Learning about in-ear monitoring begins with understanding what monitoring is and why it’s necessary. Monitoring boils down to being able to hear (monitor) your performance as you perform, so you know exactly what you and the other musicians are doing on stage.

Stage monitoring got its starts in the 1960s, as progressively louder rock bands started to discover that if everyone in a group can hear each other, they can perform better. This was accomplished by sending specific sound mixes to onstage floor-resting loudspeakers (“floor wedges”). They ushered in the age of monitoring, but were noisy, bulky and centered their sound in one place.

Today, in-ear monitoring systems enable you to personally hear just what you want to without affecting what others hear. These systems are comfortable, wearable amplification devices to replace floor wedges with earphones worn “in ear”.

Conventional monitoring is achieved with bulky, heavy floor wedges placed onstage. In-ear-monitoring provides a more pleasant and precise way of monitoring:

• Sound quality: When you’re in-ear, you can enjoy a clear mix at lower levels, high-fidelity sound and less interruption from outside noise. Also the sound for the audience is better as in-ear-monitoring systems eliminate feedback, and the loud stage noise often resulting from booming floor wedges is not picked up by the microphones onstage.
• Mobility: Floor wedges center their sound on one place. With in-ear-monitoring, the speakers are in your ears, so you can expand your range onstage and hear yourself perfectly anywhere you go.
• Portability: An entire in-ear system fits in a briefcase that goes where you go. Not only are floor wedges noisy, they are also bulky onstage and heavy to load out. 

Where can I use in-ear-monitoring? Generally, you can use in-ear-monitoring systems for every application where monitoring is necessary.

• Live on stage: Bands often playing at different locations benefit from the ability to control their own personal mix. Furthermore, transportation effort is reduced as no floor wedges and amplifiers are necessary.
• Rehearsal rooms: In-ear-monitoring turns the worst rooms into good rehearsal spaces. You not only get more practice in, you also reduce vocal strain and ringing ears.
• Studio: During recording, in-ear performers can control volume levels and adjust the click track volumes themselves. They also enjoy the comfort of small earphones versus bulky traditional headphones. Isolating earphones also reduce outside noise and mic bleeding during the vocal overdubs.
• Classical music performers: Especially with picking up acoustical instruments floor wedges tend to create feedback. Onstage or in the pit, in-ear-monitoring systems provide discrete monitoring for performers without sacrificing the quality of the sound the audience enjoys.
• Theater and stage performances: These performers appreciate a cleaner, less-cluttered stage, thanks to the absence of floor wedge monitors. But the greatest in-ear advantage in these situations is the ability for actors, actresses and crew to monitor director instructions without the knowledge of the audience.
• Broadcast environments: Besides the sound advantages, in-ear-monitoring systems help reporters and broadcast personalities isolate outside noise. They also enable cueing of events via satellite link and can be used as a wireless interruptible foldback (IFB) system for camera operators, stage managers and on-camera talent.

• Next Article: What are the ways to go in ear?