Karaoke Forums

I agree with Suzanne...karaoke pales compared to a live band. My eventual plan is to hook up with a band... gotta wait til the kids are all grown though.

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Te audire no possum. Musa sapientum fixa est in aure. (I can't hear you. I have a banana in my ear.)

Thanks, Fiernette....no, the band is just forming now.....trying to get everyone together still. I have four guys that have said they will do it - a bass player, a drummer, a lead guitar player, and a saxophone player. Two of them have said they might know a keyboard player and a rhythm guitar player. I'm hoping they are all serious and we can really put it all together. I've only met two of them so far (Wed.), hoping to meet with everyone soon.  The two I met seemed experienced and serious about it.  I'm just in it for the pure joy of singing-- if we make any money, that's great! They seem to think we will, but who knows Keep your fingers crossed for me! And I hope you can get a band together sometime, too.

I love karaoke but it really sucks here in my hometown.....

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~Suzanne Lanoue~

I find it preferable dealing with Karaoke backing, as opposed to other artistic ego's .  Karaoke backing has the exact same musical taste as I have, It's also quite willing to repeat part's of songs I need practice on, and it also doesn't drink or smoke dope...  Plus it's very very patient when I get antsy, leave practice sessions and start yacking in here rather than practicing or doing anything resembling work..\

and the #1 reason I like Karaoke...

(drum roll Anton)

1)  It doesn't take the microphone away from me everytime I try to sing

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

We have a high end restaurant here that has a piano player that does karaoke,
so to speak. He has a book of songs to pick from and he accompanies you on the piano. I tried it once. I really didn't like it much. Now if it was a full band I'd love it.
I think it is a wonderful idea. I would think most bars would have trouble paying a full
band compared to the price of a KJ though.

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[shadow=pink][glow=deepskyblue]. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

I really don't understand why they now choose to call a duo (Lounge singer and accompanist)  "Piano Karaoke", but... if that's what folks want to call it, it's fine with me  LOL, even I'd have work, (but it'd be an annoying job in a young venue). Singing with a piano in a live setting, is live entertainment, or actual lounge type duo work .  Karaoke is singing with recorded backing... It's known as "Open microphone".

It's a different experience Bab's,  With just a Pianist, you have less orchestration than band with driving drumset, percussion, bass, etc... as well as backing vocal studio cuts where musicians frequently overdub, creating many more tracks of musical instrumentals than the 4 piece band live, etc.. there are many more tracks layered, hence a fuller sound with orchestrated studio cut's on your Karaoke backing,,,Various things become more critical than when you sing with a pianist, vs belt thru a PA system with a fuller louder rock or blues band too... Very different style.. We Pianist's and our renditions when backing you require that we know you, coordination between the singer, and accompanist, songs time signature, and phrasing, dynamic coordination, verse,your breathing, and style in general are going to be MUCH different in a piano voice situation, or folk guitar/voice situation because two musicians coordinating everything require them to be "in synch" with one-another at all times, mistakes are less "forgiveable" and in a sense, you might find you feel it's a much "thinner" experience, or maybe even as tho you're walking on water.... you have MUCH less to hold you up with just piano.  VERY different setting... Different styles.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

It's more costly in most cases to pay any live act. Especially a duo, trio, etc..It hasn't been affordable for most bars to pay out for live entertainment, night after night for quite awhile...In the late 70's, early 80's.... I wouldn't do a solo piano gig for 4 hours if I didn't bring home at least $175... It's hard work, requires alot of preparation. You also must read the crowd, and you can't make mistakes... YOu really can't... you're quite exposed   ... I think that's why I have dreams all the time that suddenly I'm in a bar naked sitting on a toilet with no walls and people all around me... I DO have those dreams,  I felt quite exposed playing a solo gig, I HATE doing that... I'm not cut out for it...

