Are you an aspiring musician or just curious enough to wonder why musicians wear headphones while recording?
I’ve worked as a manager in a recording studio for a few years and helped a few bands and singers record their music. Thus, I have first-hand experience and can offer you the correct answer.
Short Answer
While recording, musicians wear headphones to hear the backing track and their own voice. It helps them sing better, ensure they follow the song’s tempo, and don’t miss a beat.
Generally, while producing a song, the vocals are recorded last. Thus, if the musician is recording vocals for a rock song, they can hear a mix track of electric guitar, bass guitar, drums, and other instruments through their headphones.
Apart from this, there are a few other reasons why musicians wear headphones while recording in a studio. Read along to know about them:
Different Reasons Why Musicians Wear Headphones When Recording
1. Listen to the Backing Track
A few bands and singers I’ve helped in the recording studio, most listen to the backing track in their headphones.
The backing track is usually a rough mix of primary instruments that make up the song.
Usually, the vocals are recorded at last. Hence, the singer or the vocalist hears the backing tracking and sings along to it.
2. Listen to their voice
Apart from the backing track, many singers need to hear their voices to help them judge their pitch and sing better.
There’s a concept called as live monitoring, where the vocalist hears their voice through the headphones without any delay.
A music recording session can last several hours and needs multiple retakes. Thus, in the first take, the singer will record the vocals by just hearing their own voice.
In the second take, the singer often listens to the backing track and their live vocals while recording the song.
3. Listen to a Few Instruments
Sometimes, a musician only wants to listen to a few select instruments instead of the whole backing track.
Hence, the recording engineer can isolate a few instruments and send the feed to the singer’s headphones.
It is helpful because the singer doesn’t get distracted by other added sounds in the backing track.
4. Listen to a click track
A click track is a digital metronome, which you can imagine as a beeping sound played through the musician’s headphones. It helps the vocalists, guitarists, drummers, etc play at the same speed so that all the instruments line up perfectly during the final mix.
It is critical for a music producer to sync the music across different instruments and vocals, to maintain the song’s tempo.
For example, songs like the Bohemian Rhapsody by Queen or Behind Blue Eyes by The Who start slow and become fast as the song progresses. The recording of such songs is possible through a click track which guides the musician when to sing/play fast and slow.
Apart from the singer, a click track is most beneficial for guitarists, drummers, synthesizers, and other musicians.
This video is an excellent example of how a click track is used to play drums.
5. Instructions from the music composer
A 4-minute song can realistically take several days or a few months to record. To keep things at pace, a music composer has to make live changes to the song.
The music composer or the music engineer communicates these changes to the musician via a mic, and the musicians listen to it through the headphones.
Apart from this, the music composer can send instructions to the singer and speed up the recording process.
6. Reduce background noise
The recording studio I worked in used hundreds of pounds of sound-deadening materials to keep the studio quiet and reduce sound reflections.
However, in a recording booth, the musician can get disturbed by ambient noise, especially from the AC or heater unit.
Thus, many musicians prefer using noise-isolating/canceling headphones to eliminate unwanted noises and focus better.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why don’t musicians wear IEMs during recording?
IEMs have smaller drivers and do not offer the same soundstage as over-ear headphones. Additionally, over-ear headphones used in studio recording come with a 4.4mm balanced jack to reduce noise and interference.
Do all musicians wear headphones when recording?
Yes, most musicians wear headphones when recording a song. However, during my tenure in the recording studio, I’ve noticed a couple of artists not using headphones while recording.
Conclusion
You must have noticed in behind-the-scenes of most music videos or song recordings that the singer always wears headphones when recording vocals.
It is crucial for hearing the backing track and their own voice. Apart from this, a few also listen to the click track or an isolated version of the backing track.
Can you think of other reasons why a musician might wear headphones? If so, please let me know in the comments section below.