slowhand Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 My son has just started using in ear monitors and despite normally have a very good ear for pitch,is constantly off key. He has a decent mix according to him of all the band,with his voice sitting slight above everything ,despite this he is constantly off pitch and seems to struggle to reach the high notes. Any suggestions as it's really affecting his confidence, as he's listened to a few recording of live gigs and there's no hiding the fact he is generally singing slightly flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andrew Edwards Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 Can I offer a pondering which is based upon a previous thread you joined in with. You mentioned your son was in a band with the back line too loud. Could this be a case of finally hearing himself properly in a monitor mix and not drowned out by the back line? This coupled with the upfront nature if IEM. It may take some getting used to, like a new pair of glasses. The first time I went into a recording studio, I was all over the place. Perhaps experimenting with his mix might help his confidence. Even if you find that the mix doesn't change much, he will have practised using the IEM and his brain may sort it all out over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
azlan Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 It's a bit left field, but it may help if you add a bit of low/low mid to his voice in his ears, it's possible that he is used to hearing a mix of his foldback with a bit of spill from the main PA (which tends to be the lower frequencies) which could have given a mental perception of a lower pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Simon Lewis Posted January 31, 2015 Share Posted January 31, 2015 There is a psychoacoustic effect where perceived pitch changes with both frequency and loudness (strangely in different directions above and below 2kHz). Might the difference in monitor levels possibly have led to this ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
slowhand Posted January 31, 2015 Author Share Posted January 31, 2015 Thanks guys some good suggestions,I will get him to try a few things.Would a touch of reverb on the voice mix in the monitors help ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Electrolytic Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 it could be the occlusion effect. it will take time to adjust to this phenomena. plenty of practise with them in. also during a solo practise using a digital delay unit or digital desk add milliseconds of delay. It will be very weird at first however he will be able hear what he is sounding like actually, without the the bone transmission of the skull masking the sound perceived. just an experiment, to show the brain what to compensate for, it will sink in and he'll be on his way. taking out one IEM is not good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BradRWills Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 I've just got back from a depping gig where I took one ear out because my mix was wrong and I had no engineer to correct it (and every twiddle going whilst I was on stage wasnt working)...... ....yeah tell him not to do that....my left ear is going to be ringing for days. Doh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
paulears Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Practice. I use them all the time. I find it quite ok to pitch now, but when I play down low on my bass I can play a semitones flat and not notice. It means I do need to check. It is better in stereo. I pull the bass to one side with my voice, and the others are on the other side. About ¾ split, and it becomes easier to hear. I've not worked out why this is. Using my in ears on tracks with bass, I can be very accurate pitch wise but it seems it's when I sing at the same time. So must be something with my voice masking something? Bone vs ears? I don't know but something is working against me. I use them mainly to keep the volume out, as I stand very close to the guitarist and drummer. Taking one out is a mismatch in levels -a big one, so doesn't work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peza2010 Posted February 1, 2015 Share Posted February 1, 2015 Id also try adding an ambient mic into the mix if possible Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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