Friday, December 31, 2010

Sometimes when we touch

Tuesday, December 28, 2010

Shakira - Gypsy

Sunday, December 26, 2010

lost my music karaoke

Sunday, December 12, 2010

Karaoke Etiquette - Are You Karaoke Microphone Ignorant?

I think there are rules of etiquette for karaoke. There are the Your-Mother-Taught-You-Better rules: don't heckle, always clap, don't diva, be polite to the KJ, don't cuss into the microphone, don't volunteer others, and don't abuse the equipment. And there are the less obvious rules: don't take drinks on stage, don't try to sneak extra turns, fill out the slips completely, don't come late and expect to sing, support the venue, don't try to perform a particular song "better" than the last singer, don't act like you own a particular song, and don't sit in the front row and ignore karaoke singers. We can all agree these rule would make a better karaoke world for everyone.

But what about the innocent mistakes? This last set of rules is the set I think people are just ignorant about. If you don't know how to use a microphone you need to be told the right way to use it. People often treat the DJ equipment the way they see the singer in their favorite rock band treat it. Or the way they see musicians portrayed in movies handle it. That's the wrong way. Rich and famous musicians can discard microphones like they are TicTacs because they get their sound equipment for free from sponsors. But the karaoke DJ doesn't get his or her microphones for free.

So here are some rules for handling the karaoke microphone you're handed. Remember, it's not yours. Although a "you break it you buy it" policy would go a long way toward correcting bad microphone manners and protecting the DJs equipment, I say!

1. Don't tap the microphone and say, "Is this thing on?" If you are compulsive and have to have a sound check because you just don't trust your KJ then say something harmless into the microphone like "check, check" or "testing" or "hi everyone."
2. Never drop or (heaven forbid) toss a microphone at the end of the song. Doing so almost definitely damages the little cartridge inside. This means a hassle-filled, expensive repair that the DJ must pay for out of his meager pay.
3. Never swing a microphone by the cord to punctuate your big finale. That's a great way to damage equipment and make the KJ homicidal.
4. Don't point a microphone at a live speaker because it makes a nasty feedback and can damage the speaker.
5. Do hold the microphone 1" to 6" away from your mouth and sing directly into it. But don't put your mouth on it. Ew, the microphones aren't sterilized before you sing or after!
6. Don't scream into a microphone. The DJ can adjust the sound of your voice with his/her equipment, so there is no need to get stupid about volume

Those are the in's and out's of karaoke microphone etiquette. Now you know, so you can respect the DJ's equipment and endear yourself to them. You might find that treating the equipment well gets you access to better equipment. I know several DJs who have two sets of microphones - the junk they hand out to untrustworthy (and drunken) karaoke singers and the REALLY good microphones they give to knowledgeable, respectful singers. Once you've had that quality microphone in your hand, you'll never want to go back!

The Beatles- Yesterday

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Choosing a Karaoke Machine to Suit Your Needs

So you want to start singing Karaoke at home or you want a way to sing karaoke?

Where do you go and what do you buy?

The simplest and cheapest way is to buy a CD+G or DVD of your favorite songs and slot it into your DVD or CD player that is attached to your TV. Buy yourself a microphone and your up and running.

Amazon has a huge range and your going to find just what you want including a karaoke microphone, if your like me you will buy many Karoke CD+Gs and DVDs over time and have a large collection of music and songs to choose from and at around $7-10 per karaoke disc it is a very cheap entry into the world of karaoke songs and music.

This is where I started and I would recommend it as a good place to get a start into your karaoke 'career.' Now the issue with CDs and DVDs is, as your library grows you will have a large pile of discs to dig through to find the song or songs of your choice.

Discs get scratched and damaged along the way, even with the most careful users. You have to load it into your player and wait till its 'reads' etc. I've advanced to other forms which I'll cover shortly but having said that I still use, and wouldn't be without, my CD+G/DVD collection of karaoke songs and music.

My next transition was to a Magic Sing Karaoke machine. When I bought their "ET18000" I thought I'd never have another CD or DVD nor have the related issues that come with them. My Magic Sing came with over 2000 songs built into the system and you can purchase song chips that are inserted into the machine to add to your library.

Magic Sings is an awesome machine it has wireless Karaoke microphones, so there's no tripping over cords. Another issue with the corded karaoke microphones is the cord connection at the base of the microphone working loose with use and creating problems. Wireless is the way to go. At Amazon you can purchase a Wireless Karaoke Magic Sing "ET18000" for just under $300. That's money well spent and you may never have need for anything more.

Magic Sing are always improving their products and for an extra $90 or so you can get their "ET19K" which has more advanced and improved functions and more of the newer technologies than the "ET18000', it comes with around 2400 songs built in.

