All things relating to education, patience, help from superiors.The Hierophant is often considered to be a Guardian Angel.
The Hierophant's purpose is to bring the spiritual down to Earth. Where the High Priestess between her two pillars deals with realms beyond this Earth, the Hierophant (or High Priest) deals with worldly problems. He is well suited to do this because he strives to create harmony and peace in the midst of a crisis. The Hierophant's only problem is that he can be stubborn and hidebound. At his best, he is wise and soothing, at his worst, he is an unbending traditionalist.
Audio 101 for Musicians
Audio 101 for Musicians
Getting a better On Stage monitor mix .
Many Musicians are comfortable turning Bass, Mid, Treble knobs or putting a "smiley" on the 10 band graphic built in to their powered mixer and turning the knob labeled "MON" up until it sounds loud enough to them , but what about when you are on a larger stage where there is a sound crew providing your monitor mixes for you? How often do Musicians complain about "bad monitors"? First, a common thought is it's the Monitor Engineers' fault as to why the monitors sounded like "Shit"; well yes, an experienced monitor engineer can make the world of difference in the on stage sound, but its really the musician that mixes the monitors and the engineer that operates them all thru one medium; COMMUNICATION!
So as a Musician you can make your monitoring experience a more pleasant one by understanding how to better communicate with the Mon/FOH engineer by learning a few simple things.
Learn where your Monitors are being controlled from!
If there is an on stage monitor mixer, figure out where it is located and befriend the guy behind it!!! I can't tell you how many times I have had musicians speak into the mic looking at me at FOH asking for things in their monitors when 15' away is a guy who is there to give the performers all of his attention for what ever they may need. If you do need something in your monitors during a performance step away from the mic and make eye contact with the monitor engineer and communicate without announcing to the audience that you need "more bass vocal in the monitor" In the situation where the Monitors are from FOH, be kind to the guy as he is mixing the show trying to present you to the audience as best as he can and handle your 2,3, or 4 monitor mixes at the same time; the difference between "can you turn the bass up?" and "may I get more bass guitar in my monitor" is huge! Especially for the perception of the audience, you never want psycho-acoustics to come into play out of place and have people thinking the bass doesn't sound right, when it was just fine and you only wanted a little more in your mix –This really happens!
Even from the Stage communicating with the FOH guy can be done with out talking into the Mic (obviously not if you cant see him) always try jesters.
Use Common Jesters;
First: DO NOT USE THE THUMBS UP!, this is the single most confusing jester on stage, its similar to when giving driving directions and saying "right" when you mean "correct" and someone makes a wrong turn!!! Point and "OK" or a fist is all you should need to do.
For example:
You need more of your guitar in your monitor;
1. point at your guitar
2. point at your monitor
3. point up
You need more of your band mates vocal:
1. point at your band mate
2. make a talking jester with your hand
3. point at your monitor
4. point up
You want more kick drum:
1. point at the drummer
2. make a fist and imitate the beater of the pedal on the drum
3. point at your monitor
4. point up
The monitor engineer should be looking at you while adjusting the level, give him the "ok" sign or hold a forward facing fist (commonly used to indicate "stop") if you are satisfied, or to say "a little more" make the "little" sign (index finger and thumb about an inch apart) and point up.
Do NOT say "I need more." and Expect good results.
(As far as the audio crew is concerned) one of the most annoying, & unproductive things a musician does on stage is when they just say "can you give me more monitor???" –more what?!?!
A typical 4 piece band will have ~ 14inputs, which are 14 different things you can have "more of" in addition to having more of the over all level -there is a difference!
For example:
a. Start setting your mix with saying "I need _____, ____, and ____ in my monitor mix" you get the nod from the sound guy, you still want more of something, simply say "can I get more_____ in my mix?" –remember your operator is routing (in this example) 14 channels in different combinations to 4 different locations, it is easy to forget who is who and what is what and where it is all supposed to end up!
b. Say you need to hear your band mate who sings and plays guitar. Instead of saying " I need more of him" Say "I need more of his vocal" or "I need to hear more of his guitar"
c.You like the mix but the level is a little low ask "can you turn up my mix" or "can you bring up the overall level?"
*Also it is ok to have something turned down if the level was brought up too much, all Sound people are happy to accommodate this request, even if you just asked to bring up a channel don't be afraid of being too needy, if something can be turned down by all means ask for it to be turned down. Your ears and your mix will benefit!
Learn Key Frequencies.
