At any live music show, whether it is Metallica at Madison Square Garden or a local band at a small venue, the process of how the music is distributed to the audience is the same. Live sound is a popular career path for IAR students and it is rooted in the same basic skills learned in the audio recording and production program. On Thursday, February 26th, IAR hosted another Do It Yourself event titled “The Ins’ and Outs’ of Live Sound” conducted by faculty member and IAR graduate, Sean Corcoran. Sean has worked in live sound for over 5 years with elite members of the Broadway and jazz community and currently works as Front of House Technician for the famous NYC jazz club, Birdland. Sean broke his seminar into two parts: Technical & Organic. Students received a tutorial in industry terms and lingo used by sound technicians, roadies, and artists alike including ‘Backline,’ ‘Direct Inputs’ and ‘Monitor Mixes.’ Sean listed necessary gear and microphone setups as well as demonstrated how to EQ the show on the fly.

The organic side of live sound is just as important to a successful show and career as are the technical skills involved in being a top-flight live sound technician. Building strong relationships with artists, managers, and promoters, controlling the schedule of sound checks and performance sets, and being prepared for anything during a show were areas highlighted as organic and thus unique to every gig. Sean commented on the working environment: “There’s an edge to live sound because you work in ‘real time.’ When it goes right, it’s instant gratification, but when it goes wrong, you can’t just call timeout and start again once the problem is solved. The problem needs to be dealt with at that very moment, sometimes in front of many people, and it can get intense. Aside from just getting a good mix for the audience and the artist, a great sound tech is someone who can work with people and solve problems, technical and otherwise.”