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= Vocal Solo Notes

These are Oleg's observations and suggestions to vocal soloists based on past concerts. I could be mishearing or misunderstanding something, therefore I don't claim that everything listed below is absolute truth or requirement, but rather this is my best narration and explanation of what I am hearing at concerts.

== Stable Mic Distance

It is my opinion that all soloists at TSC, right now, should hold microphones at about the same distance from their mouth for the duration of the song. I observed a singer in a restaurant varying mic distance with excellent results, but I haven't observed this at TSC (maybe this happened and I haven't noticed it), and I think partially this is due simply to not having the right solo monitor mix. I believe presently the best results at TSC are achieved by vocalists that hold the mic in the same position the entire time.

== Proximity Effect

The closer the microphone is to the singer's mouth, the more low frequencies the microphone is picking up. Holding a microphone about 4" away produces a thin sound that can easily become tinny or shrieking.

If you are a bass singing low notes, keeping the microphone about 1" away from your mouth will likely help produce a full, weighty sound.

If you are a tenor, holding the microphone 4" away from your mouth can make you sound somewhat like a soprano. Unless you are specifically going for this effect, it is generally not good sounding.

== Mic Distance

My mic distance recommendation is 1-2" from mouth: 1" for quieter singers, 2" for louder singers. If nobody told you you are a loud singer you are most likely a quiet singer.

All solo vocals are compressed, therefore generally you cannot be too loud (the compressor takes care of excessive volume). On the contrary, if you are too far away from the mic, it may be not possible to make you louder in the mix (due to feedback or simply running out of fader adjustment) for you to be intelligible to the audience or, in extreme cases, even audible.

If your song involves the rhythm section (brass or drums), it's a loud song and you generally need to be loud. If you haven't been told you are a loud singer you need to hold the mic close (i.e. 1" away from mouth).

Between 3-4" away from the mic you will be audible but with a loss of low frequencies, further than 4" away from the mic you generally will be inaudible to the audience unless it's an a cappella song.

== Moving the Mic

You can move the mic when you are not singing (for artistic expression or to exercise your arm), but if you are still moving the mic (i.e. to get it into the right position) when you start to sing, the first sound of the phrase practically doesn't reach the mic and therefore doesn't reach the audience.

You should probably finish moving the mic before starting to breathe for the phrase.

If you tend to move the mic during a song and you haven't listened to your mic channel in isolation (see AudioServices#IndividualConcertRecording) to verify what your mic is hearing, you probably are not getting the first syllables of your phrases to the audience.

== Compression

I have compression enabled on vocal solo mics. What this means is you should feel free to sing as loud as you wish into the microphone. If you are one of the loud singers (Elizabeth, Brittany, Noshi) and you sing even louder I will adjust the compressor accordingly. If you are not one of these singers, the microphones are set up for someone who is significantly louder than you are and I generally have to bring your level up for you to be heard over the orchestra and the choir, therefore you most likely will not be too loud no matter what you do.