Ok so there are approximately 20,000 frequencies to choose from; a typical Monitor system *should* have a 31band graphic on each mix, as a musician, should you know those 31 frequencies? Hell no! That's the engineers' job; however, if all you did was learn 5 you can make communicating with your monitor guy a lot easier. The 5 I would suggest learning how to identify are 40Hz, 160Hz, 630Hz, 2500Hz (2.5kHz) and 10,000Hz (10kHz). I chose these as they are all 2 octaves apart and in the most useful (musical) range. Learning these can aid in feedback problem solving, or setting a good tone for your instrument. Another key to learning these frequencies is how to describe them, especially if you are trying to set your tone. Being able to give a ball park to whom ever you are working with, in either case of tone or feedback, can be a real time saver; for example: "its not as low as 160 that I'm hearing but it's lower than 630" -there we have narrowed what you are hearing down to a 2 octave range which in the case of a 31band EQ we now have 7 out of 31 possible choices.
Describing these key frequencies:
40Hz = Rumble, Ballsy, shit myself.
160Hz= Meaty, Thick, Bottom, Boomy
630Hz= Nasally, AM radio sounding, honky
2.5kHz= Shrill, Harsh, Bite.
10kHz= Airy, sibilant, sparkle.
Point the monitor in the right direction.
It's a simple concept that is so often over looked. First as a drummer don't turn the speaker upside down to get the LF driver closer to you with the horn firing into your throne legs; you gain nothing and lose half of everything. Try to keep the monitors pointed away from the audience (unless it is a real specific application such as what Eddie Vedder or John Mayer use). For vocalist, take into consideration the pattern of your microphone example: an SM-58 and a Beta58 have different polar patterns and monitors should be placed differently for either one. A standard cardioid mic you will want the monitor right behind it (180degrees off axis) a hyper cardioid (approx) to either side (135-150 degrees or 210-225 off axis –depending on horn orientation in the monitor or if 2 wedges are used) and of course with the horn pointed at your ears! I have solved so many feedback and volume issues by just moving the monitor wedge and not touching the EQ or raising/lowering the level a gazillion times!
I hope this information is useful, as you can see the majority of ways to getting a good sound on stage (especially when others are controlling it) is thru good communication, sure there are plenty of sound guys who think that the show is all about them and you as a musician were lucky to be invited to play; but no matter what, it's about keeping a high level of professionalism, having fun and understanding that 1. We're all working on the same show. And 2. Nothing is more important than to have the audience see a good show! So why not make it easy?
Michael Gaster
Audio Engineer
About me: I am simply not as significant as I think Iam, my words are not as insightful as I perceive them to be, my needs and desires are no more important than
any others,my opinion of myself is distorted and should be ignored , I am not what I possess or have attained
I am only that which I freely give away
I am the water, you are my shoreline neither can exist without the other, but together we are ever changing beauty
This amazing spectactular mandolin was custom built for me by Eric Aceto and his son, owners and luthiers, of Ithaca Stringed Instruments
www.ithacastring.com
A open invite to stop out at Syracuse's newest St Patty's day tradition
KEGS AND EGGS at Quaker steak and Lube walters road lakeland check out the line up
11am Music by traditional Irish band CLIUDAN
12pm-Irish Dancers!
1pm-Magic by the amazing Joey D’ Magician!
2pm– Music by CORN-BRED
3pm-Irish Dancers!
3:45pm-Music by SMOKE N’ WHISKEY!
5pm– Magic by the amazing Joey D’ Magician!
6pm-Irish Dancers!
6:30pm-Music by folk band BOOTS n’ SHORTS!
7:30pm-Irish Dancers!
8pm– Music by Celtic Rock band CEILI RAIN!
9pm– Music by Celtic Rock band GREEN EGGS!
Hey George, We've been doing Four condenser mics. Facing the stage, it would be one on the left - high on the chest, two in the middle - mid level and head level, and one on the right - head level. The Upright Bass goes on the left and plugs in but needs a DI box. The rest of the instruments will not be plugged in. Thanks, Mike
hey you.....i've been super busy. I wanted to let you know that I have art being exhibited @ the Gear Factory. The opening is Saturday evening from 5-12 pm - probably working hours for you. If not, catch me for details
thank you thank you thank you for just popping by randomly and bringing me flowers.....i was very touched....you are good people George - xoxo made me feel special
hey you....sorry i've been so recluse. Having a hard time trying to find my path with clarity, and my heart just aches. I will bounce back....just might take me a bit - xoxo - k.
George, hope the rest of the night went well! I think we were all asleep by 10 - the day was way long! As always, it was wonderful working with you. Looking forward to the next time.
Hey George! I was just thinking of sending you a message letting you know we're really looking forward to next weekend. We'll be staying over on Saturday night, so there will be time for a pint or two!
Let's not bank my ENTIRE universe on Neil....but yes, I will have a sex life again at the very least...lol. I will be indisposed tues-fri. next week...lucky if i come up for air...
I will pencil in the 19th...let's just tenatively plan on it. Thank you again for lunch...and Kodie has much more working real knowledge w/out delving further LOL
LOL...you know me well...my new partner-in-crime is off to India for 5 weeks, so I'll have more free time, and PS - just quit the waitressing gig...I've had enough. I'll be broke with lots of free time!!!