With band work, while there's nothing more fun IMO than being one of 6-9 musicians playing in a Funk or R&B setting, collectively the band made more of course, but the musicians took home VERY little... Larger bands that stay together often do for the same reason the women around here play bridge, or guys play B-ball at the YMCA thursday evenings... Because it's fun interaction, and social activity.. It's a hobby, and rewarding, but from a monetary perspective.. It's no wonder it's almost impossible to keep 4 pieces together... Once it turns into an arduous task, or commitment, and the fun takes back seat to headaches of dealing with people,  there's little reason many would hang in.. It's NOT lucrative

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

At the karaoke bar I KJ at we have an actual baby grand Yamaha piano--a couple of times we've done "Piano karaoke".

Heres how you do it:
Pick some songs the pianist and the singers are familar with. The pianist plays the music--the singer sings along to the karaoke words up on the TV screens but with the sound system turned all the way down. So its screen karoeke words and live piano.

Elton John does this also---if you see one of his shows he has a monitor next to his piano to help him remmber his words!

When we did it we played and I sang Duke Ellington's Sophisticated Lady and Cravan, Nat King Cole Dont Get Around Much Anymore, Ella's It dont mean a thing if it aint got that swing, Fats Domino, and a couple of others.

The younger kids were just eating it up and it degenerated into a big group sing-along with the pianist!

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"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

Thats a very smart way of doing it. If the pianist have a headset and be able to listen to the music he will have more songs to choose from. You know, there are songs he may know but cant play without any lead and the music may help increase his repertoire.

just my 2 sen

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

Kurt, not sure of your age. But if you are around my age, or a little older, you'd remember "Mitch Miller",  "Sing along with Mitch", or follow the bouncing ball.  That was similar to Karaoke back in the late 50's early 60's

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

Jian, Unless it's an electric keyboard with a pitchwheel, in most lounges it's very unlikely the piano will be in tune with the musical backing even assuming you can raise or lower the pitch of the backing music a semi-tone... You'd need the ability to adjust the keyboard with a pitchwheel too.... Most piano's are just a few "cents"... or a fraction of a tone off key with another instrument or arrangement, that's all it takes to sound really bad. To do that both the piano, and arrangement would need to be tuneable.  Can't do that on a standard lounge baby grand.

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".

I see the problem there, I am not a musician and never even anticipate that problem. But with those keyboard it can be done, right?

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I can neither confirm nor deny ever having or knowing anything about nothing.... mrscott

"Piano karaoke" sounds like fun!  (speaking as a pianist myself)

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I love being a mom!

Jian,  with an electronic instrument it can be done with a tonewheel, assuming the Karaoke playback device also has a means of regulating pitch up or down... I haven't sat down at one of my synths lately and changed pitch, so I don't recall how many "cents" or semitones I can alter the pitch of the keyboards, it varies.. The Yamaha CP-25 analog pitch nob, is different in what I can do, than the Korg X-3's capability.  With many electronic keyboards you do have the pitch changing ability to a degree.  What this means however, is that the pianist playing with backing would constantly need to be adjusting both the pitch of his machine, and fine tuning that with a pitch wheel, (not something only calibrated for semitones, however capable of very small increment adjustments in pitch.. Most pitch wheels can do that), ..to the semitone changing capability of a Karaoke device... This would often be an adjustment done EVERY song... Often pitch varies abit even on songs on the same CD, might be recording process, remastered series, etc..... Two songs might be in "G", but often in the digitally remastered stuff, or whatever was done in a studio, pitch isn't exact on two songs on the same CD for some reason.. While this isn't difficult to do, it'd be something that would take some time between songs... Not preferrable in a live Karaoke type setting when performing..

When the tuner comes he usually asks if I want the piano tuned to standard A 440 pitch, or to one of the other keyboards... I always have it tuned to standard tuning, when I play along, I use a pitch wheel on my sony recorder to finetune the tape to the piano..Often I luck out and a song in Bb or D etc will be in tune with the piano either on a CD or Radio...

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Northeast United States runner up for the "Singing Hall of Shame".