Are You Fixing the Problem or the Symptom

Why does the sound at a live performance sometimes seem off? Some musicians disappear, others suddenly jump out, and our attention immediately goes to the sound technician. But what if the problem we hear is only the symptom, and the actual problem started much earlier?

In this episode of Intentional Musicianship, Jeff Price explores the difference between fixing the problem and fixing the symptom, using microphone discipline as a practical example. Experience as a musician does not automatically mean experience performing with microphones. Understanding how to work consistently with amplification is a skill that needs to be developed and rehearsed.

You'll discover four actionable ideas for improving amplified performances and solving the right problem:

1.    Understand your relationship with the microphone, recognizing that different microphone setups may require different approaches.

2.    Treat amplification as a collaboration between the musician and sound technician, with each responsible for a different part of what the audience ultimately hears.

3.    Practice the conditions you will encounter in performance rather than relying on sound check to teach microphone technique.

4.    Work upstream before changing personnel, buying equipment, or trying to fix the most visible symptom.

Jeff also revisits the Five Whys and explores leading and lagging indicators as tools for working backward from what the audience experiences to something earlier in the process that musicians and educators can actually influence.

Whether you're a performer, educator, ensemble director, or someone working behind the soundboard, this episode offers a reminder that sometimes the thing everyone sees going wrong is not the thing that went wrong first.

Before fixing what appears to be wrong, ask: Are you fixing the problem, or are you fixing the symptom?

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