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Post by wardrobemistress76 on Mar 12, 2023 20:57:30 GMT
Subject says it all. I’m curious how much performers in musicals hear on stage, particularly compared to what we audience members hear as a finished and complete mix from out front. Do they hear music, vocals, a mix? I always wonder how loud it is for them; or if some performers on specific shows might find the levels on stage underwhelming. Would love to hear your thoughts!
WM
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Post by singularsensation10 on Mar 12, 2023 21:16:50 GMT
It’s a constant battle between performers and sound team. Sound team don’t want to put any mic foldback (ie the performers vocals) through the stage speakers because it bleeds back into the mics and causes echo/delay/messiness. However performers will constantly be complaining they can’t hear themselves - not being able to hear oneself on stage is just something that is understood though, though performers will always ask for more. Sound team will also put very little hi-hat and cymbals on the stage mix as the high frequencies bleed into the performers mics too.
In an ideal world they would have no speakers on stage to maximise the efficiency of the performers mics - this is obviously not possible, so they give performers the bare minimum possible to do their job properly, ie feel the vibe of the music to get ‘into’ the performance and hear their cues correctly. However as a performer you get very used to singing into the abyss!
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Post by firefingers on Mar 12, 2023 21:23:09 GMT
Subject says it all. I’m curious how much performers in musicals hear on stage, particularly compared to what we audience members hear as a finished and complete mix from out front. Do they hear music, vocals, a mix? I always wonder how loud it is for them; or if some performers on specific shows might find the levels on stage underwhelming. Would love to hear your thoughts! WM This sounds like a job for me... It varies a lot. Traditional musicals usually just put a band mix on stage. If it is a keys MD then it'll normally be keys heavy to help cut through the jumble of sounds. If a singer is struggling to hear themselves we would normally turn the band down on stage so they can hear themselves naturally. The sound desk can store and recall settings for each number, or even sections of one number, so if one song they need more drums on stage for dancing and one they need more strings to fill the void that is all set up and tweaked through tech and previews. Ideally we want it as quiet as possible on stage as the more loud onstage monitoring the more that sounds bleeds into the performers mics, colouring and affecting the sound out front, as well as causing feedback issues. Many more modern musicals have starting putting a mix of band AND vocal on stage as well. Rock musicals and other loud shows can make it difficult to get the stage sound quiet enough to allow performers hear their own voice naturally whilst still having the driving energy and not getting muddied by the main speaker system for the audience. Some people want to have more of themselves, some people want more band. Some shows have their sound operator have a "vocal to stage" control on the desk, so if the performer struggles when they can't hear themselves, and the operator notices them go out of tune or out of time, they can lift a little more vocal in to get them back on track. As to level, some shows can be incredibly loud on stage. I worked with on one panto with a... superior actress who insisted on her voice being incredibly loud. Additionally if the performer comes from a gig background (boy bands etc) then they'll be used to loud stage mixes with lots of their own vocal and often insist on such. One thing often the audience hear that the cast don't is effects. Reverb and echo muddy the on stage sound which is unhelpful when trying to pitch or find the rhythm so these are usually only in the audience speakers. Some venues suffer from awful 'slapback', which is basically the sound of the main speakers bouncing off the rear wall and back on to stage, but out of time with the music. This can make it very difficult for the performers to keep in time. The worst I ever had was the Floral Pavillion in New Brighton where I've no idea how the cast managed as I certainly couldn't have. |
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Post by tr252 on Mar 12, 2023 22:48:27 GMT
This is an interesting topic as I’ve thought about it before too but never asked the question.
One thing I’ve always thought is during cast changes for example in Wicked when the super fans go crazy in key parts. I remember Rachel Tucker once saying she had to just trust herself and rely on her experience she was singing defying gravity in tune at her last show because she couldn’t hear herself or the music very well.
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Post by jamesxxx on Mar 12, 2023 23:55:28 GMT
The sound and 'issues' with the sound have been a huge topic on the BroadwayWorld message board for Sweeney Todd on Broadway.
As previews progress they seem to be getting it right.
We dont realise how complicated it can be.
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Post by Deleted on Mar 13, 2023 8:31:47 GMT
I think many people do realize how complicated it can be, but don't necessarily appreciate being charged exorbitant ticket prices yet unable to clearly hear and understand a reasonable percentage of the show. My Sweeney ticket was $269 USD and the sound was only acceptable 90% of the time.
I've seen Sweeney many times and know the lyrics inside and out. I can only imagine how much people new to the show actually missed because of the initial inadequate sound design.
I can't think of many other industries where customers are expected to tolerate a subpar product they have purchased. Once upon a time preview ticket prices were much, much lower because the product offered was clearly still a work-in-progress and blemishes were to be expected. We're well past a point of no return to that more appropriate approach.
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Post by steve10086 on Mar 13, 2023 9:14:54 GMT
Subject says it all. I’m curious how much performers in musicals hear on stage, particularly compared to what we audience members hear as a finished and complete mix from out front. Do they hear music, vocals, a mix? I always wonder how loud it is for them; or if some performers on specific shows might find the levels on stage underwhelming. Would love to hear your thoughts! WM Briliant question, and great responses. I have never given this a single thought in all the years I’ve been seeing musicals. Blimey, I thought they had enough to deal with already, but this adds a whole new level of difficulty 😳 |
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Post by crabtree on Mar 13, 2023 16:17:08 GMT
What technology was there in the Ethel Merman era. I can't imagine she had a mic, or that the orchestra was other than pure sound.
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Post by nick on Mar 13, 2023 19:36:36 GMT
I’d assumed that these days they’d have ear pieces set to their own preferences. They seem very discreet - more so than mics.
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