Playing and singing outside

[lowrider]

Do you lose the sound? I'm used to playing inside and I know that the sound reflects back to me differently in different rooms. Last week I played with some friends outside in the backyard. It was the first time I played with anyone in over a year and I struggled. I wasn't surprised by that but it seemed like I had to really sing out and hit the guitar hard. Thinking about it later, I think everyone sounded kind of muted.

What do you think, does playing outside sound a lot quieter than inside?

[SRL]

I've definitely had that experience, yes. If you can find a porch with a wall (or better, two walls) or a walled garden or something like that, it can help.

Also, if you can find a place without a lot of wind and traffic noise, that helps too.

[Bob from Brooklyn]

It's different. Heck, even indoor venues vary. It's just part of being a performer.

[Caddy]

Back in the 80’s my bluegrass band (I played mandolin and sang lead) did all our summer practices outside, had jam sessions around campfires after our shows were done and of course played a lot of outdoor shows and festivals. Only the shows and festivals had a PA. Never noticed any problems at all playing outside during practices and around campfires with no PA. It was actually more normal for us than when we had a PA. We just played to give each instrument, solo and voice it’s own space. You just can’t get into loudness wars. That can get out of control in a hurry. Sometimes at jam sessions around campfires we would have a dozen or more people playing with no problems.

We actually managed to get some very decent recordings from our outdoor practices with no PA.

[Birdbrain]

Like potted plants, acoustic guitars thrive best indoors. Guitars, unamplified, aren't as loud as wind or percussion instruments, or even a strong voice. You need reflections off walls and other surfaces to hear yourself well. Otherwise, it's like a projector with no screen.

Recently I was invited to a new jam session in my neighborhood. The host set up chairs facing a broad lawn, "just like an amphitheater." When we played, facing each other, I only heard his guitar, and he only heard mine. Each of us played harder and harder, making things worse. I proposed that we turn the chairs to face the house wall. We did a song that way and I could hear a strong improvement in balance and volume of our guitars and vocals. Then he turned back back to his familiar way, and that was that. The view was better than facing a brick wall, but the sound just wasn't there. This told me that he didn't really care about sounding better.

Some outdoor spaces sound great, though, and aren't too hard to find. Look for a shade kiosk in a local park. The one I found is octagonal, seating about eight, with a domed metal roof that acts as a reflector, collecting and reradiating the sound like an expert sound engineer. Maybe I'll go there again after the heat wave breaks.

[Goat Mick]

Most likely what you were experiencing was that you just couldn't hear yourself, I would say the people in front of you could hear just fine. But not being able to hear yourself can make it extremely difficult to perform. The best thing to do is just try to stay at your normal level of playing and singing, trying to be louder will usually throw your voice off key, overdrive your guitar or just make your head hurt.

[Dru Edwards]

Hey lowrider, when I play outside I notice a drop in volume as well. You lose the sound waves reflecting back from walls and surfaces. There may also be background noise as well that interferes, whether it's the wind or traffic in the distance.

[N+1]

If weather permits, I am outside, with a guitar, playing in the garden by choice. Yes, you lose the reverb that you get indoors, but I welcome that - I like the freshness of it. Of course different guitars respond differently: my HD28V sounds fine; so does the Taylor 810. The Taylor GA guitars can sound a bit thin - their bottom end needs reflections from a nearby wall to help them along. But even there, the sheer natural airiness of it is something special.

And quite often it seems that the birds are joining in ...

[SRL]

Maybe it's time to get out a pickaxe and put a sound port in the top of my guitar

[ghostnote]

I love playing outdoors when the weather is nice. But I agree with these guys - it's definitely different from the point of view of the player. Your sound is just going straight out into space without any reflections. For someone in front of the guitar, it probably sounds about the same.

[Misifus]

I can’t say that I’ve ever remarked on the difference. I guess I’ve played outside as often as inside over the years. I do recall that, when playing outside, I’m usually no playing to fill the whole out of doors, just to be heard by my fellow players.

[lowrider]

Thanks everyone. It's good to know. Next time I won't worry about it. We were in a typical song circle and I haven't played with anyone in over a year do I expected to have some trouble getting started. I was ok to start but instead of getting more comfortable, I felt like I had to work too hard.

Restrictions in NY are being lifted so when my group meet in our new place next month, we should all be happy indoor campers. Here's the new place;



We will have to see how sound carries in there.

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by lowrider

…What do you think, does playing outside sound a lot quieter than inside?

Hi lowrider…
Inside we have walls, floors and ceilings to reflect sound back to us.

[rllink]

I think that it just takes getting used to.

[Wade Hampton]

Traditionally, during the warm months we’ve always held our music parties outdoors when the weather permits. The main thing to make it work is everyone keeping control over their dynamics, so you need to exercise “fire control” over how loud you all play.

My group of friends has been playing together for long enough that we just fall into doing that without having to say anything about it. Even first timers seem to catch on right away.


whm