On Jan 1, 2005, at 2:24 PM, John Howell wrote:
At 11:35 AM -0800 1/1/05, Chuck Israels wrote:
On Jan 1, 2005, at 11:10 AM, [EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Even competent ones cannot overcome the basic flaw in this system. I played in the pit of the first B'way show to use this system - "Promises, Promises." Phil Ramone was the sound designer/engineer. Phil is hardly inept but, to my ears, it was a disaster. Those seeking further discussion of this whole "amplification" issue can find the article "Department of Lesser Amplification" on my web site.
Good essay, Chuck. One-sided and polemical, of course, but that's exactly what it was intended to be.
Thank you, John - and yes, it was.
There has never been a singer better at using a mic properly and musically than Sarah Vaughn. I've backed her show, and had a chance to watch her work. She had a mic position for every pitch in her wide range and for every dynamic on every pitch.
And the same might be said for her vocal technique - different laryngal positions for different pitches and ranges - quite remarkable.
Her use of the mic was graceful and choreographic, and the sounds produced smooth and unified. Granted, I'm talking about one of the best of the best, but who else should be a role model for young singers?
Absolutely.
A mic reproduces what it hears.
Lots to consider about this. A mic doesn't hear in the same psycho-acoustic way that ear/brains do - so, the music changes, not always for the worse, but certainly not automatically better simply because some elements are louder. Mostly, microphones change problems rather than solve them, and the problems can often (not always, of course) be better addressed in other ways.
Bottom line for me: the available technologies need to be used when they need to be used, they need to be used with good taste and musical goals, and they should never be used as an end in themselves. They can be abused, and often are. But they can also be used to enhance the music, and that's when they should be used.
It would be narrow minded not to agree with this, but how often is this honored in the breech?
Chuck
Chuck Israels
230 North Garden Terrace
Bellingham, WA 98225-5836
phone (360) 671-3402
fax (360) 676-6055
www.chuckisraels.com
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