How to wear them, and why it matters

What this lesson teaches

The shortest lesson on the site, and it exists to dismantle something that genuinely puts beginners off.

There is no correct way

One cup on one ear. Both on. Round the back of the neck with one cup forward. Upside down. He runs through the options and the verdict is that it does not matter - what matters is that it suits you.

The stereotypical pose, one cup clamped between shoulder and ear, is a habit that came from doing a particular job in a particular way. It is not a qualification and nobody is checking.

What you do need

The requirement underneath all the postures is the same: you have to hear the cued track and the room at the same time.

One cup on and one off is the common solution because it is the simplest - cue in one ear, room in the other. But it is not the only one:

• Mono split, a switch on most mixers, puts the cue in one ear and the master in the other, both cups on. Some people find that much easier, because the two signals stay separated rather than competing in one ear.
• A booth monitor - a speaker beside you - means you can wear both cups for the cue and let the monitor handle the room.

All three do the same job. Try them and keep whichever your ears get on with.

The one thing worth being careful about

He does not say it here and it belongs with this lesson: a headphone cup pressed hard against one ear, turned up to compete with a loud room, for several hours, is a well-recognised risk to hearing in this job.

The damage is cumulative and it does not announce itself. If you are turning the headphones up because the room is loud, the better fix is isolation - a cup that seals properly - rather than volume.