Both come with a Song book, you find the song you like, take its number, key it into the keypad on the karaoke microphone and your song is ready to be sung. Magic Sing is very portable just take it where ever you want, plug it in and your up and running. I plug mine into my TV through a home theatre sound system and the sound is just awesome. For a lesser quality sound you can just plug it straight into your own or any TV.

Some of the drawbacks with the Magic Sing are, microphone feedback, if the mic is pointed towards the system, a high pitched feedback can be an issue when coupled with some sound systems,. In the 2000 plus songs there are a number of public domain songs that are obscure or known by very few. Subsequent purchased song-chips come with these in them as well.

At a rough count I would say that somewhere between 15 to 20% of the songs are 'public domain' songs. After a while most want a larger range of songs than what's built into the machine and therefore go buy another 'chip.'

Magic Sing chips cost $50-70 per chip and most come with around 100 and sometimes up to 300 songs in them, again, Amazon has a very large range to choose from and can meet all needs.

Again you're stuck with the 'public domain' songs that come with them. After you've purchased all the chips you want you will find your Song book bulging at the seams with all the songs in your library. The biggest draw back for me personally with the Magic Sing is that you can't load single songs or an album into the karaoke machine. The only way you can get new songs or music is to buy their song-chips with their related issues spoken of earlier.

After you've filled all your song-chip slots in your Magic Sing and mastered all the songs in its library. If your like most, you want something more. After all, we are desire-fulfilling creatures and we're always looking for more desires to fulfill once we filled the last one.

If that is the case I have something for your that will fill all your desires and more. If your just starting out and want the ultimate machine then this may be the machine for you. It's a little pricey but if you want the best and latest technology you have to expect to pay for it. Amazon have them for around $800 at the moment.

If this was available when I first started with karaoke I would have chosen this along with my Karaoke CD+Gs/DVD library. It's called the Acesonic KOD-800 and comes with 500 preloaded songs, a single karaoke microphone (you have to buy extra if you want them),500G Removable Hard Drive, Search engine function where you can search by Title or Artist, or you can just key in the number of your song if you wish.

The thing I really like about this system is you can rip all your CD+G's/DVDs music and songs directly onto the hard drive of the machine and have access to all the music of your choice and never get tired of singing the same songs again. While not quite as 'portable' as the Magic Sing it can still be transported without too much difficulty.

This is a more advanced system and coupled with a good sound system would not be out of place if used in a commercial setting like a pub or karaoke night.Having said that I've seen a Magic Sing coupled to a sound system at a Karaoke Night in a large restaurant used with great effect.

At our site you will find links to all the products just mentioned plus a vast list of all the best-selling CD+Gs and DVD at Amazon.com the lists cover all genres of music covering Blues Music, Childrens, Christmas, Rock, Pop, Hip Hop, Christian, Broadway, Christian, CD+Gs Sets and much much more. The Karaoke CDs and DVD are listed from the Number one seller on down.

Thursday, December 9, 2010

Wednesday, December 8, 2010

True Friend Karaoke

Tips For Being a Good Karaoke DJ

I have been a fan of karaoke for many years and I have a good pal who has been working as a karaoke DJ, or KJ as he calls it, for over ten years. Lots of insane things can happen in a karaoke show, and you've got to be ready for each one of them. Some things are important for each KJ to have. I think the most significant is a feeling of humor. If you can maintain the giggling and fun between the sets then they are sure to stay around for more.

I have been to two places where the KJ just stood up there and announced the tunes and call peoples's names. There was no inflection to their tone of voice or any animation in their voices whatsoever.

Set the show up from the start and follow your suggestions the entire night. I have not found anybody that have felt cheated if a new name was added into the revolution, but do not add 4 or 5 new folk all at the same time in line.

Spread them out, it makes it more fair to those who have been there the entire time. Always maintain a record of the number you have added so that when an upset client comes to you and asks why his time hasn't come yet, you've got the answer right at your fingertips. A notebook and pen would be handy for this. If you sound like you've got the situation absolutely in hand, and are fair, folks will understand and everything will run smoothly.

There may be fights, folk passing out, and youngsters running around knocking over the speakers , or a number of other stuff in any given evening. Stay calm, be respectful, and handle each situation confidently. If you show that you're a pro irrespective of what occurs, you'll be ask back once more.

Always enjoy yourself, and make it pleasurable for others and you can't fail. You need to also confirm that your apparatus is in good working order. Keeping an additional disc changer, speakers, and masses of microphones is a good idea.

