Smart Music

Anyone who has done karaoke in a bar will know that there are unwritten rules that guide the performance of this activity.  You have to behave accordingly or run the risk of being banned from any establishment.  There are of course popular depictions of unruly behaviour and rowdiness associated with karaoke in television and movies.  But in real life, singing karaoke is usually a lot tamer and attracts people who are true fans of the activity.  You might be surprised at how a new current karaoke CDs can be.  Within a few weeks of radio play, you could be singing some of your favourite newest songs.

Most people who enjoy karaoke take the extra step of buying a home machine.  A home karaoke machine can be a great investment that gives you and your family hours of entertainment.  There are certain advantages to having a home karaoke machine including not having to get all dressed up for a night on the town.  You can do home karaoke in the comfort of your own pyjamas, without any makeup, and eating a slice of pizza on the couch.  It’s simply a good source of clean fun that provides a chance to connect with whoever you are surrounded by.

If you are interested in buying a home karaoke machine, you should come up with an adequate budget that takes into account the extra costs of added microphones and music CDs.  You can look in your local listings for used machines, and there are plenty of options available online as well.  In general you want to be able to test a karaoke machine before you buy it.  Since that is not possible in all cases, you can turn to reader of reviews to determine your best choice.  The features you should focus on include the sound and music playing ability in addition to auto-tuning for better vocal performances.

If you enjoy singing karaoke in bars or private clubs, then it might be time to get a machine for your very own home. While singing in public can be fun, sometimes you have deal with things that make karaoke exhausting. No one likes to deal with drunken people, impatient singers, or long line-ups to get up and sing a song. With a home karaoke machine you can decide who to invite to your party and which music to play all night long. Here are some basic things you should always look for when buying a karaoke system for your own home.

1. Make sure that the machine is capable of handling two microphones at one time. A home karaoke machine is almost useless with just one microphone since every great karaoke party will include duets and group songs.

2. Don’t be fooled into buying a karaoke machine that plays laser disks or cassette tapes. The modern format for karaoke players today is KG CDs, and there are even newer DVD karaoke players that offer more expansive libraries.

3. Many karaoke machines will have built-in displays and you always want to make sure that they scroll the lyrics properly. Better yet, see if you can hook the machine up to your TV or home entertainment system so that everyone in the room can sing along.

4. Most karaoke machines will last long enough to end up paying for themselves in the long run, but you should always make sure to get a machine with a good warranty and return policy. If anything goes wrong, the last thing you want to be stuck with is a broken karaoke machine that no one knows how to fix.

5. The last thing any great karaoke player needs is great sound capabilities. So that means clear and distinct sound for both the microphone and the music itself. In general you have to pay more for the best sounding machines but the price is certainly worth it if you’ll be using your machine frequently.

You may be wondering what the difference is between karaoke and karaoke instrumental versions of a song.  The karaoke version will play back-up vocals when put into a karaoke machine and it will read off the lyrics.  The instrumental version will be only music and have no words or singing.  It's also important to note that the instrumental version also includes the melody.  This is not present on the karaoke version.

How To Create Karaoke Instrumental Tracks

It's possible that you have a song that is not available in instrumental karaoke version.  You may be dying to perform the song at your favorite karaoke bar and have searched the world and beyond for a karaoke recording.  What are you to do?  The answer is finding voice elimination software.

Voice elimination software will typically allow you to eliminate the lead voice from a recording leaving only the background music for your karaoke performance.  Even with software this is hard to do because music is recorded using a multi-track recorder and a finished musical product is mixing down into left and right channels.  The easiest way to remove 99% of vocals from a song would be in a scenario in which a vocal track was mono.  However today most tracks are stereo and the removal of vocals is hard to do even with software.

There are several machines or software programs out there that will reduce the vocals of a song using filters.  Most of the voice elimination software only reduces the vocal tracks, which also reduces other parts of the recording.  A popular device can be found at your local RadioShack called Karaoke Mate.  It often retails for around 40 to 50 bucks but it will create a recording for you in which the vocal tracks are filtered.  Unfortunately, you'll find that a lot of your other important tracks are also filtered in the process.

How To Find Karaoke Tracks

When looking for instrumental karaoke track it’s best to do a simple web search for the track name and artist.  Some of the most popular places to purchase an instrumental track would be iTunes or Lime Wire.  There are also specialty websites that cater to the karaoke audience.  Worse case you can sing your karaoke to a complete track with the lead vocals.  I know a lot of experts will whine and cry about this however you may sound better with the artist singing along.

There are literally hundreds of different places that you can find instrumental karaoke tracks however if you can't find a recording, just make your own.  Although software cannot completely eliminate the vocal tracks or make a perfect karaoke recording it oftentimes is your best and only solution.  So if you desperately need a specific karaoke track, go pick up some software and go to work.