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OPERATING YOUR SOUND SYSTEM
We have discussed how to check a hall to
determine whether it is possible to get good sound
coverage in it; we have talked about how to set up your
sound equipment to get the best sound coverage possible;
this time let's talk about how to use that sound
equipment, once you have set it up.
Your microphone--what it does and how to use it:
The microphone has a diaphragm which when
vibrated by the sound of your voice striking it,
generates electrical energy and feeds it to your
amplifier. Unfortunately, it also picks up all of the
other sound waves that strike it. How do you hold a
microphone so that only your voice goes into it, and not
the other sounds that you don't want to pick up? Up close
to your lips. Forget about all of the people you see on
TV with a mic. clipped to their neckties or held 8 inches
away from their lips. That won't work for you! Why?
Two reasons. First: The law of inverse squares, if you
hold your mic. a half inch from your lips it receives a
given amount of sound energy from your voice. Move it
twice as far--1 inch--does it receive half as much
energy? No--only one fourth as much! That extra half inch
takes away three quarters of the efficiency of your sound
system! Second: When you move the mic. away from your
lips, you must turn up more power to be heard, and more
outside sound enters the mic.. When sound from the
speaker enters the mic. it is fed back into the
amplifier, and in a split second it builds into the
earsplitting screech we know as feedback. Feedback is
always the result of poor microphone technique: not
working close enough to the mic..
Form the habit of holding your mic. correctly and it will
soon become second nature to you.
Now that we know how to hold a microphone, there is more
that must be learned, involving projection and
enunciation. Did you ever hear somebody use a mic. and
you couldn't understand a word they said? The next
speaker uses the same mic. and he doesn't sound any
louder, but suddenly every word is clear? There's more to
it than working close to the mic..
How loudly should you speak into a microphone? If you are
sitting at a table that is six feet in diameter and you
project enough so that someone sitting across the table
can hear you clearly, that's about how much you should
project into a microphone. You don't need to shout: In
fact, doing so can overload a mic.. Form the habit of
projecting your voice into it. Again, it will become
automatic in a short time.
It is quite possible for people to hear you clearly, and
still not be able to understand what you say; a loud
mumble is still a mumble! Many of us don't open our
mouths very much when we speak. Most of us are not
consciously aware of the locations, inside our mouths,
where we form our words. How we enunciate is very
important.
Here's an experiment you can do yourself: It won't take
much time or trouble and it will prove all of the things
we have been saying. It is also good practice at forming
the correct habits. Set up your sound system at home. If
you have a tape recorder, so much the better. Plug it
into your amplifier so you can play back your experiments
and listen to the results.
Let's take some words; they don't have to make sense:
shuffle, step slide. Set the mic tone control at normal
an turn up some volume. Say the words in a normal voice,
holding the mic. about an inch from your lips, and listen
carefully. Now hold the mic. so it touches your lips and
say them again at the same volume. Now move the mic. an
inch to the side and say them again. Notice how the sound
drops off. Mic. technique is important!
How and where you form your words in your mouth is also
very important. Try this: Say some words into the mic. as
you would normally say them. Now, consciously try to form
the same words as far back in your mouth as you can and
say them into the mic.. Now, consciously try to form each
sound of each word as far forward in your mouth as you
can, and say them again. The difference is amazing! When
you are using a microphone, try very hard to form your
words as far forward in your mouth as you can, using your
lips, teeth and the tip of your tongue. This kind of
practice pays off. In a very short time it becomes
automatic and you couldn't mumble if you tried! Try
smiling as you speak--the words will form in the front of
your mouth and you can hear the improvement in clarity.
Here is one more test: Say the same words again, this
time turning the mic. tone control towards bass. Notice
how the sibilants disappear, and you sound as if you had
developed a lisp? Now turn it towards the treble. The
sibilants come back, but your voice sounds less mellow.
If you have to choose between sounding mellow and being
understood, which do you pick? Take out a little treble
to make your voice sound more pleasing, but not to the
extent that you lose any intelligibility.
Handling your music:
Since you are all set up, let's move over to the
music side. You normally have three knobs there:. volume,
bass, and treble. A lot of people don't use the volume
control enough. You can't just set it and forget it.
Different recordings are recorded at different levels.
This means that you must check volume every time you
change CD, MiniDisc, record, or tape, and sometimes it's
a good idea during playing. Do you drop the music volume
a bit while you are cueing over the music so the dancers
can hear you clearly, and bring it up when you are not?
Doing this insures the dancers are hearing the cues they
need to hear while still being able to dance to the
music. Are you cueing a routine the dancers know very
well or is it a new one where they have a greater need to
hear your cues? Ask yourself these questions when
adjusting the volume and tone on your sound system.
The bass control is for the low frequencies in your
music. If your music source has a real booming bass, you
can take some of it out. If it is mostly fiddle, with a
weak bass beat, you can put some more in, to get a more
solid rhythm that the dancers can hear. More about this
control when we discuss balancing the program and playing
back taped music.
The treble control is for the high frequencies in the
music. A fiddle tune may sound a bit screechy, especially
in some halls--taking out some of the treble can make it
sound a lot better. If you have an old favorite record or
tape that sounds a bit worn and scratchy then take out
some of the treble and you cut down the surface noise and
hiss. For a weak melody lead boost the treble and it may
come through better.
Using MP3 music:
If you use MP3 music, either on a laptop or MP3 player, make sure the
level is correct and recorded correctly, especially if you have
created the MP3 yourself. "Normalizing" insures the volume
levels are consistent on MP3 songs. Abide by all legal considerations
when using MP3's.
Music on tape:
With many makes and models of cassette recorders
the music will sound much bassier than the original, when
played back though your sound system. With some of them
you may have to turn the bass all the way to minimum and
the treble to maximum in order to get the music to sound
normal. Any tape which was made by air pickup through the
microphone that is built into the recorder will suffer a
loss of highs and sound more bassy than the original.
Again, you must cut bass and boost the treble to improve
the results on playback.
Balancing the program:
In any hall there is three levels of sound: The
ambient noise, made by the dancers, sideline
conversations, etc.; the music level, which must be
louder than the ambient noise, and the voice program,
which must come through clearly over the other two.
In almost every piece of music there are certain
frequencies that interfere with the voice cueing program
so that your cues don't come clearly over the music. Do
some practice cueing with your sound system, and as you
do, experiment with the music bass and treble controls.
The chances are that for any given piece of music you
will find a combination of settings that really make a
difference and helps your voice stand out clearly over
the music. A little homework can make a difference in how
well your dancers can hear you.
Recordings with vocals: Any dance instructor can tell you
that these are the toughest to work with. The dancers are
put in the situation of listening to two voices at the
same time and trying to understand what each is saying.
Try lowering the music volume as mush as you dare while you
are cueing; cut some treble out of the music and add some
to your voice--or vice versa. One or the other (more
likely the first) might help.
In a reverberant hall, certain frequencies will echo
worse than others. If high sounds like snare drums, rattle
around, cut the treble as far as you dare. If the echo
sounds boomy and bassy, cut the bass and boost the treble
a bit. Always hold the volume down as much as you can:
The louder the program the worse the echo. As we have
mentioned before, you can't get good sound in a truly bad
hall, but maybe these tips will be of some help.
Follow our bird to the next topic
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 Contact
Information
For a complete information package contact Dick
Henschel at:
HILTON AUDIO
PRODUCTS, INC.
1033-E Shary Circle, Concord, California 94518
Phone: 925-682-8390 - Fax: 925-682-8497 - E-mail: hiltonaud@aol.com
Copyright
© 2007 - Hilton Audio Products, Inc.
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