It’s got to be the endorphin rush. I have a few hobbies but nothing compares to the feeling I get from singing. Perhaps you’re a sky-diver – I’m sure that would be thrilling but expensive. Even skiing would cost an arm and a leg J
Karaoke is close to home and free (discounting all the drinking that seems to happen simultaneously, for most, anyway). And the crowd is full of familiar places, more often than not. So it’s like party time, most nights.
Every so often, we’ll venture a little farther from home. It always add something extra when the crowd hasn’t heard you doing one of your better songs and people work their way over to your table throughout the evening and tell you how much they enjoyed your performance.
What’s especially cool about karaoke is it’s all about songs. Some are from way back when and bring back lots of happy memories. Others are brand new and you’ve never heard them before and you just have to find out what it was. And you learn so much about your friends through their taste in music. I stick mainly to the sappy love songs and they all tend to be a bit mellow. I’m trying to find some that are a bit more cheery and upbeat so that’s my focus here for the next few months.
But my friends cover everything else – the rocker, the shocker, the old-timer, the little-bit country…. Some have amazing stage presence and are so thoroughly entertaining, others voices blow you away – sort of like Jim Nabors voice coming out of Gomer Pyle.
I can hardly wait til it’s time to head out again tonight to let the show begin.
Hi! I've got a question. I've loved karaoke the few times I've tried it, all of which have been in the context of a big group of friends going out for a once-in-a-blue-moon extravaganza. I'd love to make it a more than once-a-year thing, but I don't have friends with the same goal.
ReplyDeleteAny advice on a solo karaokeist, going out for the first few times, trying to get to the place where there are familiar faces in the crowd? What sort of place might be friendliest? Time of day or week? Even just how to be comfortable when I'm not singing, sitting by myself at a bar table, listening?
Getting started is really intimidating, but I'd really like to make this a new hobby. Help?
Hi!
ReplyDeleteJust last night in Frankfurt we sat together with a glass of wine and tried to convince someone at our table to go for singing. But he had more of a Karaoke Trauma Experience at some time in a far eastern country where people like to go to small Karaoke Cabins with their friends only (maybe like 6 or 8 people) to have fun and get crazy. In fact he didn't like that experience, he had to sing songs in pitches he couldn't reach ...
We tried to convince him singing is fun and he only needs to get the right songs, but he didn't want to. What would you advice in this situation? Any ideas for "Karaoke Trauma Therapy"?
Reply to Jo: I know going out by yourself, especially to a bar scene is a bit uncomfortable, as a woman anyway. I've only done it about five times over the years even though I do have a great circle of singing friends and I can find someone to sit with I know each time.
ReplyDeleteBut I prefer not to tag on to someone else if I can avoid it (when my honey is doing an all nighter at work and I still want to get out and sing). My secret is we always carry Sudoku books with us so we have something to do 100% of the time (I am a multi-tasker). My friends like to come up and work on my puzzle from time to time and Sudoku is a bit addicting too. If Sudoku isn't your thing, bring along a word search booklet or a crossword puzzle and you'll be able to find a level of comfort sitting amongst strangers waiting your turn to sing.
I know the last thing I myself want to do is sit there without a diversionary activity because then I would feel like I'm putting out the message "I'm here hunting for someone." If you are fine with that, then you are braver than I am. Plus I am in a happy relationship with my honey.
If it's a karaoke place, then there are regulars that you'll come to recognize. And over time, you'll find yourself surrounded by a large circle of singing friends wherever you go because singers love to sing and they are all out there getting their "fix."
Reply to Dirk: Pick a song you both know and get up and sing with him. Most timid singers hold the mic too far away from their mouths and then sit down afterwards and say they couldn’t hear themselves very well. Have them “eat” the mic – they’ll hear how they are sounding and you’ll get a better result.
ReplyDeleteIf they aren’t the best singer, you’ll have to carry the tune but if they turn out to be amazing, back off on the mic and let them shine.
Either way, you are doing a great thing. You are getting someone to sing and release their pressure valve in a positive way – even if it is a negative song.
We all have different voices, different abilities. If you are actually quite bad, you are encouraging someone else to possibly try it – “If they can do so, so can I.”
One final thought: negative feedback doesn't do anyone much good. Even if the performance is awful, clap and hoot and howl like they were awesome. It'll erase the song from your memory faster, it'll make them feel good, and we all need a little encouragement now and then.
I've met many great singers who said their parents told them early on that they should never sing. What a sad thing!
And if the pitch really is an issue, sing in a monotone, ham it up a bit and create a new rap version. It’ll be entertaining and the crowd will love it!