 Hz, the dimensions of the head are smaller than the half wavelength of the sound waves so that the brain can determine phase delays between the ears.

However, for frequencies above 1600 Hz the dimensions of the head are greater than the length of the sound waves, so a determination of direction based on phase alone is not possible at higher frequencies; instead, we rely on the level difference between the two ears. These binaural disparities are known as Duplex theory and play an important role for sound localisation in the horizontal plane.

(As the frequency drops below 80 Hz it becomes difficult or impossible to use either time difference or level difference to determine a sound’s lateral source because the phase difference between the ears becomes too small for a directional evaluation, hence the experience of sub-bass frequencies being omnidirectional.)

Whilst this phenomenon makes it easy to sense which side a sound is coming from, it’s harder to determine direction in the up/down and front/back planes, due to our ears being placed at the same horizontal level as each other. Some types of owl have their ears placed at different heights, to allow for greater efficiency in finding prey when hunting at night, but humans have no such facility. This can result in ‘cones of confusion’, where we are unsure as to the elevation of a sound source because all sounds that lie in the mid-sagittal plane have similar inter-aural differences; however, once again the shapes of our bodies help us out. Imagine a sound source is right in front of you. There is a certain detour the torso reflection takes and hence a certain difference of this torso reflection in relation to the direct sound arriving at both ears. This yields a slight comb filter pattern which will change if you elevate this source. The same is true if this source is now moved behind you; the torso reflection changes and our brains process the information discrepancies to help us locate the source.

Next time: In the third and final section of this series on using psychoacoustics to enhance your monitor mixing, we’ll discover a ground-breaking new technology that takes IEMs to a whole new dimension.

Keeping It Real

Using psychoacoustics in IEM mixing and the technology that takes it to the next level

SECTION 1

All monitor engineers know that there are many soft skills required in our job – building a trusting relationship with bands and artists is vital for them to feel supported so they can forget about monitoring and concentrate on their job of giving a great performance. But what do you know about how the brain and ears work together to create the auditory response, and how can you make use of it in your mixes?

Hearing is not simply a mechanical phenomenon of sound waves travelling into the ear canal and being converted into electrical impulses by the nerve cells of the inner ear; it’s also a perceptual experience. The ears and brain join forces to translate pressure waves into an informative event that tells us where a sound is coming from, how close it is, whether it’s stationary or moving, how much attention to give to it and whether to be alarmed or relaxed in response. Whilst additional elements of cognitive psychology are also at play – an individual’s personal expectations, prejudices and predispositions, which we cannot compensate for – monitor engineers can certainly make use of psychoacoustics to enhance our mixing chops. Over the space of my next three posts, we’ll look at the different phenomena which are relevant to what we do, and how to make use of them for better monitor mixes.

What A Feeling

Music is unusual in that it activates all areas of the brain. Our motor responses are stimulated when we hear a compelling rhythm and we feel the urge to tap our feet or dance; the emotional reactions of the limbic system are triggered by a melody and we feel our mood shift to one of joy or melancholy; and we’re instantly transported back in time upon hearing the opening bars of a familiar song as the memory centres are activated. Studies have shown that memories can be unlocked in severely brain-damaged people and dementia patients by playing them music they have loved throughout their lives.

The auditory cortex of the brain releases the reward chemical dopamine in response to music – the same potentially addictive chemical which is also released in response to sex, Facebook ‘likes’, chocolate and even cocaine…. making music one of the healthier ways of getting your high. DJs and producers use this release to great effect when creating a build-up to a chorus or the drop in a dance track; in a phenomenon called the anticipatory listening phase, our brains actually get hyped up waiting for that dopamine release when the music ‘resolves’, and it’s manipulating this pattern of tension and release which creates that Friday night feeling in your head.

Missing Fundamentals

Our brains are good at anticipating what’s coming next and filling in the gaps, and a phenomenon known as ‘missing fundamentals’ demonstrates a trick which our brains play on our audio perception. Sounds that are not a pure tone (ie a single frequency sine wave) have harmonics. These harmonics are linear in nature: that is, a sound with a root note of 100 Hz will have harmonics at 200, 300, 400, 500 Hz and so on. However, our ears don’t actually need to receive all of these frequencies in order to correctly perceive the chord structure. If you play those harmonic frequencies, and then remove the root frequency (in this case 100Hz), your brain will fill in the gaps and you’ll still perceive the chord in its entirety – you’ll still hear 100Hz even though it’s no longer there. You experience this every time you speak on the phone with a man – the root note of the average male voice is 150Hz, but most phones cannot reproduce below 300Hz. No matter – your brain fills in the gaps and tells you that you’re hearing exactly what you’d expect to hear. So whilst the tiny drivers of an in-ear mould may not physically be able to reproduce the very low fundamental notes of some bass guitars or kick drums, you’ll still hear them as long as the harmonics are in place.

