I’ve had a fair amount of experience singing acapella, and the one thing which frustrates me is that the quality of our performance is highly dependent on the AV system. It’s tough because no matter how good we sound during our practices, if the sound system doesn’t work well, it can easily undo all our hard work.
There’s nothing much we can do if the sound system spoils. But what we can control is whether we’re using our microphones properly!
In this post, I’ll be covering some of the basics of mic technique that you’ll need to know as the person singing into it.
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There are two main types of microphones, dynamic and condenser mics.
Dynamic mics are better at picking up loud noises, these are usually used for solo singers, emcees, etc. In contrast, condenser mics are much more sensitive to softer noises, higher frequencies. It’s useful for larger groups of singers (like a background chorus) or studio recordings, because it is more sensitive to intricate details in the music.
For more information, this article can be helpful.
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In acapella singing, we will mostly be using dynamic mics. These are very easy to use, but over time I’ve noticed that singers tend to make two mistakes, which can really jeopardise the quality of their performance.
Firstly, hold the microphone close to you, with the diaphragm (top of the mic) pointed right at your mouth, so that the sound can be best picked up by it. Just look at the picture below for a good example:
Some people may hold the microphone vertically instead, like this:
However, this means that the sound will not be picked up as efficiently, because of the direction of sound delivery for different mics (red arrows).
Secondly, don’t pull the mic too far away from your mouth. If you feel like your mic is too loud, you should ask the sound engineer to lower your volume instead. Otherwise, in order for them to pick up what you are singing, the sound engineers may have to modify the settings in a way that would pick up more of the background sound as well. This may lead to the loud screeching “feedback” that you may hear, which is definitely not part of your performance! This may sound really simple, but it’s a mistake that I’ve seen many singers make.
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With this in mind, I think it’s also really important to talk about how to do a proper soundcheck. When you’re ready, click here to read about it!
~ Sin Yee
Approach To Acapella 