Karaoke Forums

Friends, I've been asking myself this question for years... When someone ask me if I do  karaoke, I sometime get confused and don't know what to say? Is recording myself using a pro backing with no graphic call karaoke??? When I record myself, I use a pro multitrack software (cubase), I use a condenser mic with some vst plugins, why would that be karaoke? Because the song is owned by someone else??? Than, is Michael Bublé a karaoke singer with some great tech... How about Elvis, he was singing others artist music, was he a karaoke singer?  Now honestly, do we stop calling it karaoke the minute we get a pro contract even tho we could sing someone elses song?

please, help me understand, the man is confused

personally, I consider karaoke singing to re-recorded music in an amateur setting.

What is a "pro backing" when you are recording ?  Are you paying pro musicians to record backing for you ?   If you're recording and singing using tracks supplied by one of the "KARAOKE" Mfg's..............YOU ARE A KARAOKE SINGER

I believe there is a 12 step program but the 1st step is admitting you are one.

Denial is a bad thing

We are here to help you with your problem if you need it  :rotflmao:

Yes, there are backing tracks tailored specifically for the professional singers which are mostly far superior in quality than just about any backing produced by the "Karaoke Manufacturers". A big plus is that they will not have 'fade out' endings, something I simply hate when trying to sing "live".  Karaoke tracks tend to try and emulate the studio recordings as this is how most people are familiar with the songs and it will be easier for them to sing "off the cuff" in a bar.  Professional backing tracks will usually be different arrangements and will generally require a bit of practice to get timings right and so are not suited to the "karaoke scene" where people expect to hear the same or similar versions they are used to.

Had the term been around in the 60s would The Monkees have been called karaoke singers?  After all, when they recorded "I'm A Believer" they were using a backing track that was recorded by Neil Diamond and his band!

My definition of Karaoke as an activity is when a person who wishes to sing sings along with backing music tracks containing instrumentals, and sometimes harmony vocals however the lead vocals of the song are omitted from the playback media allowing for a person to fill in for the omitted lead singing part.  That's all...  

Karaoke itself to me just means above type backing.  The definition of Karaoke is "Empty Orchestra", or basically "musical backing" that's incomplete and a singing part isn't present.

a half a century ago.  "Mitch Miller" was doing what today is termed Karaoke..He also produced 45 RPM records with omitted vocal tracks.   The form has been around quite some time.

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

I guess the original question is too general then

If you sing in a bar with a KJ the you are doing KARAOKE
But I guess if you are recording PROFESSIONALLY then you ARE A PROFESSIONAL SINGER using PROFESSIONAL backing tracks?

Karaoke I think decsribes the ACT of entertainment by singing with a screen in an NON pro setting.

Hit the nail on the head.  ANY song that has no singer - be it recorded or live, is technically a karaoke song.  Now if they are using no singer & filling in the singer with an instrument, it is no longer karaoke but an instrumental version of the song.  Doesn't matter if it's a bar or has a kj or even the quality of the music - real instruments or midi tracks, a screen or not (original karaoke tracks came on cassette with printed lyric sheets), none of this makes it karaoke it's all dependant on whether there is a lead vocalist or not.
The Mitch Miller wasn't technically karaoke as it was "Sing ALONG with Mitch", meaning they were still singing the main vocal, they just provided the words with a follow the bouncing ball for you sing along with them - not karaoke.   Now if the omitted vocal track wasn't replaced with an instrumental part, then yes that would be a technical karaoke version.

But then on the other hand, once a singer takes their spot & sings the missing part, is it technically karaoke anymore since the lead vocal is now full & no longer 'empty'  :whistle:  :wave:

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This is my personal opinion -

Karaoke to me is a song that you sing to prerecorded music for an audience or yourself intended just for fun or not for profit.

If you are being paid for performing it or recording it, a designated singer for an occasion (ex: wedding), using the recording to promote a singing career (ex: demo for employment) I don't consider it karaoke.

In my mind it is what you want it to be. If you are making recordings of yourself with prerecorded music your a singer. Who cares what other people may call it.

