New Jersey Stage logo
New Jersey Stage Menu


?>

 

INSIDE MUSIC: New technology for amateur and professional voices


By Rosemary Conte

originally published: 09/25/2017


There’s an abundance of tech gear and gadgets on the market for instrumentalists to alter their sound. But there are few options for singers and speakers. Here is one that I and my students have used and have found an amazing tool. 

Introducing---HearFones!  No wires, no electronics at all. It’s a lightweight, acoustic headset instrument that enables a person singing or speaking to hear the actual sound of his or her voice. 

It’s been used by amateur and professional singers, speakers, actors, vocal coaches, speech/language pathologist patients and new-language learners to build new, or to modify existing muscle-memory patterns. This device is also effective in helping modify breathing when singing. (In my teaching practice, breathing is the biggest problem of most singers.) HearFones quickly helps a student to “hear” the problem. 

HearFones has also been used to teach children with learning disabilities and auditory processing issues how to blend in with their school singing group. Large youth and adult choruses have found HearFones valuable for creating a unified sound, as the users learn to automatically adjust their technique for a better sound.

Normally, we hear our voices through our esophagus. We don’t know how our voices sound to others. HearFones is a tool that allows us to hear clearly the real and total sound of our own voice instead of hearing only the reflections of our singing in a room. It’s a better and truer sound than hand cupping behind our ears.




Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



HearFones work by redirecting sound binaurally from the mouth to the ears using high quality plastic ellipsoidal

reflectors that focus sound at the user’s mouth and at the ear canals. So instead of dissipating in the air, sound goes directly

to the ears.

And here’s the important news:  Using this device, singers and speakers intuitively modify their vocal habits to create a voice that they prefer. 

One vocal expert remarked that, “Not since Guido d’Arezzo’s music notation in 1030 has there been such a help for the singer.” You know how we often view positive reviews skeptically?  I researched HearFones and came across superlatives like amazing and incredible.  And when I put my HearFone headset on my student and she began to sing, she said exactly that! 

I haven’t tried recording wearing this device, but I think it would be helpful, especially when having to record with a vocal impairment…or as sometimes happens to me, my production might be “labored” due to a sudden asthma attack. That happened to me when I was recording in a studio’s enclosed vocal booth that was very dusty.

When Elaine Silver, popular folk singer visited me recently and put on my HearFones and sang, she was so impressed with what she heard, she immediately took out her cell phone and ordered the item from Amazon as a birthday present for her musician husband. 

HearFones was designed by a U.S. company and is manufactured in Maine. The item sells online for $43 plus shipping and handling, or check your favorite music store or other online vendor.  For further information email hearfones@hearfones.com  

Visit the website at www.HearFones.com   





Promote your shows at New Jersey Stage! Click here for info



FEATURED EVENTS

ART | COMEDY | DANCE | FILM | MUSIC | THEATRE | COMMUNITY

To narrow results by date range, categories,
or region of New Jersey
click here for our advanced search.


Blues

Blues People with Special Guest: Jeff Levine

Saturday, July 05, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Lizzie Rose Music Room
217 E. Main Street, Tuckerton, NJ 08087
category: music


 

Straight

Straight No Chaser - Summer: The 90’s Part 2

Tuesday, July 08, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Bergen Performing Arts Center (bergenPAC)
30 North Van Brunt Street, Englewood, NJ 07631
category: music


 

Frisson

Frisson Winds

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
The Morris Museum Back Deck
6 Normandy Heights Road, Morristown, NJ 07960
category: music


 

Three

Three American Troubadours: A Tribute to James Taylor, Carly Simon, and Carole King

Thursday, July 10, 2025 @ 7:30pm
Axelrod Performing Arts Center
100 Grant Avenue, Deal Park, NJ 07723
category: music


 

Candlelight

Candlelight Concert: Tribute to Queen and The Beatles

Friday, July 11, 2025 @ 7:00pm
Monmouth University - Pollak Theatre
400 Cedar Avenue, West Long Branch, NJ 07764
category: music


 


 

EVENT PREVIEWS

Jazz

Jazz Concert at Trenton City Museum will Feature the Joe Baione Vibraphone Experience

(TRENTON, NJ) -- Trenton City Museum will present a free jazz concert Friday, July 18, 2025 at the museum's Ellarslie Mansion in Cadwalader Park. Featuring world-renowned vibraphonist Joe Baione, the Joe Baione Vibraphone Experience is the first group to perform in a series of jazz events leading up to the museum's 2026 TRENTON MAKES JAZZ exhibition, in collaboration with the City of Trenton.



The

The Newton Theatre presents Tonight's the Night - a tribute to Rod Stewart

(NEWTON, NJ) -- Tonight's the Night - a tribute band that celebrates the music of Rod Stewart - will perform at The Newton Theatre on Saturday, September 27, 2025 at 8:00pm.



Hoboken's

Hoboken's Sinatra Park to Host Concert by Freedy Johnson and Karyn Kuhl and the Gang

(HOBOKEN, NJ) -- Local events organizer, Geri Fallo, who retired last year, is inviting you to celebrate with her, as she embraces new and exciting endeavors. Come enjoy a free evening of music in Hoboken's Sinatra Park (525 Sinatra Drive) on Thursday, July 17, 2025. The evening is presented by Mayor Ravi Bhalla, The Hoboken Division of Cultural Affairs, and Geri Fallo. The event is free, and music starts at 6:30pm. Come early for the best seating.



An

An Interview with Dan Kurtz of The New Deal

Formed in 1999, Toronto, Canada based trio The New Deal, is a pioneer in jam-based electronic music. The group was founded by remaining members Dan Kurtz (bass) and Jamie Shields (keys), along with Darren Shearer (drums) who left tND in 2011. Since its inception, tND has remained committed to its improvisational roots and has served as a model for other jamtronica bands bridging the gap between multiple music genres as well as the border between Canada and the United States.



Two

Two NJ Jazz Musicians Will Play with The Jazz Ambassadors in Morristown

Pianist Anthony Pocetti grew up in Hamilton, NJ, studying piano, "doing sort of traditional piano lessons. I have an uncle who was always encouraging me to get into the jazz thing. He gave me the (Miles Davis) Kind of Blue CD, and he knew that the jazz pianist Jim Ridl was living in Hamilton."