The Person at the front
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The person at the front will be speaking, singing or playing. Whatever they're doing, they should be familiar with their instrument or microphone. Speaking, you don't need to know very much. If you're using a radio lapel mic, you need to know where to put it - clipped to a tie or lapel, not lower than the third button of your shirt or blouse and not covered by clothing or rubbing against anything. Holding a microphone and speaking can be difficult without practice. The trick here is to hold it at about chest height, point it up your nose and speak over the top of it. Have a look at Saturday morning or 'top of the pops' TV presenters for a good example of how to speak into a microphone. Singing into a handheld microphone or one on a stand also takes practice. You can hold the microphone closer to your mouth than when speaking, but there's a phenomenon called the 'proximity effect' when using a directional microphone where, when you hold it closer, your voice sounds deeper. This can be a good thing if you're familiar with it and use it intelligently. The popping noises heard on the letters 'P' and 'B' are caused mostly by bad microphone technique. Playing an instrument - you not only need to be familiar with how to make a noise, you also need to know where the noise comes from. Brass instruments, the noise comes from the bell, woodwind - it usually comes from the mouthpiece. With strings, the whole instrument vibrates. if possible, have the microphone slightly further away to pick up the sound of the whole instrument, but that's not always possible because of noise from other sources. There's usually a sound hole and a bridge. Pointing the microphone at the bridge will sound tinny, pointing it at the sound hole will sound tubby. Stick it somewhere in between. The type of microphone you use also makes a big difference. Experiment with different types, listen and have other people listen to choose what sounds best. That's what it's all about - sounding your best. If you're using an electric instrument like an electric guitar or a keyboard, it'll have a high impedance output (jack plug). This is great for plugging it into an amplifier sitting beside you, but the unbalanced cables pick up noise if they're longer than about 6m. To get the signal to the mixing desk, you'll need to balance the signal using a DI box. Whether you're speaking, singing or playing, it's important that you're familiar and comfortable with all your equipment. Don't just expect to turn up and sound good. As with everything else - you have to practice.
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