Simply put, Karaoke
is a musical presentation featuring backup singers and instrumental
accompaniment, while you create the lead vocals from the lyrics presented
to you on a screen. It's an opportunity to show off your musical skills.
Karaoke offers ordinary people the opportunity to do something extraordinary
. . get up on stage and sing with the backup of some of the best known
musical groups in the business. Karaoke singers not only have great
fun as they "do their thing" on stage, but they can discover
a new avenue of self expression and confidence building. Some actually
become stars among their friends & peers in the crowd watching.
While It's
more about fun, than developing a career, the beauty of it is that anyone
can do it! Many cultural icons are known to show up at Karaoke shows
& sing into the wee hours of the morning, because it's just so much
fun!
What's more, singing is good for you! See our article on singing and
health Here.
The
word Karaoke was made up from two Japanese words, roughly meaning "empty-orchestra"
The implication is the empty space in front of the orchestra that is to be filled
by you, the singer. In it's modern technological development, karaoke will also
supply the words, the rhythm, and cues for how the song is to be sung.
For Karaoke, special enhanced compact discs called CD+Gs, (Compact Disc + Graphics)
are the key. They differ from regular music CDs in two respects.
1.
the music portion only contains "background" vocals and instrumental
accompaniment and,
2.the lyrics to the song are displayed on a TV
or monitor for the performer(s) to read.
The
words to the song change color in the rhythm of the music help the performer stay
in time. The music portion on most CDGs is usually very close, if not identical
to what you hear on the original CD. That makes it very easy for the amateur performer
to give a great performance, and actually sound very good, even if they have just
a little "talent."
But truthfully, some of the most entertaining karaoke performances I have seen
and heard, come from the "musically challenged!" It's all in fun anyway,
and you will be surprised to see just how many people that are initially hesitant
about giving it a shot, end up saying, "Just one more! And one more! And
one more!" It really can become addictive!
Instant Party DJ & Karaoke has over 9,000 Karaoke selections in
every kind of music you can imagine, so there's always a song that you
and your guests will know.
One of the best
things about karaoke is that it allows your guests to become actively
involved in your event. Let's face it, not all of us are great dancers,
and many people are just unable to do a lot of dancing because of physical
problems. Karaoke is a great way to keep your guests from "bailing
out" early, because they never know who might get up next and decide
to sing a tune! They want to stay so as not to miss anything. For more
on the local scene, check out Southern
MD Nights.
Mixing a few karaoke tunes (and yes, people will dance to karaoke) with
regular dance music adds a fantastic new dimension and can really make
your gathering "an event worth remembering!" TH
