Why do musicians wear those things in their ears?

Never understood this….I mean they can hear the music since they are right there so what is their purpose?

 

To actually hear their instrument and the blend and to keep from being deafened. They are standing feet away from some of those speakers. At least that is what I have been told.

 

So what does it do.....just amplify their instrument in their ear?

How do they keep rhythm with that?

 

If I recall, they wear one in each ear. Not sure how they blend it, but it comes from the "board operator" who is engineering the show.

 

Keeps the music from being too loud.

 

So they are earplugs?

 

generally yes - those in ear monitors deafen the loud drumming and allows the singer to hear him/herself

 

Why Do Singers Take Out Their Earpieces?

Beyonce after she pulled her ear piece out at the Presidential Inauguration

If you saw the inauguration you watched as Beyoncé pulled out her earpiece while singing the Star Spangled Banner. That earpiece is called an in-ear monitor. It allows her to hear exactly what she wants. For example if you are a singer singing with a live band, there is a lot of noise onstage with you, especially from the drummer. It can be very hard to hear yourself which can make you sing louder and even shout. Your voice can get tired and you might feel like you’re straining. If you use in-ears, you can have the sound engineer put only your voice and, let’s say, the keyboard in your ears. You won’t hear the drummer at all! You can choose how much or little of each instrument you hear.

There are some drawbacks to in-ear monitors though. A rehearsal in an empty room sounds entirely different than in a room full of bodies so you can’t be sure how it’s going to sound at the show. Also you don’t get any ‘ambient’ sound in your ears so there’s no room noise. If you aren’t used to the way that sounds, it can feel ‘dead’. I don’t know exactly what happened in the case of Beyoncé but I imagine it’s hard to predict what you want to hear in your ears when you’re singing outdoors in front of hundreds of thousands of people. She probably had too much of the Marine Corps Band in her ears and took one earpiece out to try to hear her voice coming out of her mouth.
https://thesingersworkshop.com/why-do-singers-take-out-their-earpieces/


An Introduction To In-ear Monitoring
The Sound In Your Head
In-ear monitoring is becoming a practical option for musicians and engineers at all levels. Is it time you made the switch?

In-ear monitors (IEMs) have only been around for a relatively short time. Introduced in the late '80s, they only really became affordable about 15 years ago, and it's fair to say that they've revolutionised the touring industry. Many live acts have adopted them now, and for some tours they are seen as indispensable, mainly due to the freedom they can give the performer — particularly singers. The ability to have a consistent sound wherever you go on stage has enabled uncluttered set designs, increased freedom of movement, and enhanced performances. The combination of a wireless microphone and in-ear wireless monitors is now a common sight on many tours.

For those who have never seen or used in-ear monitors, they are two-part systems. There's a transmitter, usually a half-rack unit, which transmits the monitor mix wirelessly (via radio) to a receiver, a belt pack around the size of a mobile phone that the performer wears. This picks up the monitor signal and amplifies it through a pair of earpieces. The transmitter and receiver operate in the UHF band, between 606 and 614 MHz. Other bands are available, but some require a special licence: the wireless frequency spectrum is regulated by the Joint Frequency Management Group (JMFG), and their web site, www.jfmg.co.uk, has the latest information — although, as spectrums are currently being reassigned, that info is always changing!...
-> https://www.soundonsound.com/techniques/introduction-ear-monitoring



https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/In-ear_monitor

 

Unless you're Milli Vanilli

 

You'll notice a true professional such as Yoko has no need

 

That's because Yoko can't sing.

 

In my experience, in a very loud venue, speaker based monitors can be very difficult to hear properly. If you turn them up loud enough to hear clearly, there's a danger of feedback.

In ear monitors have the added benefit of offering ear protection as well (I regularly wear earplugs these days). If cost were no object I'd use them (and go wireless for the mic and instruments too).

 

Every band or musician requires a monitor in order to know how a song is working and what the audience hears, I would imagine the ear pieces also allow the sound manager to communicate with performers and vice versa.