A biased system

Human hearing is not linear – our ear canals and brains have evolved to give greater bias to the frequencies where speech intelligibility occurs. This is represented in the famous Fletcher-Munson equal-loudness curves, and it’s where the concept of A-weighting for measuring noise levels originated. As you can see from the diagram below, we perceive a 62.5 Hz tone to be equal in loudness to a 1 kHz tone, when the 1k tone is actually 30dB SPL quieter.

Similarly, the volume threshold at which we first perceive a sound varies according to frequency. The area of the lowest absolute threshold of hearing is between 1 and 5 kHz; that is, we can detect a whisper of human speech at far lower levels than we detect a frequency outside that window. However, if another sound of a similar frequency is also audible at the same time, we may experience the phenomenon known as auditory masking.

This can be illustrated by the experience of talking with a friend on a train station platform, and then having a train speed by. Because the noise of the train encompasses the same frequencies occupied by speech, suddenly we can no longer clearly hear what our friend is saying, and they have to either shout to be heard or wait for the train to pass: the train noise is masking the signal of the speech. The degree to which the masking effect is experienced is dependent on the individual – some people would still be able to make out what their friend was saying if they only slightly raised their voice, whilst others would need them to shout loudly in order to carry on the conversation.

Masking also occurs in a subtler way. When two sounds of different frequencies are played at the same time, as long as they are sufficiently far apart in frequency two separate sounds can be heard. However, if the two sounds are close in frequency they are said to occupy the same critical bandwidth, and the louder of the two sounds will render the quieter one inaudible. For example, if we were to play a 1kHz tone so that we could easily hear it, and then add a second tone of 1.1kHz at a few dB louder, the 1k tone would seem to disappear. When we mute the second tone, we confirm that the original tone is still there and was there all along; it was simply masked. If we then re-add the 1.1k tone so the original tone vanishes again, and slowly sweep the 1.1k tone up the frequency spectrum, we will hear the 1k tone gradually ‘re-appear’: the further away the second tone gets from the original one, the better we will hear them as distinct sounds.

This ability to hear frequencies distinctly is known as frequency resolution, which is a type of filtering that takes place in the basilar membrane of the cochlea. When two sounds are very close in frequency, we cannot distinguish between them and they are heard as a single signal. Someone with hearing loss due to cochlea damage will typically struggle to differentiate between consonants in speech.

This is an important phenomenon to be aware of when mixing. The frequency range to which our hearing is most attuned, 500Hz – 5k, is where many of our musical inputs such as guitars, keyboards, strings, brass and vocals reside; and when we over-populate this prime audio real estate, things can start to get messy. This is where judicious EQ’ing becomes very useful in cleaning up a mix – for example, although a kick drum mic will pick up frequencies in that mid-range region, that’s not where the information for that instrument is. The ‘boom’ and ‘thwack’ which characterise a good kick sound are lower and higher than that envelope, so by creating a deep EQ scoop in that mid-region, we can clear out some much-needed real estate and un-muddy the mix. Incidentally, because of the non-linear frequency response of our hearing, this also tricks the brain into thinking the sound is louder and more powerful than it is. The reverse is also true; rolling off the highs and lows of a signal creates a sense of front-to-back depth and distance.

It’s also worth considering whether all external track inputs are necessary for a monitor mix – frequently pads and effects occupy this territory, and whilst they may add to the overall picture on a large PA, are they helping or hindering when it comes to creating a musical yet informative IEM mix?

Next time: In the second part of this psychoacoustics series we’ll examine the Acoustic Reflex Threshold, the Haas effect, and how our brains and ears work together to determine where a sound is coming from; and we’ll explore what it all means for IEM mixes.

 

Live Fast, Stay Young!

A former reprobate’s guide to getting healthier on the road

Being a professional gypsy can be a lot of fun, but let’s face it, it’s not always conducive to optimum health. I lived an unhealthy life when I first started touring – in fact I had every bad habit available – but over the years I’ve figured out ways to love life on the road and look after myself at the same time. Here are the good-living tricks I’ve picked up along the way – I hope they give you some ideas if you’re trying to take better care of yourself!

Drink and drugs

Let’s start with the obvious. A lot of us drink more than is wise – it’s all too easy to get on the bus and have a few beers after a long day, and Roadie Friday can get messy as we all know. But even if you don’t get wasted on a regular basis, it’s a good idea to give your body a rest and have a few alcohol-free-days a week. It’s easier if there’s something healthy on hand that you like to drink instead – coconut water, kombucha, decaf and herbal teas are good, and I’m also a fan of alcohol-free beers. Sometimes you just want that ‘job well done’ feeling of a nice cold one, and there are more and more coming on the market these days.

