Karaoke is a Japanese word, made up of abbreviations of two other Japanese words. "Kara" comes from the word "karappo", meaning empty. "Oke" comes from the word "okesutura", meaning orchestra. So "Karaoke" literally means empty orchestra. Karaoke players play the music of the songs, without the lead vocals. So empty orchestra means you get the music without the voices.
The first karaoke system was invented in the 1970's in Kobe, Japan, by Daisuk Inoue, a musician. He leased his karaoke player for 100 yen, and Karaoke soon became the fun thing to do.
Unfortunately, he did not get a patent for his invention, and someone else went on to patent it under a different name, "Minus-One". As you see, his Minus-One system didn't catch on near as well as the catchy "Karaoke", so Daisuk still got his claim to fame. Word of Daisuk's new machine spread, and from Japan it has now become wildly popular all across Asia, Europe, and the USA.
Perhaps karaoke players are most popular of all in Finland. Finland holds several world Karaoke records. They have more karaoke bars per capita than any other place in the world. They hold the world record for the largest amount of people singing the same karaoke song at one time: 80,000 people! What song were they singing? Hard Rock Hallelujah! Finland also holds the world record for the longest round of non-stop Karaoke singing: 240 hours!
Imagine that! Now you can use your karaoke system to come up with new world records!
Karaoke Lingo:
What's a new craze without it's own specialized vocabulary to go with it? Here are some karaoke words to know:
Karaoke Player - this is the karaoke machine itself. It plays karaoke songs, or music without the words. The lyrics are shown on a monitor so people can still sing the song even if they don't know the words.
Spinning Karaoke - this is cycling on stationary bicycles while singing karaoke. What a workout!
KJ - this is the Karaoke DJ. He runs the karaoke system, and gets everyone involved. He adjusts the karaoke player to alter the key or the pitch to better match the voice range of the singer, and adds some echo, so that everyone sounds more professional.
Kamikaze Karaoke - In Kamikaze Karaoke, the KJ will choose a pitch number for you, and you have to try to sing the song in that pitch.
Hitokara - means you must sing the song alone.
Karamovie - movie video clips where they leave out the voices
Health Benefits of Karaoke:
And here is great news - karaoke singing releases endorphins! Those are the "happy hormones" that make us feel good!
In addition, karaoke singing releases stress and tension, and helps exercise the lungs. So the next time you want to head off to your local karaoke bar, you can feel good about it!
Newest Types of Karaoke Player:
Now you can get Karaoke Ipods, Karaoke Cell Phones, and DVD Player/Karaoke System combos. China has a Karaoke car. Japan, and now spreading to other countries, has Karaoke Boxes - karaoke system/sound-insulated rooms.
Latest Karaoke News:
Jackie Chan will sing the opening song for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics - KARAOKE STYLE!
Go figure. Maybe there's something to this karaoke after all. You should try it!
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 look at this site 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.