#in-ears

[grateful-for-zayn]

Zayn talked in the mini doc about the fact that he was practicing without in ears to be able to perform using the monitors instead (as most non-megastars do)

Hi! Oh interesting, I don't even remember that part. Is on the minute 3:28 for anyone that wants to watch it.

Thank you for the info and sorry for the late response 😅

In reference to this.

[twopoppies]

I thought this was super interesting. I never knew any of this about musicians’ in-ears.

x

More here

[whoreforlarrystuff]

does anyone else think louis in-ear thingys are too big!? he always seems like he is pushing them back in unless it’s a nerves thing to fiddle with them.

Hi Love!

I think it’s probably a nerves thing- it gives him something to do with his hands, and it’s not super obvious as a nervous tic, since it could easily be explained as them being too big etc. it could also be that he’s trying to make sure he can hear everything- you know how when you push headphones in, you can hear more?

Honestly, I have like no experience when it comes to in-ears though 🤷‍♀️

[tommosgun]

WWA tour rehearsals from The road to San Siro

[twopoppies]

A little more about the in-ear thing: in an orchestral setting, in-ears/click tracks are the fucking worst. I remember doing full orchestra recordings over Zoom and having to use click tracks, holy fuck was that a nightmare. I’ve also had to do live recordings, in that case we had the conductor use in-ears and we would obviously just watch for time from him (nothing from the ordinary). This is also commonly used when there’s tricky timing. When a composer uses 3/4 (three quarter notes/measure) then switches to 6/8 (six eighth notes/measure) then goes to 2/4 (two quarter notes per measure) and then to 5/8 (five eighth notes per measure) while also changing the keys, I want to bury my head in the sand.

It’s interesting to try and figure out what some musicians prioritize in terms of what they hear. For example, for Harry, I would say he most likely prioritizes timing in order to keep momentum going over anything else. Plus background vocals as he grew up, musically, singing in tune within the chords of others, if that makes sense. For Louis, I’d say he prioritizes listening in for the main vocal in order to match pitch. He has the tendency to get pitchy when the nerves hit — obviously not a reflection of his own talent, we’ve all seen how good he sounds when he’s in rehearsals or in the clips of his vocal lessons — so it makes sense to add those in to listen to in order to keep his intonation in check.

And they show all of these things very obviously. Harry’s constantly tapping his foot, swinging his hips, or dancing in time — he clearly always has the pulse in mind. He also has a tendency to close his eyes during big vocal ensemble moments such as the beginning of Cherry or the entirety of Boyfriends — there’s a reason why people tend to turn down the music in their cars when they get to their destination, same concept works here but vice versa when trying to pay attention to the sound of something. Louis is more particular; if you’ve ever played any instrument, you know how easy it can be to get out of tune in a matter of seconds (for strings it can be fingering/bow placement, for winds it can be how you’re sustaining your air or the shape of your mouth). You try very hard to adjust as quickly and smoothly as possible, and it’s clear when Louis does that in his more ballad, slow-tempo songs as he has more room and time to adjust.

I said “a little more” and this turned into an essay, sorry! Hope you have a good rest of your day! :)

Don’t apologize! This is so interesting to me. Honestly, I love when actual musicians/singers comment on stuff like this. Thank you!

In reference to this

[rainyhoundanimemusic]

Luke’s in-ears weren’t working.

❤︎ on TikTok

luke upset that his in-ears weren’t working during ghost of you (posting this again cuz he sounds so good) #lukehemmings #5sos #5secondsofsu