As for cigarettes and drugs? There’s no middle ground really – you know what to do if you and your body want to stay friends. I found Allen Carr’s ‘Easy Way’ book a massive help in stopping smoking, and his stopping drinking one also altered my habits without me even trying. A great incentive to change bad habits is stashing the money you would have spent and treat yourself to something cool as an end-of-tour present instead!

Food

It’s usually relatively easy to eat well if you have tour catering, but it can be hit and miss if you don’t. Even with catering there are great and less-great options, so just be mindful and make the best choices you can – it’s never going to be perfect, but go for the most nutritious thing on offer. Juicers make frequent appearances in catering these days, so take advantage – use plenty of vegetables and not too much fruit to keep the sugar down. (I like to compete with myself to make the ultimate disgusto-juice – greens, beetroot, ginger, the hardcore stuff – the worse it tastes, the better it must be for you, right?!) If you’re at the mercy of local catering, which can be good and can be awful, then it’s helpful to have an emergency stash of healthy stuff. I keep things like nuts, protein bars, oatcakes, etc. in my tool drawers for bad-catering days – and in my suitcase as well, to stop me from monstering the overpriced hotel Pringles when I check in, and I’m ravenous!

I’m always hungry after load-out, and it can be hard to resist the temptation of stuffing my face with whatever’s going. I learnt a great healthy touring trick on a bus where some people wanted the usual load-out pizzas, and some wanted a change. We had a chat with production, and they agreed that we could halve the amount of pizza, and use the remainder of the budget for different things that we would put on the runner’s list. That worked brilliantly. We had a selection of items like vegetable crudites, hummus, nuts, crispbreads, dips, avocados, dark chocolate, etc.; whatever we fancied within reason and budget, and everyone was happy – it’s much easier to resist the siren call of cheesy carbs when there’s an alternative! If that’s not an option, you could buy your stash of healthier load-out snacks for the bus. Another favourite trick is eating light before the show and boxing up some of my dinner – sure, eating late at night isn’t ideal, but being realistic I know I’ll always want something, and it’s a better option than piling into the junk food at midnight!

Probiotic /vitamins

I take a multivitamin and supplements as an insurance policy, and I’m a big fan of taking a probiotic tablet each day, particularly when you’re traveling in far-flung places – it can help keep your digestion happy.

Exercise

Loading in and out is a workout in itself, and as we’re on our feet all day the general activity levels on the road are pretty high. Maximise the good work by taking advantage of hotel gyms on days off to get the cardio happening, or if that doesn’t appeal there are lots of online fitness classes, you can stream or download to do in your hotel room. Rubber resistance bands make a great portable alternative to weights, and a skipping rope takes up minimal room in your luggage. Alternatively, take yourself out for a brisk walk around the city, or if you’re near countryside you can join forces with a few others, rent a car and get out into nature!

My yoga practice has been a huge blessing – it’s free, I can do it just about anywhere, and all I need is my mat. I like to do an hour before work, or in the pre or post soundcheck pause. A dressing room is an ideal place, but I get creative – there’s almost always somewhere I can find a quiet spot, even if that’s a stairwell or a corner of the loading bay behind some stacked cases! The key is to remember that anything is better than nothing, and you’ll feel so much better afterwards.

Hide!

Part of the fun of touring is going out for dinner with the gang on a day off, but once in a while, it’s a treat to hibernate. Find a supermarket and get yourself a roadie buffet, or have some room service, watch a movie or box-set, chill out and have a luxurious early night!

And relax….

Guided relaxations are a lovely way to help you fall asleep and are a great entry point for meditation with all the associated benefits of stress reduction and improved sleep. You could try one of the many Youtube guided relaxations or podcasts that are available for free or download an app that you can listen to on headphones in your bunk. (This has the bonus of drowning out the collective farting and snoring.)

Overall, be inventive and experiment! Rome wasn’t built in a day, but just making one or two changes can make a big difference to how you feel every day, and help you to live fast and stay young!

Stealth Sonics – The Next Generation of IEM Technology

For a product that didn’t even exist until the late 90s, in-ear monitors have become a major part of the audio engineering world. From the first set created by Jerry Harvey for Alex Van Halen back in 1995, we now see custom IEMs with as many as 12 drivers in a single tiny earpiece. As a monitor engineer who has used IEMs with most of the bands I’ve mixed in the last 20 years, I’ve often wondered how much further the technology could go.

Well, it seems that a group of audiologists, engineers, and musicians with a passion for creating an unparalleled listening experience may have the answer. Stealth Sonics has gathered research from a vast network of audiologists and breakthroughs in the aerospace industry to create a new range of IEMs which engineer ultra-precise, second-bend ear canal impressions to position the earpiece within just a couple of millimeters of the eardrum. The advantage of this is the ability to listen at a lower, safer SPL; going as close to the eardrum as possible ‘reduces uncontrollable acoustic gain along the ear canal and therefore lends itself to higher fidelity sound.’

