playing outdoors for the first time

[misterCRUSH]

I'm relatively new in my performance journey, and will be playing a patio tomorrow evening. I play with a jazz piano trio, so it won't be very loud. Should I eq anything differently? What I'm playing is listed in my signature Thanks in advance.

 

[abarson]

Take it for granted that your outdoor sound will be different than indoor.
EQ is there to make you sound your best in the immediate environment. Don't be afraid to turn a knob in order to sound better.
Enjoy the new experience!

 

[Wasnex]

As long as you have a loud enough rig to meet your volume requirements, I wouldn't stress over it too much. You do typically have to play a bit louder out doors.

Indoors, some of your sound bounces around a bit before making it's way back to your ears. Ideally you still hear primarily your direct sound, with just enough of the delayed, indirect sound to give you a nice sense of space. If the indirect sound overwhelms your direct sound, it results in masking, so your tone will not be as clear. One way to mitigate this problem is to turn up your mids and highs a bit, while turning down the lows. Another way to mitigate the problem may be to elevate your cab and aim it at your ears. Whether this will help depend on the type of tone you like.


Outdoors, the ratio between direct sound and indirect sound is usually much higher, compared to indoors. Your tone will tend to be drier and more clear and focused. This usually means you are a bit freer to adjust for a tone you like, rather than having make compromises that are required to overcome the problems cause by indirect sound and the resulting masking.

 

[fdeck]

I've never done anything differently, except that outdoor venues I've played at tended to provide more space for a bigger audience. Indoors can often get too loud with a jazz combo, so there's no rule saying you also have to be too loud outdoors.

 

[Parzival]

I don’t like the elements and other stuff outside, but the sound is the best part. My rig always sounds its best outside. It’s pure, nothing to get in the way.

 

[Michedelic]

There’s a phenomenon, due to the way bass frequency waves develop over distance, where the low lows are louder farther away than right there where your amp is, so keep those under control. You wouldn’t want complaints from the next block over.

 

[JRA]

IME/IMO: play to (with) the other two musicians and let that be your ensemble sound --- you don't have to be any louder than it takes to blend with the other two from your position...the audience hears the three of you as 'one.' positioning yourselves close(r) to each other can help!

break a leg!

 

[squish]

Seems like a cool gig. Guessing that the piano is not mic'd/amplified. Shouldn't be too hard to find the right volume, but yeah don't overdo it.

 

[Marley's Ghost]

Hydration is key.

 

[paskisti]

As always, take long cable or wireless with you to hear how you all sound. With 10-12m cable you can get pretty good overview in front of stage, and especially in small patio.

 

[pepj]

I do nothing more than turn it up as sound gets swallowed up outside.
So I make sure my rig is capable of what I expect.

 

[Slevage]

Play good notes.
Don’t overthink the sound- in that situation, notes over knobs is what matters most.

 

[BassyBill]

Clothes pegs!

Nothing will ruin a gig for you quicker than sheet music being blown away by wind mid-performance.

 

[Krakmann]

Salud!

Bring more watts (and maybe a longer cord than usual) and enjoy!!!

 

[burgerdj]

99% of my gigs are outdoors. It’s going to sound different, so make sure you sound check and can hear the other musicians well. During sound check, have someone standing at audience distance to give guidance on adjustments. I find situations like this to validate the guidance to start with your eq pretty flat, avoiding extremes on your amp or bass. You’ll likely find yourself making adjustments at eq points you haven’t previously at rehearsals/indoors.

Have fun!

 

[rtslinger]

Ahhh outdoor gigs , bring enough wattage so you have good head room, keep your amp set flat to start and off the ground so you can hear it if it is your only source of monitoring. During sound check move away from your amp a few feet to hear what the audience is hearing, because it is nothing like adjusting to a rooms acoustics.
You may find that out in front a few feet is your sweet spot for hearing yourself best.
If you are playing with a drummer ( not mentioned) only being as loud as his kick drum is a good rule of thumb.
I normally will use string cleaner on my strings before the gig because, they feel different outside ( at least to me) Stay hydrated and if it is hot bring a towel to wipe down your strings and most of all have fun. Good luck with the show RTS

 

[GTx2]

At least it’s not a winter outdoor gig…..talk about adjusting!!

 

[Marko 1]

Play good notes.
Don’t overthink the sound- in that situation, notes over knobs is what matters most.

With all due respect, playing good notes goes without saying,

but if those good notes can't be heard clearly, they're not worth much.

Salud!

Bring more watts (and maybe a longer cord than usual) and enjoy!!!

If one needs more of something for volume, it would be more cab/speakers.

 

[lug]

With all due respect, playing good notes goes without saying,

but if those good notes can't be heard clearly, they're not worth much.


If one needs more of something for volume, it would be more cab/speakers.

My band says my best notes are those they can hear at all.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Clothes pegs!

Nothing will ruin a gig for you quicker than sheet music being blown away by wind mid-performance.

Good idea. I didn’t do that on a gig playing Latino music…not smart. So the next time I was subbing with a wedding corporate band that had custom arrangements. Most of which were 4 and five pages. 5 minutes after we started we had 25mph gusts. I ended up using clear plexiglass sheet to hold the charts down and that worked better than clips. The problem is the changeover to the next song in 15 seconds or less

Yeah, a little pricey, but an iPad Pro 12.9, the Forscore app, and anAirTurn foot pedal to turn the page is the answer. The only issue is really hot weather in direct sunlight. The pad can overheat and become non-functional, but I’ve never had that happen.