I did a cd for my parents using my karaoke equipment. I didn't feel like I was giving them a karaoke cd. I felt like I was giving them a cd with me singing. I'm sure my parents played it for people. I bet they didn't tell them it was a karaoke cd, but instead said this is my daughter singing.  :D

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[updown]~*~ MONKEY BUSINESS KARAOKE~*~ [/shadow][/updown][/glow]

Karaoke is for fun


A Professional makes more than 50% of his living singing.

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The term Karaoke is what Kappy said- Music without singing

but there are many forms of "karaoke" tracks and many ways to use them. Some tracks don't have graphics. there in also a wide disparity of quality between some of the cheaper discs and the ones labeled "pro" quality- but if it's a track that has the music and or BG vocals but no "lead" it's karaoke. Recording yourself alongside a "pro" track in a studio does NOT make you a pro" singer. Making your living through singing- being compensated financially for "singing"  (with a band or using tracks) makes you a pro singer. Tracks that say "pro" on them are simply a higher quality that was designed to facilitate their use BY a pro.

Karaoke can also be an activity- which denotes going to a place that has the musical tracks to allow patrons to get up and sing with them. Traditional shows have a KJ and are in a venue of some sort...these singers are not paid and because they are at a karaoke show- they get names "karaoke" singers which to me is misleading. Karaoke as an activity means that you are not being compensated for singing- but that doesn't mean strictly for amateurs. All it means is that you chose to sing free at that time. That applies to anyone no matter what their level of skill is

I have gotten ticked off latey when I hear "karaoke" and "terrible" being used interchangeably. Not all "karaoke" singer are Bad....some are...but many aren't.

So as a word-"Karaoke"  is a track without a singer, as an activity- it is singing with these tracks for free. That work for you?



And there are Pro musicians who use karaoke tracks to do shows live. ALL of my income is from singing- and about half of that comes from doing shows that are loaded onto my ipod.

So I think you'r etrying to mix the word karaoke with many of it's USES which can be a variety of thing from pro to amateur, and in many places from a crowded bar to home alone or even church.  :)

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I don't mean to crack on anyone here, but you are sounding like a bunch of lawyers trying to define 'karaoke.'

Karaoke is singing along with a karaoke track, preferably after having a few ice cold Millers.

Yes Paula,  and there are MUSIC CONSERVATORIES where a classical vocalist rather than having to find a pianist to practice also uses musical (Karaoke backing).I really WISH people would stop insisting Karaoke does not have applications for the SERIOUS musician.  I'm learning how to sing using Karaoke.  I'm working my butt off, it's not JFF.. I really wish to learn in time.. So it's a session training tool for me. While "Profession" often implies making money, as does A particular definition or ONE definition of the term professional in the arts it's VERY difficult for most to make substantial money.  The term PROFESSIONAL also means skillful. OR, it defines a level of training and experience. There ARE professional ability singers in the showcase ! Those with extensive vocal training and experience, some have made money singing, and traveled with bands ! Around here some professional (well known R&B singers that are now in their 60's just can't do the "gig" stuff any longer.. They sing to Karaoke versions of THEIR past bands.. Karaoke is useful for THEM too, it has applications that are great for pro-level musicians.. I use guitaroke too (and I've toured in the past) to practice,  it adds a whole new dimension to practicing, and is ALOT more fun than arduous Hanon and Bach .. Many that have a lifetime of musicianship under our belt, and are now keeping at alive as we can with the advent of Karaoke.   So in a sense,  those that can no longer do,  CAN still do using Karaoke.

In brief professionals have a use for Karaoke too, BUT in order for a person to make money in the performing area as a KJ, or business aspect of Karaoke, the person must be supplying "entertainment" otherwise there's likely no money that can be made.. From the KJ perspective Karaoke for pros won't make him a dime.. So bar Karaoke is one setting that makes money in the Karaoke realm.. There are different settings


Lonnie,  I think this best sums this up:

NOUN:

1) A music system providing prerecorded accompaniment to popular songs that a  
   performer sings live, often by following the words on a video screen.
2) The performance of such music.

