Mic Technique Lessson 28 Needs to Be Ammended

Being a professional audio engineer, the mic technique topic in Lesson 28 with Jonathan Eastbrooks needs to be amended.  His advice is good if you are a solo singer on a stage with no other sound sources.  If you are playing with a band, this is terrible advice and the soundman will want to rip your face off. When playing with a live band, or even when using backfill monitors holding your mic like that will not only introduce massive amounts of bleed, it will also create feedback as the sound engineer tries to get enough level from your voice.  So you should sing into the mic in most live situations, not across it as he suggests.  

I get that he is very advanced, but he most likely always uses in-ear monitors or has enough space to distance himself on stage from other sound sources.  

If you decide to sing across the mic instead of into the mic, remember this rule, every time you double your distance from a sound source, you lose 6dB of gain.  So from 1 inch to 2 inches, you lose 6dB.  2 inches to 4 inches, another 6dB.  4 inches to 8 inches, another 6dB.   The reverse is also true.  Every time you half your distance, you gain 6dB.  You can also use this rule for mic technique. This means that you are already losing over 6dB of gain when you sing across the mic, meaning that the sound engineer will have to raise your gain by over 6dB, therefore, increasing the chance of feedback, especially with novice sound engineers. This also means that the mic membrane will not act in the way it was designed to act.  In some cases, this can sound more natural, but overall, it's quite undesirable.  I am not saying he is totally wrong as I am sure in theatre you want a more natural tone and the chance of a loud sound source interfering is insignificant, but playing in a loud environment or ESPECIALLY when recording should also be discussed.  You would never sing across a mic in a recording studio. There are a 1000 memes about this. lol

Another handy rule to remember is that an increase of 10dB is perceived as double the volume, and a decrease of 10dB is perceived as half the volume.  So watching your distance can help you estimate how far away from the mic you actually need to move.  With practice, it gets much easier.  

Thanks for this great course.  It has really helped me get my voice back in shape after years of not singing.  Just thought I should add in my area of expertise to help those who may run into issues.  

Hey Kris,

This is really great insight. We always apreciate feedback from real-world singers like yourself! Thank your for participating in the course, we are glad you have enjoyed it!

-Mitch, 30Day Singer Admin