The Stealth Sonics approach is a new one – to the best of my knowledge, there are no other second-bend IEMs out there, although second-bend moulds are regularly created for hearing-impaired clients requiring hearing-aids. As the process is undertaken by members of a network of certified and medically trained audiologists, it is both completely safe and guarantees an optimum standard of impression-taking. The price of the IEMS includes the audiology costs for impression-taking – often not the case with other manufacturers, and I for one have fallen foul of poorly-taken impressions resulting in a very expensive pair of uncomfortable IEMs!

But it’s the level of customisation that, to my mind, makes these IEMs the most exciting thing to come to the market in a long time. Stealth Sonics don’t stop at taking a very accurate, second-bend ear impression – they actually send a sweep into the customer’s ear canal and measure the response digitally, much like how a room is acoustically treated. Using the data gathered and combining it with Minimum Hearing Thresholds, they are able to map a solution that will not just custom make a sleeve that will fit into the ear canal, but which allows them to tune the IEM to the specific acoustic ear canal response of the individual. That means they would hear the best and most accurate sound they are capable of hearing. And for a monitor engineer, this is the closest you’re ever going to get to truly hearing the same thing as your artist.

The influence of aerospace technology is an interesting factor in Stealth Sonics’ product range. Using what they call  ‘SonicFlo Tech,’ they employ science that allows the control of airflow from the drivers to the ear input, through control of parameters such as the length/diameter/aspect ratio of the delivery tubes. This control allows them to deliver sound for various purposes; their 2-driver unit is musical and designed for live sound and music lovers, 4-driver is designed for the vocalist and guitarist and the 9-driver is designed for the mastering engineer or audiophile. Their IEMS contain either balanced armature drivers or a combination of those and dynamic drivers. To explain the technology more thoroughly, in balanced armature design an electric current is passed through a coil wrapped around an armature. The coil is suspended between 2 magnets and the changes in current create attraction between the coil and magnets. Balanced armatures can be optimally tuned for specific frequency ranges, and offer better HF performance than dynamic drivers as well as a faster response and more detailed sound. They are also smaller than dynamic drivers, making them ideal for fitting into tiny earpieces.

In a dynamic driver, the diaphragm is attached directly to a voice coil. When current is applied, the voice coil moves between 2 permanent magnets causing the diaphragm to move and produce sound. They offer a better bass response than a balanced armature and tend to be more durable. The difference between the two is much like the difference between dynamic and condenser microphones – both have their advantages, and Stealth Sonics use those judiciously to produce the optimum performance for each product in their range.

Further optimisation comes from the three different types of cable available: the nylon-sheathed copper cable is ideal for extended onstage use due to its tendency to remain tangle-free; the braided oxygen-free copper cable offers improved signal delivery, and the silver oxygen-free cable offers an upgraded audiophile experience due to superior conductivity.

As audio technology gets ever more intricate, it’s exciting to see IEMs taking a bold leap forward. I for one am extremely eager to experience just how good the up-close experience of IEMs can be, when great music is delivered in first-class style to my eardrums, via an earpiece that has been perfectly tailored to the exact acoustic environment of my ears…. taking the meaning of personal monitoring to a whole new level!

Stealth Sonics will be demonstrating their new products at AES in New York October 18 – 21st. Stop by and tell them SoundGirls sent you.

 

The Best Response

This week I was once more asked a question that has been a recurring theme during my career. I’ve lost count of the number of times I’ve been asked to comment on why there aren’t more women in the music business, and my answer has always been the same – I’m the wrong person to ask because I am a woman in the music business. I can’t comment on why someone wouldn’t want to be a part of this, for the very reason that I wanted it more than anything. I’m fortunate to be able to say that after 23 years in the industry I’ve done everything I set out to do and quite a few things that I didn’t. I’ve toured with numerous theatre, arena and stadium productions; mixed monitors for bands whose albums I had as a kid; run sound for the Queen at Buckingham Palace; been paid to travel the world; and been in charge of monitors at the world’s biggest greenfield festival. It hasn’t all been smooth sailing, but neither has it been the sexism-infused nightmare that some people seem to imagine. Indeed, some people seem almost disappointed when I tell them it really hasn’t been that bad, and it has me wondering: is it this idea of victimisation that puts some women off?

