Re: Earplugs & singing

[Craig.Smoot@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx]

> On Mon, 10 Oct 1994, Rick Barker wrote:
> > Do you sing? If so, how do they effect that? I've always had problems
> > singing with ear plugs in. Playing the harp while they're in doesn't seem
> > to be so critical.
Then Barry wrote:
>  No I don't but the guitar player I play with does sing with earplugs 
> in.  I think he compares it to learning to sing all over again only way 
> faster. FJM 
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Well... I too am a guitar player and the primary backing vocalist in our
band (lucky me, I get all the HIGH parts). ;-)  Anyway, I have been using
earplugs (the soft ones from North) for 6 years now and I *LOVE* them! :-)

At the time I started using them, my ability to tune my guitar by ear had
become awful - next to impossible.  That was due to rehearsing in small
rooms and garages for the first seven years of my playing WITHOUT any
hearing protection.  It took months to get use to playing with earplugs,
but I stuck it out.  Gradually, my "ear" improved back to the point of 
where it had been before - I could tune quickly and easily again!  But
at that time I did not realize the added "perks" that wearing them gave
until I was sort of forced to sing for this band I had just gotten in.

I found that without earplugs, I could not find my vocal pitch very well,
to the point where I had to push my finger against my ear to get my pitch.
Well, when you're the guitar player and need BOTH hands on the guitar
at the same time you can't just stop playing to find your pitch, y'know?
The first perk (and perhaps the BEST for *me*) was that with the earplugs
in, I didn't have to hold my finger to my ear at all! :-)  The earplugs
were acting as an "invisible finger", and enabled me to find my pitch
PERFECTLY *EVERYTIME*!

The second perk was that it sort of put a big "volume knob" on the
band as a whole.  It cut out all that excess NOISE - the real high-end
harshness of things like guitar amps and cymbals.  It for *me*, is
literally like taking a band from volume '11', to about '5'! :-)
And something that sort of goes along with this volume thing, it
enables me to clearly DEFINE and SEPARATE *each band member* as we
play.  I can tell when someone's out of tune (well, usually), or
when someone's singing flat.  Earplugs are my Godsend! :-) 
Now, if I could only get an ENDORSEMENT from North!  Hmm... ;-)

The *only* disadvantages are, they give the illusion of having a "fatter"
tone than you really have (due to the high-end filtering), and they are 
kind of hard to get used to.  But to *ME*, those are small prices to
pay to save your hearing for the rest of your life, you know?

Sorry about the length of this post, but I have such a strong conviction
about the religious use of earplugs that I sometimes get carried away.
Both my wife and I wear them religiously to ANY and ALL music events - 
be them clubs or even outdoor events (if we are close to the Mains).
If you DON'T wear them, then please by all means at least give them a
try.  What have you got to lose if you try, but if you don't try them...
well, then you definitely have A LOT to lose - like your hearing!
And unless you're a Beethoven, I don't think you can afford to lose
your most precious asset as a musician, do you? :-)

Just my two,
Craig S.

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|  Craig Smoot                                                        |
|  Systems Analyst / Programmer / Musician                            |
|  Gradkell Systems, Inc. - Huntsville, AL                            |
|  (craig@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx) ...And NO, I'm not in the Army! ;-)   |
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