Amplifying your sound - Health and Safety

gigging musicians health music advice music gigs music industry music safety success beyond the score Aug 13, 2026

Here is the first of seven posts in our series about amplifying devices, what they do, and how to use them. They are summaries of workshops that took place in the Time For My Music community group. You can learn more about the context in our intro post.

We are starting at the most basic, yet most important aspect of this and any type of work: safety!

1. Take care of your body.

By definition, the performing arts are physically demanding. Music too! You have to look after your health: diet, sleep quality, and fitness level all play a part.

Specifically in regard to amplifying devices, their weight can represent a risk. When deciding on what to buy for your PA system, think about how you are going to transport and set your new device up. Learn the proper form to lift heavy objects; you can do it at the gym or even through online tutorials, like this one.

If you find yourself in a situation where the weight of the equipment is too much for you, don't force yourself. There's no shame in asking for help. Remember, the easiest injury to recover from is the one that never happened in the first place.

Bonus: even if you are strong enough to carry your things around, your stage outfit may not do so well. Consider arriving and setting up in comfortable clothes, and changing afterwards.

2. Take care of others.

All people involved in a music performance (venue owner, event producer, musician and the audience) are responsible for each other's safety. The industry has several mechanisms to facilitate this: risk assessment protocols, audits, contract clauses, etc.

Two valuable resources for gigging musicians in this regard are liability insurances and portable appliance testing (PAT). Millicent talked about this during her free webinar "Legal know-hows for musicians". You can watch the clip clicking here. PAT directly evaluates the condition of your devices and determines if they are fit to be used. Doing them regularly will prevent accidents.

3. Keep your leads well and organised.

Leads can easily become a source of confusion and chaos. If not maintained correctly, they can also cause fires and other accidents. Avoid issues with these simple steps:

Check them regularly for wear and tear. If the wires of a lead are exposed, you must not use it. Repair or replace as needed.
Don't bend or squeeze your leads. Instead, coil them into a circle and secure one side with Velcro, tape or something similar.
Avoid storing leads still connected to each other or to adapters. This prevents the plugs from wearing away.
Label or tag your leads, so you can tell them apart from the equipment of other people, and find them easily. We recommend electric tape for this, because it is very sturdy. Choose a colour you like and wrap some tape around the end of your leads. That way, after a performance, you can easily retrieve whatever you connected to the venue's or the DJ's system without arguments or confusion.

4. Study your equipment.

As you advance in your music journey, you will probably require more advanced equipment. You don't need to know every single detail about each device from the get-go, but it's vital that you know what it does and how to take care of it.

Specially if you are tech-savvy, you may be tempted to figure things out along the way. However, trial and error can, at best, prevent you from learning or discovering the device's full potential, and at worst, end up damaging it. Read the manual! You don't have to go through it all in one sitting, just don't postpone it until you are presented with a problem you can't even begin to imagine how to solve. If there are parts of your device or things in the manual that you don't understand, check if the manufacturer has additional material, like videos on their website. You can also find other people who have the same device and ask them.

Just as with leads, you must check all your devices for wear and tear. Knowing them well will help you identify potential concerns more efficiently.

5. Considerations about setting up and down

Performance days come with many things to worry about. They are not the day to learn how to set up your PA system. Rehearse in advance: set it up at home a few times to get used to the process. That way, you will not be stressing over your equipment at the venue, and you will even be able to direct help offered to you in a better way.

At the venue, check potential hazards before setting up. For starters, no part of your PA system can get wet, which means that you cannot be put outside if there is a chance of rain. The floor must be completely dry and clean. If there is an open bar or the guests will carry glasses for any reason, ensure that they cannot get close to your PA system. That will prevent spills.

Tape your leads to it in order to prevent accidents and to keep them in good condition. You can use masking tape or decorative tape to do it.

Set your amplifier in a stable and secure area where the ground is level. It should be within your reach, but not so close that you could hit it when moving. If it will go on an amp pole, don't extend it beyond your head level, and spread the legs of the pole as much as the space allows to add stability. Your mixer should go on a sturdy table.

Soundcheck is non-negotiable. You must ensure that there will not be interference between your devices before the performance. This is also the chance to test if you have enough space, and how far can you safely move.