Now it’s possible that I walk around with my head in the clouds and don’t notice sexist behaviour, but I think it’s more likely that I’ve simply learnt to pick my battles. If I called a tribunal every time someone made a sexist crack I’d be in court for the rest of my life; but there’s a world of difference between sexist cracks and true misogyny. Tribes of people (i.e. a crew) naturally seek out what is different about a newcomer and zero in on that to test them. A smart newcomer will give as good as they get in return, show themselves to be a valuable commodity to the existing tribe, and in doing so establish common ground and become accepted. It would be a mistake to think that cracks are made simply because I’m a woman; anyone who’s heard crew banter will know that it can be brutal between guys, and the only reason gender is raised is because it’s the most obvious difference.

I can count on one hand the number of times that I’ve encountered true misogyny. Whilst I did speak up for myself at the time, in every case, I also found that the best possible response is simply to prove them wrong.

One odious production manager told me I’d never make it unless I learnt to open my legs. My satisfaction upon seeing him at an industry event many years later, wearing a badge stating my position at the PA company I worked for and having very much made it without doing any such thing, was immense. I didn’t need to say anything – the look that passed between us said it all.

Not long ago I ran into someone who bullied me for a period of time in my early days. Back then he was senior to me (though not by much) and was fond of telling me how useless I was. But now, many years later, the status quo was reversed, and I was in a very much senior position to him. It made me realise just how far I’d come, and that bullies are, as we all know, just fearful cowards. I considered taking him to task in defence of my younger self but decided against it. He now cut such a pathetic figure that I felt no need to make explicit who was the winner here – it was obvious.

And the sorry behaviour from a couple of local crew whom I encountered in the States just seems laughable now, as it did then – how sad, to have to get your fun by trying to tear others down. I’ll bet their lives aren’t a barrel of laughs – after all, people who are secure in their own talents just don’t do that. How small they must feel, in their quieter moments. Not to mention having the entire visiting crew now think you’re a complete idiot. (Wait, you didn’t think I’d keep their nonsense to myself did you? Oh, their cracks were far too amusing not to share them with my compatriates – and the guys on a tour soon become like brothers who are very much on their sister’s side!)

So my point is this: if a young woman likes the idea of a career in live music, she shouldn’t worry too much about being in the gender minority, because she’ll quickly get used to it, and most guys are decent folk. The things for her to concern herself with are working hard; learning all she can about her chosen field; forging alliances; and yes, building resilience and comebacks to wisecracks. Learning to tell the difference between crew banter and abusive behaviour is important because the former is far more common than the latter. On the (hopefully) rare occasion that she does experience abusive or inappropriate behaviour she should always call it out, whilst also knowing this: that the best response she can ever give to her detractors is simply to prove them wrong.

Up Close and Personal

Last month I talked about the nuts and bolts of how I run monitors at the Glastonbury Festival. This month, I’ll share some tips about how I mix monitors at the other end of the spectrum – a solo artist and their band.

Running a large festival requires a different set of ‘soft’ skills from working closely with an artist. They both take a great deal of preparation, but whilst at Glasto, that means collating tech specs, session files and stage plots for 24 bands, with solo artists it’s more to do with rehearsals and relationships. And whilst at Glasto, I have the artistic input of making sure that the house EQ and any necessary time alignment on sidefills and wedges mean the stage sounds fantastic, with an artist it gets a lot more refined, particularly if I have a long working relationship with them. My two current artists are both fantastic singers whom I’ve been working with for nine years and seven years respectively, so by now, I have a fairly intuitive understanding of what they want to hear. Both have excellent bands playing with them, are lovely people, and I enjoy their music, so it’s a very nice position to be in.

Relationship

The quality of the relationship between the monitor engineer and artist is an important part of the job, and as with people in any walk of life it doesn’t always click. You can do a great technical job of mixing, but if the artist doesn’t feel a connection with you, you may not get a second run. As I’ve said before, they need to feel that you’ve got their back, because they really are reliant on you. Put yourself in their shoes – it’s a vulnerable position, standing on stage in front of thousands of people, and their ability to hear what they need is totally in your hands. That goes for all bands, but is amplified for a solo artist – the backing musicians are a big part of the show, but the audience is watching the star most of the time, so they’re very exposed and they have to trust you. Part of it is down to personalities – you might gel and you might not – but you can help build rapport by being reliable, consistent, calm, professional, prepared and confident.

Hierarchy

Being friendly with the artist, but not overly so, is important – you want to establish an easy working relationship with them, whilst remembering that they are still your boss. I’ve found that balancing friendliness with a little professional distance is a wise move. Friendly, not friends.

Of course, in most cases, you’re not just mixing for the artist but for the band too. I’ll always soundcheck with the band by themselves first, so that I can make sure they’re happy before turning my attention to the artist – and often an artist will stop soundchecking when they’re comfortable with the engineer. I never stop watching the artist once they’re on stage – you can guarantee that the moment you look away is the moment they’ll look over!

