Arts & Entertainment, Music
Live Microphones
Lesson time 06:29 min
Christina shows you how to own the live mic. Learn the microphone techniques to create an incredible performance in any sized venue, anywhere.
Students give MasterClass an average rating of 4.7 out of 5 stars
Topics include: Know your sound • Work your microphone
Teaches Singing
Christina teaches you her unique vocal techniques in over 3.5 hours of voice lessons and exercises.
Get Up To 50% OffPreview
Every microphone is different. Over the years I've come to know which microphones I feel most comfortable with. So some mics have sort of a round bulbous top to them. So it's like you're kind of getting the sound from all angles, and sometimes I find I have to turn that mic towards me a little bit. So I feel like the top is more connected to the sound that I'm projecting from my mouth, because if it's to the side-- I think there's even a difference here-- if it's to the side, it's like if I hold it like this, you're not going to get the right sound as if I'm singing it into like that, and it's directly in contact with the vibration coming from my throat. So it's a comfort thing, and what works for you, but it's your ear man. You have to really use your ear and figure it out. How you hold your mic is important. How your sound is mixed in a room to the audience, how you sound out of house to up close is important, but whenever I sing a song, for instance, where there's definite mic control, this is an instinct thing. It's an in-person. How you sound to yourself is crucial to how you sound out there. You can only do so much sometimes if the sound is working against you here in a poorly acoustic environment or whatever, but you do the best you can, you definitely have to control your louds and softs. I'm not going to belt out a note with my microphone this close. If I'm singing Say Something or Beautiful it's say something, I'm giving up on you. It's something that quiet, but if I were to sing the beginning opening lyric of Ain't No Other Man, it's a big belty ad lib. I usually start it with my back turned so you can see the mic and what it does, and I literally pull back the mic. Right now, it doesn't work, but if I'm going [SINGING AD LIB]. Now that right there, was-- did you see how the mic, I have to bring it out here in order to hit that big belty note. So I'm stretching it out so I'm not blast-- if I sang that you'd be blasted out, and you would get distortion in your sound back, but as I got quieter with my ad lib coming down, I'm bringing it closer so you can hear every little juicy to the very end. So it's [SINGING AD LIB]. So that would be a good example of how to work your microphone. You gotta work your microphone, and you gotta work your technique, and sometimes you're in a really bad situation where the sound of the house is not good, or the sound of your monitors is not good. Use your judgment in the moment. Maybe you don't need to pull back so much if you're hitting a high note because it's just that bad in the room, and as a performer, you gotta roll with the punches. You gotta be in that moment and figure out, OK, I can't even hear myself. They probably can't hear me. So you have to just hold it close and gauge the moment. Your relationship with your microphone is really important. So gauging your audience-- this is ...
About the Instructor
Christina Aguilera teaches you how to expand your range, find your voice, and master the techniques that have earned her five Grammy Awards. In her first-ever online singing class, you’ll learn warm-up exercises, breath control, vibrato, her signature growls, and hear Christina break down her biggest hits. You’ve never had vocal lessons like this before.
Featured MasterClass Instructor
Christina Aguilera
Christina teaches you her unique vocal techniques in over 3.5 hours of voice lessons and exercises.
Explore the Class