Are you a drummer? No. Maybe musician? No. you might be a Singer; If your answer is yes, or you’re interested in any of these activities, you must have observed that people who play drums always wear headphones. And you might have realized and questioned that why do drummers wear headphones?
This practice of wearing headphones is often done by the drummers when they’re rehearsing, recording, and even performing at concerts. It is done because of the sound drummers don’t want any additional disturbance generated by guitars, stage echoes, and singers.
Headphones cancel out all the background noise. Musicians and singers also do the same.
Why Do Drummers Wear Headphones?
Wearing headphones is a quite common practice of drummers while they’re performing. But the question is, why do drummers wear headphones? What are the reasons behind it, and what makes it so unique?
Let’s make it simpler and answer the question. Generally, Drummers wear headphones to experience better sound and ignore the stage environment. It ignores all the disturbance on the stage, and you get the Actual sound you wish to experience.
On the stage, several instruments are used to make the event successful when a concert is organized. But these instruments also create many noises generated by guitars, vocals, echo, etc.
Headphones help drummers to ignore or kill all the noises generated by these instruments. If drummers don’t wear headphones, there would be much disturbance.
10 Reasons: Why Drummers Wear Headphones.
Following are the reasons why drummers wear headphones.
1. Hear The Monitor Mix
You might have seen drummers or other artists wear headphones at live performances or concerts. But these headphones are much smaller than the headphones used in studios. It perfectly fits in your ear. Such headphones provide the monitor mix.
Whenever an artist performs on the stage, he also faces many other artists/musicians and their noisy instruments. You can’t even hear your bandmates.
Besides, you’ll surely face the problem of not properly hearing your drum when you beat, and speakers also create many pro instruments. Headphones help the drummers to listen to all sorts of voices and noises by pumping the monitors.
At the same time, the headphone will also improve clarity by suppressing drum noise.
2. Time
Timing is one of the drummers’ essential aspects while performing, specifically on the loud stage. It plays an important role in the context of drummers’ performance. Headphones help the drummers to stay on time.
That’s the reason drummers wear headphones. The disturbance around the stage or environment noises can greatly affect and disturb the performance of drummers as it can divert the focus of drummers.
By Wearing headphones, they can easily feel that they sound right and follow the rhythm. In this way, headphone plays their role and don’t let it happen. So, drummers consider their headphones as their major instrument with drums and cymbals while performing at an event.
3. Protection Of Ears
One of the most important benefits of wearing headphones is the ear protection of drummers. When drums are beaten, and loud music is played, they create an extreme sound that is not safe for any individual or drummer. So, headphones also contribute to hearing protection of ears and protect drummers from damage.
Understandably, performing for long hours with drums and monitor speakers can lead to severe injury.
So, the point is that drummers wear headphones to reduce the sound of drums. It creates more safety for the performers. As a result, drummers can easily perform with the drums as the earpieces block the high-frequency sounds, and drummers can listen to what they’re playing or performing.
4. Best Alternative To Loud Stage Noise
Loud stage noise is the problem drummers or artists can face when they don’t have any alternative to resolve this issue. In-ear monitors are not made to protect a loud stage, but they can be considered an alternative to the loud stage noise.
So, loud stage noise, like the combination of conventional monitors and large-scale amplifiers, can create some damage. In a nutshell, In-ear monitors can be the best alternative to a loud stage noise, and block high-frequency sounds, but they are not a protection for the ears.
5. Headphone Mix
The headphone mix is used when any song is recorded using headphones. The consumer will surely listen to the music through their headphones. So, producers and musicians highly understand the value of consumers and produce music that sounds the same through headphones. It is considered that the recorded sound must be working through headphones too.
Additionally, it can also be optimized later on, maybe while recording.
6. Click The Track For The Live Performance
Drummers not only focus on their overall performance, but the rhythm is the most crucial part they focus on. The click sound is the sound with the same tempo clicked by the soundtrack, and drummers are synced with the beat. Click backing track is becoming common as it is easy for musicians to play their instruments with recorded sound.
So, live bands play with the same tempo matching the recordings.
7. Onstage Instructor And Director
An environment with many noises generated by drums, echoes, bands, etc. This happens especially on stage or in concerts. So, the noise on stage makes it hard to hear the instructions and directions. In all these circumstances, it becomes very challenging for the drummers or artists to listen or communicate instructions and directions.
In this situation, headphones play an essential role and allow the drummers to hear the instructions and directions that have already been recorded. It greatly supports the drummers in their drumming, and headphones make all of it accessible.
8. To Improve Drumming Skill
Drummers do many activities before performing on any stage. One of the activities they do is to improve their drumming skills by wearing headphones. And they use headphones for various purposes, not just for entertainment while performing, but also as a protection of sound while playing.
Wearing headphones highly supports the drummers to concentrate on the music without worrying about any sound pressure that might interrupt their concentration.
All they do is wear headphones and concentrate on improving their skill without hearing any sound pressure.
9. To Ease Tracking In A Studio
Wearing headphones is a very common practice of every artist, and you might have seen that too. Musicians, drummers, and singers wear headphones while recording music in a studio or performing on the stage. Headphones help everyone in the team recording for any song, and the entire team can hear their raw audio.
This practice aims to get them clean and clear results of what a drummer does, and they may work further.
In simple words, headphones allow you to control the instruments while recording and the sound of the instruments. To listen to any sound, artists or drummers use headphones in the studio. It helps to ease tracking in the studio.
10. For A Better Recording Session
While recording in the studio. Drummers will never ask for any microphone to pick up sounds other than drums. Besides, during the recordings of the drum set, if you want to listen to the music from a speaker, for this purpose, you’ll have to get a microphone that helps in capturing the speaker’s sound interfering with the recordings.
These all are the few major reasons why drummers wear headphones.
FAQs
Why Do Drummers Wear Headphones On Stage?
The answer is quite simple. Drummers wear headphones to protect their ears while performing on the loud stage, just like at concerts. It also helps the drummers stay on time with the other performers performing on the stage.
So, headphones or In-ear monitors are used for these reasons on the stage.
Why Do Singers Wear Headphones?
You might have seen singers, vocalists, and drummers wear headphones while rehearsing, recording, or performing. Wearing headphones matters a lot for the singers. Why do singers wear headphones because It helps in keeping things very much clean and clear? It also helps in the process of overdubbing in the studio.
Furthermore, It also helps the singers stay on time as timing is the most important part while singing.
Concluding Note
Why do drummers wear headphones? Because headphones help to kill the noises generated on the stage during the concert. It also saves drummers’ ears and maintains focus to stay on time with the other partners on the stage while performing.
So, headphones or In-ear monitors are essential for the drummers and are also used for receiving the instruments and directions for recording, testing audio, etc.
In this way, headphones for the drummers play a vital role on the stage, which are as important as drums. So, probably these are the most important reason why drummers wear headphones. Hopefully, you’ve now a better understanding of why drummers wear headphones.