During the show, I keep half an eye on the band, but my main focus is the artist. So how to make sure that the band feels taken care of too? I ask the stage tech and backline techs to keep an eye on the musicians and alert me if I miss anyone trying to get my attention. I also give every band member a switch mic, so that they can talk directly to both me and the techs. I set up a ‘talk to me’ mix on my console, and I feed my own IEM pack off a matrix, pulling in that talk mix as well as the PFL buss. In that way I never miss someone talking to me, even when I’m listening to the artist’s mix.

Sometimes there’s a request that comes at a critical point in the performance; for example, the drummer wants a little more hat overall, but I have a show cue. I’ll nod to let them know that I’ve seen them and hold up one finger to say that I’ll be with them in just a moment. Then, when I’ve made the change for them, I’ll glance over and catch their eye to check that they’re happy. I encourage musicians to give me immediate feedback when they’ve asked for something – it’s no use finding out after the gig that something wasn’t quite right!

Avatar

Mixing artist monitors is like being an avatar. I need to develop a real understanding of what they pitch to, time to, what they’re used to hearing, and what helps them to enjoy the gig. I don’t usually alter the backing band’s mixes unless asked to do so, but I’ll subtly ride elements of the artist’s mix as necessary during the show, once I have a good understanding of their preferences – if an element of the mix sounds too loud or quiet to me, then it probably does to them as well. I tend to tap along with my foot, which keeps me aware of whether they are wandering off the beat and might need a little more hat or snare.

My latest trick

In rehearsals for my current tour, I had a few days alone with the band first, as usual. Once they were happy I set up my artist’s mix and dialed her vocal mic in. Then I tried something new – I sang along! BEFORE I sent the mic to anyone else, and I ‘may’ have temporarily pulled the XLR split to FOH so only I could hear it, but wow it’s a helpful exercise! It really helped me to get a feel for how easy the mix was to sing with. A more discreet way is simply to keep one IEM in, close off the other ear with your finger, and see if you can pitch reasonably easily. If you can’t find the note you need, what can go up in the mix to help your singer out?

Audience mics

Whilst we never needed these when wedges were the only option (showing my age!), with the widespread use of IEMs they can help the artist feel the vibe of the show. Currently, I’m using three mics on each side of the stage (near, wide and rifle), mixed down to a stereo channel to give a nice spread of audience sound to the ears. I hi-pass them at around 600Hz to keep the low-end out and have them on a VCA which I ride up between songs and when there’s audience participation. On the subject of VCAs, I also use one for the vocal reverb, backing it down during chat between songs.

Split vocal

With solo artists, I always split the vocal down two channels: one to themselves and one to the band. That means that I can keep the mic live in the artist’s ears the whole time, so they can hear themselves after a costume change (when jacks can get pulled and volume pots knocked), without disturbing the band. If we’re using both IEMs and wedges, as one of my artists does, I’ll actually split the vocal three ways to allow for a different wedge EQ and muting when he goes off stage. I always safe the ‘vocal to self’ out of all snapshots, but keep the ‘vocal to band’ within snapshots so those mutes are programmed in.

Keep it clean

Finally, I do a little in-ear and mic housekeeping every day. It’s the monitor engineer’s job to keep the artist’s molds clean and wax-free, so I carry wipes and a little poky tool to make sure they’re always in good condition. Alcohol swabs are great for cleaning the vocal mic, which I do right before handing it over – apart from the fact that a stinky mic is gross if the artist gets sick and can’t perform the whole tour could be in jeopardy, so hygiene is really important.

I hope you’ve found something useful here – every engineer will do things slightly differently, but a can-do attitude, hard work, and attention to detail are great foundations for any engineer, no matter what you’re mixing!

Touring – A Tribute to our Strengths in Times of Darkness

‘Darkness cannot drive out darkness- only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate – only love can do that.’

Dr. Martin Luther King

The horrific recent event in Manchester shocked the world, and hit the industry many of us call home, the touring music business. This murderer targeted not only human lives, but joy, happiness, and community. People – kids – who loved music, having fun at a gig. Coming together to celebrate life and enjoy that transcendent sense of uniting in the excitement of a great show.

The attack happened a few days before my current tour was scheduled for its Manchester gig. Our show went ahead and was one of the first to happen after the attack. While there were a significant number of people who had bought tickets but understandably decided not to come out that night, there were also a great many who felt brave enough to defy the hate-filled cowards who try to scare a free society into submission.

I won’t begin to try to make sense of what happened at Ariana’s show – we call it senseless violence for a reason, and there can be no justification for such appalling actions. Instead, I’d like to pay tribute to all of those who have been affected by this real-life horror story and remember everything that is so wonderful about the music industry and our touring family.