ETYMOLOGY:
Japanese : kara, void, empty + oke(sutora), orchestra (from English orchestra )

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

For me Karaoke means having the "words" out there syncronized to the lyrics on a screen or other display for the singer.

This can be live band karaoke, or the traditional type using backing tracks.

Otherwise it is just a "cover" act. Something like american idol is in a grey area between origional music and karaoke. In that case the backing music is provided by a live band (that did not prepare in advance with the singer) but the absence of helper "lyrics" is the big difference that separates such a case from true karaoke. This is the same in talent shows that may use a backing track but no lyrics on screen. Close but not exactly karaoke.

The fact that the backing tracks are professional or not is irrelevant. Some commercial karaoke backing tracks are well done "pro" versions, while some of the alleged "professional backing tracks" that can be purchased at high price are not up to quality standards. Making a backing track is a complex interaction of the difficulty of the song and the ability of the band to cover that style. A pro outside their specialty music genre may be poor while an non-pro band may have do a high quality version of their favorite song.

I have sometimes seen origional bands have a lyrics sheet in their hands, sometimes when singing their own songs (or with covers). Is that karaoke if they are only the lead singer and not doing an insturment as well? Maybe not, but it is grey.




Performing music involves not only singing, but remembering the words and timing of the lyrics as well as the backing insturmental. Karaoke removes 3 of the 4 requirements. If you have to remember the words and timing of the lyrics on your own it is not really traditional karaoke.

I guess for me if you can close your eyes and not peek at the lyrics it is not karaoke. But karaoke is by its very nature a "pretend" activity. Of course there is no clear line where it ends.

DREAM ON!!!!

But even American Idol was caught with monitors & sync'd lyrics.  Can't remember if it was this forum or another, but the camera man was behind the singer & panned around & sure enough in the wedge on the floor was a monitor with lyrics.

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I don't know what the heck Karaoke is....

But I've heard a lot about it, and I'm thinking I might try it someday.  :D



.

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Karaoke is what it is... an abbreviation made into a word by some Japanese which basically translates into the english "Empty Orchestra", which is a short form of saying "pre-recorded backing track".  Karaoke is a Japanese word for a form of entertainment that has been incorporated into Western culture.  

There will be many differing views as to what karaoke means to different people... I take my 'pro backing tracks' along with me when I go to a bar that has karaoke entertainment.  They have no lyrics embedded, but I still consider I am singing karaoke... I am singing to pre-recorded backing tracks.  so if I then go and do a paying gig using the same tracks, am I still considered singing karaoke or am I singing with pre-recorded backing tracks?  Who cares, as long as the clients are getting what they payed for and are happy?  

Just because someone is singing with a lyrics sheet or screen with lyrics does not in itself make the performance a karaoke performance... it is well known that many professional singers (even the rock stars) use cueing monitors, and I wouldn't consider their performance as singing karaoke (unless maybe they were using pre-recorded backing tracks)

Really, the only reason the lyrics are displayed for karaoke gigs is because the majority of the singers can't be expected to know all the words.  It'd be a pretty dead loss form of entertainment if just about anyone getting up to sing couldn't because they forgot the words.

Your definition is exactly what I think

When Celine recorded the duet she did with Barbara Streisand, she recorded her part and so did Barbara in two different studio. Now, we all know she doesn't write songs but she's one good singer that needed the lyrics to record her part, so, that was karaoke, right? When she sings a cover, she sings the song using the lyrics and the music is all prepared in multitrack with no live band in the studio, so again, would that be karaoke?

Of course we can find some excellent backing out there, the Air Supply CB90241 is in fact so good that it's superior than the original once you extract into wave 24 bit! I think the word Pro on a cdg is often for marketing purposes, a real pro backing will only qualify when it has a pro sound and yes, some of the brands out there have this pro sound. I've heard some of the Priddis Pro that sounded so crappy and some Backstage that sounded pro, figure that one out???

I personally like using the instrumental Playback tracks imported from France, they will often say where it was recorded, type of instrument used (most are acoustic) for eg: got this Elvis cd that says; Acoustic instruments used and performed by the Jeff Klein's band from Philadelphia! trust me, amazing sound!!

