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Ever wondered what musicians actually hear through their earpieces when they’re performing on stage?
Well, wonder no more - because hit-maker Rina Sawayama has your curiosity covered.
The singer recently took to TikTok to post a clip of herself captioned: “What I hear on stage,” and over a video of herself stepping out in front of a crowd, she played her earpiece audio.
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Rina told her followers: “I’m gonna show you what I hear in my ears during a show, follow me.”
Watch Rina's video below:
“Good luck everybody, no f**k ups please,” she added.
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Through her earpiece, a voice saying: “Rina on stage please,” could be heard, before the voice started counting from one to four.
Across the video, the text: “‘1,2,3,4 cue to land on top stair” appeared. Rina explained she was being guided to the top of the stairs through her earpiece, and knew she had to arrive on the stage’s top step on the count of four.
The same went for her singing her opening song’s first note.
This time, text across the screen read: “1,2,3,4 cue to sing first word,” and on the count of four, Rina started belting out one of her hits.
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She also addressed the fact that the crowd could barely be heard through her earpiece, writing: “Notice how I can’t hear any crowd. There is a ‘crowd’ mic pointed to you that my monitor engineer turns up when I’m not singing so I can hear myself clearly.”
Her fans were fascinated by the video, with one person writing beneath Rina’s post: “Wow I’d love to hear more! Have always been so curious.”
Another person penned: “I always wondered how artists knew exactly how long they had to wait between lines when singing live,” while a third wrote: “Finally! I’ve always wondered this!”
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Other comments included: “This would be so confusing,” “Does it not distract you?” and “My sensory overload could never.”
According to Ear Rockers, musicians wear in-ear monitors (IEMs) on stage to not only hear themselves, but also hear other musicians on stage better.
IEMs also allow performers to better hear their song’s backing track and click tracks (metronome-like audio cues such as the ones heard in Rina’s TikTok), which of course those in the audience don’t hear.
All in all, IEMs mean artists can perform in harmony and avoid synchronisation issues, ensuring us, the audience, the best possible experience.
Aisha Nozari