The whole reason that a music industry exists is because of how music makes us feel. Whether we’re feeling elated, melancholy, misunderstood or angry, music is there to help us ride that wave of emotion, process it, or shift out of it. It touches the deepest, truest part of us. It makes us stronger. It unites us. Nothing else has a power quite like it – music is unbreakable. While the industry which has grown up around it certainly has its dark side, the fact remains that it only exists in the first place because of joy. For all its downsides, it’s a fabulous way to make a living – it’s pretty great to look at a jubilant crowd during a gig and know that, in some infinitesimal way, you have contributed to the sum total of human happiness. Those fans deserve our gratitude and respect because they are the music-lovers who make our touring industry possible.

I’ve written before about the strengths of roadie-dom and the way we pull together to make shows happen in the most unlikely and challenging of circumstances. I can think of no better folk to be amongst when you need to pull off the seemingly impossible, and whilst we may not go in for deep and meaningful heart-to-hearts (at least not until the wine is flowing), we become very attuned to each other and quickly sense when someone isn’t ‘right’. I’ve lost count of the ‘is he/she ok? Will you have a chat or shall I?’ conversations I’ve had over the years. Even when it’s just a case of the tour blues and you’re missing home, it’s good to know that you’re surrounded by friends who have been there too and who get it. Friends who will let you get it off your chest and then jolly you along.

We have each other’s backs in a way that more formal industries can only dream of. Because we literally live together for months at a time, strong bonds are quickly formed, and this motley bunch becomes your touring brothers and sisters, your family away from home.

So what are those shared qualities which make our industry so special?

1 – We are resourceful. Rock concert up a mountain in a blizzard? We’re your gang.

2 – We are determined. Blizzard or not, that concert has to happen. The fans have paid, and there WILL be a show.

3 – We are practical. We roll up our sleeves and get stuck in.

4 – We are logical. Things happen in a certain order for a very good reason.

5 – We are adaptable. If that order can’t happen (lighting truck falling down a ditch is one that springs to mind), we find ways around it. Because see 2.

6 – We are responsible. Yes, we might like to party on our downtime. But don’t let that fool you – when we’re dealing with large amounts of electricity, hanging tons of gear in a roof, and lifting heavy, cumbersome flight cases, we’d better have our heads on straight, or someone’s going to get hurt.

7 – We are efficient. Non-touring folk are amazed at the speed at which we can set up and pull down a spectacular show. Especially after the 100th time, we do it!

8 – We are hard-working. There are no sick days in our world – I’ve mixed shows with a bucket next to me when I’ve had a vomiting bug, and most of us can relate similar tales. But if you are seriously ill, get to a hospital.

9 – We are there for each other. If one of us is truly too ill to do the show, we pull together our collective skills and make it happen. It might not be perfect, but the audience will be none the wiser.

10 – We are friends. We laugh and joke and share truths, we fall out and make up and put it behind us. We take the piss out of each other mercilessly but stick up for each other when it matters. We don’t see each other for months and years and then pick up right where we left off.

We are family.

Attitude of Gratitude: Cool things about touring (that we sometimes forget…)

Many of us occasionally get a bit of jaded roadie syndrome. Maybe we get grumpy, and homesick, and miss our folks, and dammit if we hear that song one more time….. When life on the road feels a bit uphill, here are some of the great things about touring to remind ourselves of.

– You get to travel the world and get paid for it. Sometimes, if you’re lucky, you find yourself in some crazy places that you just wouldn’t ever visit as a tourist, and become richer for the experience, both literally and figuratively.

– You get to do this with a bunch of like-minded people who often become good buddies. Sure there’ll be one or two who aren’t your cup of tea, but that’s just life, and there are lots of others to hang with. Camaraderie is one of the best things about life on the road.

– Music! I’m guessing a love of music led you down this path in the first place, and now you get to work with that love. With a bit of luck, you like the band you’re touring with, and it can be so fulfilling to be part of that creative process.

– You don’t have to clean the bathroom THE WHOLE TIME YOU’RE AWAY!

– Or go to the supermarket.

– Or cook.

– Or do your own laundry…. You get the picture.

– Lovely people cook lovely food for you. In fact, you may need to pack your willpower if you don’t want to come home with some unwanted tour swag…. Especially when the load-out food and drink fairies visit the bus!

– You get to be ‘in flow.’ If you’re directly involved in the show, you can’t be thinking about anything else for that couple of hours… you have to be present because if you’re not, you’re going to mess up. And we all know what that means – Taxi!

– Every day is dress-down Friday. Except when you put on normal-person clothes to go out for dinner on a day off, and everyone looks really smart, and it’s all a bit weird…

– You know that thing when you forget where you are? (Umm…. stage left?) Well, that happens, but it’s sometimes because you haven’t looked at the day sheet beyond timings and so you genuinely don’t know! Which is kind of surreal….

