Amplifying Your Voice
Until electronics gained a foothold in the 1920s, singers either had to sing really loud, or they had to sing through a megaphone (a large cone with both ends cut out) in order to get extra volume. But ever since the public address (P.A. for short) system came along, singers could sing in a more natural voice and let the microphone, the amplifier and speakers pump up the volume. Like any technology, using a microphone requires a little understanding of the microphone and how the voice and microphone interact. And you'll also find that there's more going into the microphone than what you sing, and you need to baby the microphone a little bit if you want it do what you need it to do.
Choosing a microphone
This is a tough one and an easy one. Your budget probably says, "I want
something affordable, that will stand up to a lot of abuse." Your brain
says, "I want a microphone that makes me sound great." Okay, so you
settle somewhere in between. Actually, you don't even have to settle.
There are a lot of great mikes available for less than $150. Look for a
solid dynamic microphone made by a well-known manufacturer. You'll get
good advice from the people in the sound reinforcement department at
your local music store. Tell them what you plan to do with the
microphone (rock band, jazz ensemble, whatever), how much you're
willing to spend, and so on. You might actually want to try some of the
microphones they suggest. If possible, take your voice teacher or some
musician friends to help you decide.
Make sure you get a low-impedance microphone if you plan to use this with a mixer that requires low-impedance input. If you aren't sure, go for the low-impedance microphone, provided you can also get a low-to-high-impedance adapter for it. These adapters cost $20 to $50, but are necessary, especially if you want to plug into a guitar amplifier, home recording equipment, or anything else that requires a high-impedance source.
How do I use a microphone?
A good singer knows that in order to get the best sound while singing,
you hold the microphone a couple of inches away from your mouth. If
you're too close, then it sends a distorted, bass-heavy sound to the
P.A. Too far away, and it sounds like you're in the next state. How do
you know the right distance for you? Hold the mike pretty close--about
an inch away from your mouth--and start singing. Slowly move the mike
away and have the person working the sound system tell you when it
sounds best. Sometimes holding the mike on a slight angle, so that you
don't sing directly into it, has a positive effect on making your voice
sound good, too.
Boom, hiss!
Because a microphone hears everything you sing, it can exaggerate
certain sounds. In particular, sounds like the letter "B" and "P"
(called "plosives") can rock the roof because they can come out a loud,
bottom-heavy booms. And the sound of "S," "T," and "Z" (called
"sibilances") can sound like you have an inner tube with a slow leak.
These problems can be minimized if you practice proper singing diction,
which a good instructor will teach you, and knowing when to move the
mike away from your mouth. Some microphones are fitted with
windscreens, foam-rubber caps that fit over the end of the mike. These
help to cut down on wind noise, including some of the hisses and pops
that you might otherwise create in your singing.
Microphones pick up a lot of sound, and even sounds that you don't want to amplify can easily work their way into the mike. When you aren't singing, hold the mike away from your face, not just to give the audience a good look at your dazzling smile, but so that they don't hear you breathing, coughing, throat-clearing, sneezing, or making other "unmusical" noises.
Be mike-aware
Just about everything you do with a mike gets amplified. One common
problem comes from leaving a mike on a stand and then hitting the stand
with your hand, or kicking it with your foot, or stomping on the stage
next to the mike. The thumps that come through can be LOUD. Be aware of
this, and remember that when a mike is in a stand, the stand and the
stage all become part of the microphone (because the sound comes
through as a result of these things touching, it's called acoustic
coupling). Also keep in mind that nervous hands rubbing the mike or
tapping on it can also introduce unwanted noise. This "handling noise"
is minimized in many mikes, but only so much can be done to cut down
the noise from fidgeting hands. And never rub the end of the microphone
where you sing with your finger or your sweater or anything else while
the mike is turned on. You'll hear your sound person shriek for sure.
If you accidentally spit on the mike while singing, wait until after
the song or the set, and while the mike is turned off, to wipe off your
schmazz.
Don't swing the mike around like it's a piece of wood, because it can "hear" the whooshing sound of air zooming past it. Also, don't hold the mike against your chest or your leg or against any part of your body, for that matter. You can cause feedback (see below) and all sorts of grinding handling noises.
Can I get more volume just by singing louder?
Singing louder produces a stronger signal going from the microphone to
the P.A. mixer, so in pure terms, yes, the volume you sing at has an
effect on the overall loudness. Remember this, though: Singing too loud
can distort the microphone, especially if you lean into the mike while
you sing those loud notes. Practice singing louder and softer and
moving the microphone closer and farther away from your mouth. If you
and your sound person can work together, you'll get a good idea of how
this mouth/microphone interaction works.
Screech! Ow!
You've heard the hair-raising effects of feedback at one time or
another. The principal leans too close to the microphone at an
assembly, and there's a screeching howl that fills the place. It's
nasty, and it's not always avoidable. But you can take steps to avoid
feedback. First, you should know what feedback really is: It's
amplification and re-amplification (and re-amplification again) of a
sound to the point where the mike, amplifier, and speakers are pumping
out maximum volume from just one sound. What causes it? Well, it's like
recycling: When a microphone is pointed at a speaker that's part of the
P.A. system, it recycles the sound coming out of the speaker. So, if a
sound is multiplied five times its normal volume, then if it's
recycled, it will be multiplied another five times (making it 25 times
louder) and then five times more when that amplified sound is
re-amplified (we're up to 125 times the original volume!), and so on.
Feedback usually happens more often at certain frequencies, so that's
why you usually hear a loud ringing sound. So, to avoid feedback, keep
the mike pointed at you instead of at the speakers, and don't hold the
mike too close to your mouth (this can sometimes cause lots of
feedback, as you know from your principal at the assembly).
Be nice to your microphone
Aside from how you sing into a mike, how you treat it can also be
important. You now know about handling noise and stage thumps. But
another important thing to remember is that dropping a mike can make
one of the loudest noises in the world when it feeds back through the
P.A. system. Before you go onstage, wash your hands well, and if your
hands tend to sweat (hey, it's just nerves!), keep a towel with you to
wipe them occasionally. It won't improve your singing, but it will
improve the overall sound if you don't drop the mike. Finally, even the
most rugged microphones can be damaged if they're dropped the wrong way.