Everyone wants to be a rocker these days and everyone wants to step in front of the microphone. Some people actually do it. They get the courage, the practice, the gigs, and then they unleash their rockstar vocals.
However, most untrained singers have a difficult time identifying pitch and balance within a band. It’s not really common sense so you shouldn’t expect to be an expert on it.
However, wearing ear plugs during shows, rehearsals, and performances can do wonders. Ear plugs are simple, yet awesome and I have four reasons why you should wear them the next time you perform.
1. You’ll learn better pitch.
Immediately, this is a very good thing. Every good singer should sing in pitch. It’s like saying every good batter should be able to hit the ball. So, why are you going to develop better pitch for your rockstar vocals? Because you can hear yourself now.
Have you ever noticed how much clearer your voice is when you plug one ear? Plug both of them and see what happens. This is a natural reverberation that happens inside your skull. Take advantage of this. Soon, you’ll be hearing the pitches exactly as the audience does. Hopefully, you’ll find out that you’re not that far off.
2. Hearing other instruments is easier.
Whenever I suggest ear plugs to musicians sometimes I get responses like “I can’t hear anybody” and “Everything is too soft now.” This is just baloney. The reason things appear that way is because your ears are not used to them. It’s like turning out the lights after you’ve been staring at a radiating bulb. You’re gonna see those harsh light circles for awhile.
If you wear ear plugs from now on, at each band rehearsal, your ears will adjust, and you’ll begin to notice the real melodies of the instruments and not the piercing white noise from too much distortion on guitars. After your ears have adjusted you can let your rockstar vocals cut through, creating a much rounder, balanced sound.
3. You won’t lose your voice as often or ever again.
Losing your voice shouldn’t be an option for a singer. Your body is telling you that you’re doing something wrong. You’re pushing your rockstar vocals way too hard. If you wear your ear plugs, you can develop much better attuned awareness of how much effort you’re exerting when you perform. It’s due to that inner reverberation I mentioned before.
This also helps when you happen to perform in a club or bar with bad monitors. With your naked ears, you may not hear so good, so you overcompensate and kill your voice. Wear your ear plugs and you’ll realize just how much effort you really need to give to have rockstar vocals.
4. You won’t lose your hearing.
This is the most obvious reason to wear ear plugs. Sure, wearing them is going to help your awareness of your own voice. However, your hearing is equally if not more important than your voice. Have you ever come home from a band rehearsal, or club, or rock show and heard that constant ringing in your ears? That means you’ve experienced hearing loss.
I’m not saying you’re deaf now, but I am saying if your hearing was split into 100,000 partitions, every time you heard that ringing that means you lost between 50 to 100 partitions each time.
Do your ears and your rockstar vocals a favour and get some plugs.
I know for a fact that I’ve lost quite a bit of my hearing since I neglected to wear ear plugs when I first got into rock bands. I also know that my singing was pretty terrible.
Wearing your ear plugs is going to help develop better pitch, hear your band mates clearer, strengthen your rockstar vocals, and save your hearing.
If you happen to catch my band perform sometime, check my ears. I wear ear plugs every time and they’re blue. That’s for the ladies.
Written by Kyle Hoffman
What Type of Earplugs Are Available?
There are basically 2 types of earplugs, the basic cheap foam ones that you squeeze smaller and put in your ear then they expand to the size of your ear. These give you very good protection but can make the sound muffled and bass-y, but are very good for very loud gigs over long periods, they are also cheap. The better ones for musicians are nylon and sometimes joined together by string, so less easy to lose.
What Earplugs Can You Recommend?
The Elacin ear plugs are a good place to start or Alpine music safe earplugs which you can customise to vary the amount of ear protection they offer.
There are also companies that custom make ear protection to your individual needs but they can be expensive (£100 or more)
Buy Ear Plugs for Musicians
Protect your hearing at rehearsals and concerts with a set of ear plugs designed with musicians in mind!
Ear Plugs for Singers at Amazon UK
Ear Plugs for Singers at Amazon USA
Have you considered In-Ear Monitors?
Whilst earplugs are an essential part of the arsenal for every working musician, at some stage, you’ll most likely need to upgrade your on-stage sound and look into some high-quality wireless in-ear monitors. Check out the links below to get started…
In Ear Monitors at Amazon UK
In Ear Monitors at Amazon USA
Further Reading
Hearing Sensitivity Tips on protecting hearing for singers.
Vocal Health