– Sometimes you get to stay in really swanky hotels. The rooms are usually ready pretty fast because a bunch of crew tumbling off the sleeper bus in their pajamas isn’t quite the look the hotel staff had in mind for the lobby.

– You get to try some really weird and wonderful local cuisines and customs on the more far-flung legs of a tour. If you’re prepared to step outside your comfort zone and embrace the adventure then it’s never dull!

– There’s that cool little rush of adrenaline before a show, and the happy sense of satisfaction after a, particularly good one. Heck, even on those shows when everything that can go wrong, does, there’s that ‘blitz spirit’ of everyone pulling together to make this thing happen!

– You make your living by contributing, in some tiny way, to the sum of human happiness. See all those shining faces in the crowd? You’re a part of that.

– Finally, when you get home after a long tour there’s nothing quite like it for making you truly appreciate life’s little pleasures. Early nights in your own bed; a proper cup of tea in your favourite cup; making whatever you fancy to eat; your own shower; catching up with home-friends; and of course the biggie of seeing your loved ones…. these things take on a new level of joy, and that alone is worth hitting the road for!

Tour Tribe

‘Human beings are social animals. Biological evolution equipped men and women for a communal existence, hunting and foraging in tribes of between twenty and forty people. We could never have survived this ecological niche by ourselves. We don’t have the strength, speed or agility of other animals. But we do have language. We can communicate with others, and we are bright enough to collaborate for purposes of hunting, collecting food, defense, and building shelters. A tribal group would work as a team, assigning to each member a role according to their character and skills.’

This an extract from a book called ‘Sick and Tired – Healing The Illnesses Doctors Cannot Cure’ by Nick Read. It’s a fascinating investigation of ‘functional illnesses’ which doctors are unable to pin down with a cure, such as IBS, chronic fatigue, depression, fibromyalgia, eating disorders and so on. Dr. Read explores the idea that, despite the fact that as a society we’ve ‘never had it so good,’ we’re sicker and unhappier than we’ve ever been, and the stressful pace of modern life and disconnection from our simple humanity is to blame.

His description of how we lived back in our caveman days struck a very loud chord with me. Twenty to forty people, living a nomadic existence and working as a team within roles according to their character and skills. Remind you of anything? No wonder we like touring – we’re basically channeling our inner caveman! I’m making light of it, but life on the road really does offer a sense of community that’s increasingly rare in modern life. We each have our roles to fulfill, which offers the opportunity for creative expression, problem-solving, and collaboration with others, and we have to do it within a timeframe, which means tangible satisfaction rather than never-ending procrastination. And our work may involve mind-boggling amounts of technology, but it also involves a lot of physical activity – pushing, pulling, climbing, lifting, standing up and walking around for most of the day – all of which means we use our bodies as evolution intended. Being away from home also provides a chance for genuine rest and downtime on days off, rather than racing around. I certainly find being on tour more relaxing than juggling different tasks back home, and suddenly I understand why that is, despite long hours and the potentially pressured environment.

This is not to say that roadies never suffer any kind of functional illness; of course, we do. There are ample temptations and opportunities to break yourself on tour as well as all this good stuff. But I think it’s interesting that studies increasingly suggest that it’s living out of sync with our caveman roots which has made us so sickly as a society. The rate of lifestyle change has dramatically accelerated since the industrial revolution, and the incidence of illnesses which have no obvious cure – despite immense, marvelous leaps in treating pathology – has accelerated alongside it.

When you think about it, it’s the least surprising thing. Take a being who has evolved for a nomadic, active, communal existence roaming in nature; who thrives on practical problem-solving, eating food hunted and gathered from the land; who derives satisfaction from doing the skills they’re suited for and not comparing themselves with others; whose body responds to threat by fighting or running for their life, and who rises with the sun and sleeps for as long as they need. Now, airdrop them into a situation where they spend most of their time static, unable to roam freely because of overcrowding; where their practical abilities and simple satisfactions have been outsourced to machines; where they eat processed chemical foodstuffs with precious little connection to the land; where they are encouraged to constantly compare themselves with others and measure their self-worth by their appearances and possessions; where they are vulnerable to artificial alerts and stimulation 24 hours a day and where, because of all of this, they’re in a constant state of stress from which they cannot run. Would we really be shocked if this being got sick? Of COURSE not!

We may not have been airdropped, but the few thousand years in which we have made these changes, in evolutionary terms, is the blink of an eye. Our physiology and psychology haven’t been able to keep up, and we’re now very bewildered space-age cavemen. So it feels good to have a taste of that more natural way of life, as we roam the world with our tour tribe. Touring doesn’t make modern life go away – heck, touring as we know it couldn’t have happened 100 years ago. But we do have some precious, crucial elements in there which I believe are a large part of the pleasure – even the romance – of touring.

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