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Post by MarchingBand4Life on Dec 20, 2021 13:17:57 GMT -6
With the season now over, on YouTube feed, I'm getting lots of vids of individual performers strapping on a GoPro. Kinda fun, since it's a reminder of the good ole days.
But what was different for me is that this particular performer (not a soloist) had a mic on his horn. And I saw the same on several other horns as he made his way thru the show.
That made me wonder....
How many top ranking bands are mic'ing their performers?
What percentage of performers are mic'd?
Who is controlling the mix?
Is the mix changed on the fly, or preset?
This obviously gives a huge advantage to bands who can afford to do this. I'm not looking to debate whether it's an unfair. Frankly, that argument can be made at just about every new innovation that exists, within marching arts. advantage or not.
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band05
Senior Member
Posts: 57
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Post by band05 on Dec 20, 2021 13:34:49 GMT -6
With the season now over, on YouTube feed, I'm getting lots of vids of individual performers strapping on a GoPro. Kinda fun, since it's a reminder of the good ole days. But what was different for me is that this particular performer (not a soloist) had a mic on his horn. And I saw the same on several other horns as he made his way thru the show. That made me wonder.... How many top ranking bands are mic'ing their performers? What percentage of performers are mic'd? Who is controlling the mix? Is the mix changed on the fly, or preset? This obviously gives a huge advantage to bands who can afford to do this. I'm not looking to debate whether it's an unfair. Frankly, that argument can be made at just about every new innovation that exists, within marching arts. advantage or not. I would say that micing brass? No thanks, they should be able to produce enough sound without the help. Woodwinds though? Their sound can quite frequently be lost on the field. Obviously don’t mic everyone, but the top one or two players on each part is fine. I’d say for it to be truly ok though, it would have to be a student mixing it. |
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Post by marchingmaniac on Dec 20, 2021 16:40:59 GMT -6
I don't really have an opinion on the use of mics on the field, though I would probably prefer natural sounds with no extra amplification. I do believe that the sound mixing is usually taken care of by students throughout the duration of the show, though a director or tech may help with setting up the mixers at the start.
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Post by MarchingBand4Life on Dec 20, 2021 17:25:22 GMT -6
[quote author=" band05" I would say that micing brass? No thanks, they should be able to produce enough sound without the help. Woodwinds though? Their sound can quite frequently be lost on the field. Obviously don’t mic everyone, but the top one or two players on each part is fine. I’d say for it to be truly ok though, it would have to be a student mixing it. [/quote] Definitely brass. I saw mics at least 5 times on trumpets, 3 mellos and 2 baritones. This performer was not close enough to any woodwinds for me to see mics for them, but I did view some closer up vids on WW and saw no mics. |
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Post by paddy on Dec 20, 2021 17:33:52 GMT -6
I don't really have an opinion on the use of mics on the field, though I would probably prefer natural sounds with no extra amplification. I do believe that the sound mixing is usually taken care of by students throughout the duration of the show, though a director or tech may help with setting up the mixers at the start. I would be surprised if many bands are using students to handle the sound mix during the shows. In the rule book an adult handling sound is specifically allowed during performance so I assume most bands are taking care of that. There are a number of freelance sound design folks who work with top end BOA bands building the mix and sound effects and then handing it off to adult staff to manage. |
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Post by principalagent on Dec 20, 2021 17:39:14 GMT -6
I don't really have an opinion on the use of mics on the field, though I would probably prefer natural sounds with no extra amplification. I do believe that the sound mixing is usually taken care of by students throughout the duration of the show, though a director or tech may help with setting up the mixers at the start. I would be surprised if many bands are using students to handle the sound mix during the shows. In the rule book an adult handling sound is specifically allowed during performance so I assume most bands are taking care of that. There are a number of freelance sound design folks who work with top end BOA bands building the mix and sound effects and then handing it off to adult staff to manage. In Texas it’s all students. Otherwise it would be a violation for UIL purposes. |
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Post by paddy on Dec 20, 2021 19:49:53 GMT -6
I would be surprised if many bands are using students to handle the sound mix during the shows. In the rule book an adult handling sound is specifically allowed during performance so I assume most bands are taking care of that. There are a number of freelance sound design folks who work with top end BOA bands building the mix and sound effects and then handing it off to adult staff to manage. In Texas it’s all students. Otherwise it would be a violation for UIL purposes. Interesting. ISSMA doesn’t have that rule. I am not sure how you even police it with the advent of wireless technology. Of course how much sound mixing is needed when the dynamics are either, loud, super loud and Texas Loud? 😎 Here is the UIL guidance: May equipment such as a soundboard and/or mixer be used to support and control audio reinforcement? YES, provided all electronics are operated by an eligible student. However, during a performance a non-student may give verbal instruction to the student operating the equipment, provided the non-student does not touch the equipment. Where may a soundboard and/or mixer be located? There are no restrictions on where a soundboard and/or mixer may be located. Lots of gray in that rule. |
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