If you don't know what monitors are, they are speakers that play the sound back at the musician so they can hear themselves. There are multiple kinds of monitors, but in-ears and wedges are some of the most popular. Monitoring is essential for any performer. It doesn't really matter what kind you use, but there are benefits and downsides for each. First of all, let's talk about not using monitors and what happens.
When you sing without hearing yourself it often causes you to overproduce the sound. A great example of this is when wearing headphones and singing along. You can't hear yourself so you may feel yourself shouting along rather than singing. This also happens when you go to concerts or parties. You'll simply end up sounding strained on easy notes, going out of key, and limiting your own range. Some easy fixes for a lack of monitoring that you can do when you don't have anything to use are plugging one ear, directing sound to one hear by holding your hand in front of your mouth and directing it to the ear, or singing entirely by feel. None of these are ideal options but they are band aids for a problem when there is no easy solution.
So lets assume you have access to monitors. There are in-ears and what are often called wedges. I'm ignoring any floating kind of monitor since very few traveling bands or individuals would use these and those who would have no need to read this kind of article since their crew or sound guy would take care of it. Wedges are speakers set on the floor or on a stand that face the musician. They typically get a separate sound than the audience gets that is what the musician wants to hear. For example, I usually ask for a lot of my own voice, drums, and lead guitar. I don't really need much bass, backup vocals, or rhythm so I have those turned down. This helps me hear my cues and what I sound like in case I need to adjust. The biggest downside of wedges is the inability to use click tracks or any cues that come from a track because it would be played out for anyone to potentially hear. Additionally, wedges don't protect your ears and playing loud music can have detrimental effects on your ability to hear.
In-ears are much better. They let you sing with a click or even have bandmates talk to each other without being heard by the crowd with the right tech. Additionally, they tend to protect your ears more and play the sound cleaner. The downside of in ears is that they plug both ears. Without a good sound guy to remove the muffling this causes, you may end up needing to sing with one earbud out. If you plug both of your ears and talk you'll hear your voice sound all muffled and deep, this same thing can happen with in-ears unless you are able to mix your vocals to remove the low frequencies in the monitor. Another downside is the cost, my in-ears were over $600 and I got pretty mid range ones.
Long story short, you need to hear yourself when you sing to sing well. Both monitoring options have upsides and downsides, so pick the one that works best for your situation. If you want lessons to better understand how to use your voice in difficult situations, click here to sign up for a free trial lesson!
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