Why Do Singers Wear Earpieces?

Why Do Singers Wear Earpieces?

Generally, when a singer performs, the song and music heard by the audience is called as ‘house mix’. The musicians will have a set of speakers for them to hear the song. This song heard by the musicians from the speakers that are kept on the stage is called ‘monitor mix’. The stage monitors mostly create problems for the musicians in hearing the song clearly. The speaker other than that kept on the floor is called as custom earpiece. This is a wireless earpiece that is connected to the receiver which is placed somewhere in their pockets. The sound that the singers hear from these earpieces is considered as a separate mix provided by the engineer to make them hear their own voice.
Basically, singers are at the back of the main speakers which are usually kept in front of the audience. In very big stages it is observed that the song that reaches the audience reflects back on to the stage but not immediately. It takes time and hence it creates confusion to the singer as well as to the orchestra players. It might happen some times that the amplified background music would hinder more the singer from hearing his or her voice vividly. Though the stage monitors make the performers hear the song and music on the stage, personal monitors called ear pieces will give clear cut information to the singer regarding his performance. The ear piece will make the singer hear the song as well as the orchestra work too.
Moreover the stage monitors can only provide the voice of the singer and the band to the singer based on the distance of the singer from the speakers. If the person is moving all through the stage, then the sounds coming from the stage monitors vary. In the case of ear pieces, the singer can hear the music constantly irrespective of his physical movement on the stage.