Newport Fiddle and Folk Club

Zoom for musicians

Our events now take place on Zoom. However, Zoom is designed for meetings, so the standard audio setup is not ideal for music. In fact, Zoom will actively suppress any sound that's not a speaking voice - if you leave the default settings in place. However, you can make your music sound better with a few simple steps:

This video takes you through the steps:

• Watch the instructions on audio settings
  (It will start part-way through the video.)

Note: the video assumes you're already in a meeting, but you don't need to start a meeting to change your audio settings. You can also access the audio settings panel if you just start Zoom and click the gear in the top right corner, then select Audio. For first-time Zoom users, you can also watch the video from the beginning.

If you still have audio problems

• Re-start your computer before a Zoom session to clear your computer memory.
• Don't run other applications in the background while running a Zoom session - close everything else down..
• Don't use 'Virtual Background' - it uses up lots of your computer's processing power and memory
• Other members of your household streaming video e.g Netflix might take up a lot of your internet bandwidth and compromise your connection to Zoom.
• To test your sound, start a meeting (you don't need to invite anyone else) and use the Record button on the toolbar to record yourself singing/playing. Choose 'record to computer' rather than 'record to cloud'. Stop the session and listen back to the recording - it gives a good indication of how others hear you.

Using an external microphone

The microphone built into your laptop or webcam is usually cheap and designed for speaking voices only. If you want better sound you could invest in an external microphone. The simplest type to use are USB microphones - they plug straight into a USB port. If you're using an external mike, you'll need change your Zooom audio settings to use that mike.

Here are a few that our members have recommended:

• Samson Go
• Yeti
• Rode NT

Shop around for the best prices. The Samson is the cheapest and simplest, and it still sounds good.

See also...

• Garry Wood's Zoom guide
• Tues Blues sound set-up guide
• Tues Blues Intro and Etiquette
• Mac audio settings

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