Best Practices for Church Vocalists (Volunteers) Using In-Ear Monitors (IEMs)

"PRELUDE"

My Vision as a Monitor Engineer

As an audio team member and monitor engineer, my vision is to serve and support the stage team to help them be as impactful and engaging as possible in their delivery and worship. My role is to connect worship leaders with the audience and vice versa, ensuring that both the platform and the congregation experience a seamless and powerful moment of worship.

A great monitor mix allows you to focus on worship instead of fighting your sound, eliminating distractions so you can lead with confidence. My goal is to make vocalists and musicians feel comfortable, supported, and fully immersed in the moment—not distracted by technical issues.

I have found that reminding our teams that our collectives from production to the worship team is exactly the same thing; 1. To worship God. 2. To engage others to do the same. When this is taught and acknowledged, it will set the foundation for our team to be able to work together and communicate better.

1. Microphone Technique

• Directional Pickup: Your microphone captures sound from where it’s pointed. If aimed at the ceiling, it will pick up ambient noise instead of your voice.

• Proper Mic Hold: Always maintain a consistent angle toward your mouth. Holding it like an “ice cream cone” (pointed upwards) significantly reduces volume, alters tonality, and negatively impacts the mix in your IEMs, wedges, front-of-house (FOH), and broadcast.

• Optimal Distance: Keep the microphone within three finger-lengths from your mouth to ensure clarity, avoid excessive room noise, and maintain consistent volume and tone.

2. Avoid “Working the Microphone”

• Professional audio engineers actively adjust your levels in real-time using high-end equipment. Constantly moving the microphone in and out disrupts their work and can lead to inconsistent volume and tonal balance.

3. Managing Wireless Gear

• Holding your microphone and wireless IEM pack together—especially in rehearsals—can cause signal interference or even dropouts. Keep them separate to maintain a reliable signal.

4. Vocal Warmups Are Critical for IEMs

• Vocalists must warm up before wearing IEMs. Unlike instrumentalists, who don’t need to warm up to achieve full volume, singers rely on their voices adjusting over time.

• A common mistake is when vocalists walk in without warming up and immediately feel like their mix is off—typically describing the band as too loud and their own voice as too soft. They then request a lot of changes before their voice has naturally warmed up.

• By the time rehearsal progresses—or especially during the service—their voice has opened up, and suddenly, they are far too loud in the mix, leading to catastrophic results and frustration.

• The phrase I hear most often is: “Everything changed from rehearsal to service.” What actually changed was the singer’s vocal output, not the mix.

• Solution: Warm up before stepping into rehearsal. This allows for a more accurate and stable mix from the start.

5. The Importance of a Structured Sound Check

• A structured sound check is critical to getting the entire worship team comfortable before rehearsal. This is the actual point of a sound check—to set proper levels and ensure everyone has what they need before playing through songs.

• A normal sound check should include stopping after each song to check in with each vocalist and band member so they can request adjustments to their mix.

• Once rehearsal starts, mixes should already be close, and any adjustments can be requested verbally or through non-verbal cues. This creates a smoother and more efficient rehearsal, allowing everyone to focus on playing and leading worship instead of fighting their mix.

6. Balancing Your Mix for Better Performance

• Many vocalists tend to make their own voice too loud in their mix. This can lead to a “vocal maverick” issue—where they sustain notes too long, miss harmonies, or become unaware of the band’s dynamics.

• If your voice is too loud in your mix, you might not push into notes enough, causing you to sing flat.

• If your voice is too quiet, you may overcompensate, singing sharp and straining your vocal cords, leading to fatigue and potential long-term damage.

• A balanced mix ensures you hear yourself naturally and perform with better control.

7. Understanding Stereo and Immersive IEM Mixing

• In a well-mixed stereo or immersive IEM setup, elements are panned left and right to create space for vocals and instruments. A monitor engineer actively adjusts the mix so that leads, riffs, and harmonies blend dynamically.

• A good monitor engineer will also add plenty of audience microphones and reverb to make the sound feel natural to the space you are in (like you dont have IEMS). This not only enhances the live experience but also helps create depth and space in the mix, similar to how elements are treated on a studio album. This artistic approach allows instruments and vocals to sit naturally in the mix rather than feeling isolated or unnatural.

• This approach reduces the need for personal mix changes, allowing you to focus on performance and worship!

8. The Role of the Monitor Engineer – We Are Here to Serve You

• Many church vocalists and musicians feel like they can’t request changes to their mix because they’ve previously encountered an old, angry, territorial sound guy with “Sound Guy Syndrome.”

• However, in a healthy environment, every request matters. A good monitor engineer (audio team) wants to hear your feedback and adjust the mix to meet your needs.

• The entire role of a monitor engineer is to serve you—to ensure that you can hear clearly, perform confidently, and feel comfortable in your IEM mix. Don’t hesitate to ask for adjustments!

9. Challenges in Un-Ideal IEM Environments

If you are in a setup where:

• You are mixing yourself from an iPad or personal mixer,

• Your mix is coming from front-of-house (FOH) instead of a monitor engineer,

• You are sharing an IEM mix with another vocalist,

• Your IEM mix is mono instead of stereo,

These will be the biggest challenges affecting your performance. Without a dedicated monitor engineer, mixes are static, and musicians may struggle with balance, dynamics, and spatial awareness in their mix. Mono mixes can also make it difficult to distinguish different instruments and vocals, leading to overcorrection and performance issues. Sharing an IEM mix with another vocalist means that their preferences, levels, and vocal needs may not align with yours, making it harder to sing confidently and accurately.

10. Why You Shouldn’t Remove an IEM

If you feel the need to remove one earbud, consider these factors:

1. Mix Adjustment is Needed: Instead of pulling an ear out, request adjustments from your monitor engineer—whether it’s adding missing elements, lowering excessive volume, or increasing reverb and audience response mics.

2. Missing Key Elements: In a stereo mix, pulling one IEM out will cause you to miss vital parts of the arrangement, as different elements are panned left and right.

3. Binaural Loudness Summation (BLS): Removing an IEM creates a 9dB volume offset between ears due to the brain’s perception of combined sound levels. This often leads singers to increase their pack volume, causing rapid ear fatigue and long-term hearing damage.

4. Phase and Timing Issues: Especially for lead vocalists, removing an IEM means hearing their amplified voice reflecting off the back wall. This delayed, detuned reflection can cause them to sing flat or overcorrect their pitch.

5. Set Volume Before Removing an IEM: If you are in a unideal circumstance and you choose to take out an in-ear, first set your volume while both IEMs are in to ensure a safe and comfortable level. If you adjust the volume afterward, be mindful of your hearing health and avoid excessive increases to compensate.

11. Universal vs. Custom In-Ears

Understanding the difference between universal and custom-molded IEMs is crucial:

• Universals often create an occlusion effect, making your voice sound unnatural and affecting pitch perception.

• Custom IEMs offer a better seal, clearer sound, and reduced ear fatigue, making them a worthwhile investment for vocalists.

There is a host of a information on this specific subject that I hope to be sharing with you all very soon so you can make more informed decisions!

By following these best practices, you’ll not only improve your in-ear experience but also perform more confidently and protect your vocal and hearing health. And remember—your monitor engineer is there to help. Don’t be afraid to ask for what you need!