Karaoke Forums

Sounds like a weird question, but have you ever gotten the urge to try new songs that you've never heard before? And how do you go about selecting the new music (maybe you just like the group, someone suggests a song, the title sounds interesting, or what)? Kind of curious what you guys think.

(Warning. I live in the country and mostly do country music. I never listened to country before I started karaoke 2 years ago, but now it is about all I learn. If there were more rock singers who were baritones, that might be different...)

No mystery here -- I look for artists. I know that if Vince Gill is doing the song, it isn't for me.  If it is George Strait or another baritone, I might be able to do it well.

I have  bought about every Pop Hits CDG on closeout from karaoke.com, and they have "with vocal" tracks. I listen to the song as sung by the stand-in vocalist, and if it grabs me then I learn it.

Also, more and more I get requests. People will come up to me after I sing and ask if I do Tracy Lawrence or some other artist. I usually do at least one song by them, but I ask them for their favorite song. I just learned "Time Marches On" like that -- great song.

I have Rhapsody, so I can listen to any music I want to learn the song. (Lots of times you can find alternate versions that give you treatments for parts of the song that might be too ridiculously hard.)

I get on youtube and type in someone that I like vocally...they will give you video clips of that person as well as those who sound similar..it's a great way to hear tons of stuff for free to get some ideas before you decide to invest the time or money into actually buying and working on a new song.

It's also a good idea to turn your radio to a different station..I was shocked at some of the good songs that I'd never heard when I tuned into a pop station instead of my smooth jazz or old school funk standbys.

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I also get the clearance Pop Hits Monthlies with multiplex, especially the rock series (now discontinued).  If I see a song or group I recognize, I'll get the disc and listen to all the multiplex tracks.  If I like any of them I'll give them a try.  Sometimes I find there are songs on there that I had heard before but never knew the name of.

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Reward: nine yen in drawer.

good question....i have had that urge but i took shots for it....didn't really help....when i'm looking to write a song i will look for tracks with music only and in the style of what i'm looking for mostly slow....i don't wanna know anything about the song i pick...that way i can do it my way....sometimes it works sometimes it doesn't....

then again sometimes i will look for tracks say blues r country and change um up
make blues country and country blues....depends on how i feel, but it's fun, same ole same ole can get very boring to me....again this doesn't always work but i learn a lot doing it...

yes i'm a low baritone also, and no i can't sing vince gill either but that doesn't mean i shy away from his songs if i likeum...i try to find ways around the high parts, i mean there's a whole scale to work with, and i can do anything i want...so when the high parts come up i just hit lower notes  that might work,  i did a cpl of his that way, wasn't too bad....1 had falsetto which i no longer have so i had to find a way around it, and did....again u learn a lot doing that i think...plus it's fun to me....the song was ....IF YOU EVER HAVE FOREVER IN MIND .....it turned out ok

and yes sometimes i will look under a fav. singer and pick a title i like but have never heard the song...... ....Billy

recently someone sent me 4 backings on seperate occassions that although I had never heard em before I knew I had to sing...it was a combo of lyrics and the some had the torch sound that I love so much. Once I have that level of enthusiasm then I know I gotta go find the orig and listen. Normally I listen 3 or 4 times cos I am not looking at wanting to produce a carbon copy. and I always run the record over every take right from the word go cos sometimes the first tentative try yeilds some nice results that subsequent more confident takes lack.
the songs were Almost blue, Baby baby all the time, Someone that I used to love, Hallilujah I just love you so

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"Be who you are and say what you feel... Because those that matter... Don't mind...And those that mind... Don't matter."