I'm not sure how many dropped microphones I have seen over time. Making a joke about it before replacing the microphone may help calm the person's nerves and save you money on repairs. I also think it is a good idea to learn the atmosphere of the venue where you're going to be. If it is a place that is completely new to you, go some nights before hand and discover what sort of music the patrons enjoy. Because most likely some of those folk will be coming to your show, and you would like to have masses of the music they like available. Music selection is an example of the things you cannot scrimp on. You must have some of each different type available. Always be certain to have the modern, latest songs available because more young folks come to karaoke than you might think.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Christian Karaoke Praise Song

The Benefits of Home Karaoke

Karaoke can be a great experience and for many the local karaoke bar is a favourite destination for the occasional night out on the town. There is something special about the combination of music, singing, drinks, and good friends that allows for an interesting mix of laughter and performance that is unmatched in any other activity. Some people love karaoke so much that they have setup karaoke systems in their very own homes to recreate the experience of a karaoke bar or club.

If you are looking into creating a similar setup in your home, this article will present some of the benefits of having your own karaoke home machine. The first advantage is simply convenience as it is entirely possible to set up a system that sounds great in the middle of your own recreation room.

And from there you gain the benefit of comfortability as you no longer have to venture out among strangers since you can relax in your own home and you don't even have to get dressed up if you don't want to. The comfort factor is important because you can choose exactly who you want to bring into your world of singing and performance.

Gone will be the days when you have to put up with big egos or other singers who monopolize songs by certain artists, claiming that those songs belong to them. There is nothing worse than a karaoke bully, and with a nice karaoke machine in your home you won't ever have to deal with karaoke drama again. The final factor to consider is the cost because while a good high-end karaoke system may be expensive at first, it will only take a few uses over the first few months for it to pay for itself. Karaoke is a fun hobby and whether you are a casual or hardcore fan, the wide range of prices and products available makes karaoke a reasonably affordable home activity.

Wednesday, December 1, 2010

A Thousand Miles Vanessa Carlton

Color Song

Charlotte Church - A Karaoke Superstar

When you have 6 children and 15 grandchildren like my wife, Judy, and I have, you don't have to look very hard to find someone, actually more than one, in fact, who loves karaoke and gets a big kick out of entertaining themselves, and all within their hearing, at any opportunity. Actually, I have to admit, as embarrassing as it is sometimes to watch, and sometimes even more painful to listen to, we have on numerous occasions been thoroughly amused by karaoke performers achieving a measure of the fame and stardom they envision themselves claiming.

Perhaps because of that interest, one of our many, I can assure you, I follow the previous week's news on the topic from Google Alerts. This past week, I noted with satisfaction a brief report in the Feminine.co.uk feed that Charlotte Church is a very big fan of karaoke herself. In fact, she has apparently begun seriously considering pursuing a return to the spotlight as she has contemplated her growing obsession with singing karaoke.

According to the Feminine report, and I paraphrase here, Charlotte Church began singing karaoke while taking some time off from work. The spell binding vocalist of 'Crazy Chick' fame - who most recently returned to British TV screens as a judge on 'Over the Rainbow' -the new talent search show from Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber - realized it was time to return to the spotlight when she couldn't stop herself getting up on stage when out with boyfriend Gavin Henson.

She said that she had been mostly staying at home caring for her children and increasingly felt the desire to get back into music. In her words, "I missed singing; every time we'd go out I'd end up in a karaoke bar and I'd completely steal the mic - 'Black Velvet', 'Walking in Memphis', 'Valerie'.

"So I thought, 'It's getting a little low-rent now, Charl', come on now, you should probably do this again professionally."

In discussing her comeback to music, 24-year-old Charlotte - who has a two-year-old daughter Ruby and 14-month-old son Dexter - promised that her new album will be a "lot better" than was her 'Tissues and Issues' effort that was released back in 2005.

She also reported that she had been doing quite a bit of songwriting recently. She said that she felt that she had some inner feelings that she wanted to express and that there's a little part of her that wants to be a poet. She also noted, though, that another factor was because so few, if any, really writes songs for her range, and I think we all can agree that that truly is exceptional.

Her interview with Feminine concluded with her commenting, "When I listen back to 'Tissues and Issues', that was kind of my first try at writing, and I think 'Ahhh! So little!' And I might think that of this (new) album in 10 years' time. But I don't think so. I think it's a lot better."

Well, personally, I hope Ms. Charlotte Church, does return to the recording studio so that more than those lucky pub patrons who happen to be present when she decides to give in to her karaoke cravings can listen and revel in hearing her wonderful voice. Just the thought of listening to an evening of karaoke entertainment the quality of Charlotte Church's singing intrigues me.

As for those of you, like us, who also are karaoke fans, and maybe karaoke superstars to be, take heart that counted among us is a talent the likes of Charlotte Church. And if performing karaoke is a very big passion for you and you're motivated to become as good at it as you can be, remember that, as with most everything else, practice goes a long way toward improving your performance and polishing your musical routine.