Copy and paste from: http://www.karaokescene.com/history/



WORD ORIGIN :
The Japanese word "karaoke" is now listed not only in Japanese dictionaries but also in the latest edition of The Oxford English Dictionary published in England, one of the most distinguished and formal English dictionaries, proving the word has become common throughout the world.

Karaoke is a typical form of entertainment for Japanese business people; they drop into a bar with colleagues after work, have a drink, and enjoy singing popular songs to the accompaniment of karaoke. Karaoke has been entertaining people ever since its invention 20 years ago, and has become firmly established in Japanese society, going far beyond just a temporary boom.

BORN IN KOBE :
Karaoke is a Japanese abbreviated compound word: "kara" comes from "karappo" meaning empty, and "oke" is the abbreviation of "okesutura," or orchestra.

Usually, a recorded popular song consists of vocals and accompaniment. Music tapes in which only the accompaniment is recorded were named "karaoke."

It is now widely recognized that the use of karaoke started at a snack bar in Kobe City. It is said that when a strolling guitarist could not come to perform at the bar due to illness or other reasons, the owner of the bar prepared tapes of accompaniment recordings, and vocalists enjoyed singing to the tapes. Even though it is only legend, this might have been the beginning of karaoke, and since then, karaoke has been commercialized and has become popular all over Japan.

NEW TRENDS COME FROM THE WEST OF JAPAN :
There is a saying in Japan that "New trends come from the West of Japan." Japan's first supermarket and sauna were established in the Kansai area, and Kansai has successively created unique businesses and products such an instant noodles or automated ticket gates. Especially among the cities in the Kansai area, Kobe features an original urban atmosphere.

There is another saying that "Fashion comes from Kobe." It is said that the fashion of young women is recognized first in Kobe and becomes popular in Tokyo later, so fashion magazines have to keep an eye on the women in Kobe.

Since Kobe Port was opened to international trade in 1868, on the eve of the Meiji Restoration, Kobe has been leading the way towards international exchange, and many foreigners have come to live in Kobe. Western-style residences in which foreigners used to live are located in Kitano-cho, where a jazz festival is held every year, showing Kobe to be a mecca for jazz fans. In addition, many foreigners participate in the "Kobe Festival," known for its parade enlivened with samba rhythms and dance. Such musical leanings may lie behind the birth of karaoke.

THE BACKGROUND OF KARAOKE'S POPULARITY :
The Japanese like parties. From ancient times, a party become enlivened when someone started singing and the others kept time with hand-clapping, making the atmosphere more cheerful. It has never mattered whether the person sings well or not. Even if he sings out of tune, it can spark laughter and make the party more lively.

Having such a custom, the Japanese are generous when they listen to other people sing, and can easily sing in front of others without feeling reluctance. This also seems to be one of the reasons that karaoke has been largely accepted in Japanese society.

Karaoke was born in a night amusement quarter at the end of the high economic growth period. Until then, customers used to listen to popular songs via wire broadcasting, request favorite songs by telephone, and the wire broadcasting company put the songs on the air. Such a system continued for quite a while.

However, it might be unnatural for many Japanese who like singing to only listen to other people sing.

It was then that karaoke appeared on the scene. Holding a microphone and singing a song to the accompaniment of an "orchestra," you can feel like a professional singer. If other customers give you a big hand, you feel all the happier. Karaoke has thus stimulated people's desire to sing. For corporate soldiers living in a stressful society, there is no other entertainment that can make them feel so refreshed. Consequently, karaoke immediately spread from Kansai all over Japan.

TECHNOLOGICAL INNOVATIONS AND THE KARAOKE BOX :
Though karaoke was at first an entertainment mainly for business people, it has grown to be a nationwide amusement, thanks to technological development and a new business called the "karaoke box."

Originally in the form of tape of a popular song's accompaniment, karaoke evolved to the compact disk, which can locate the beginning of a song immediately. This development also made possible the enhancement of video scenes to create an atmosphere suitable to each song, displayed on a TV monitor along with the words.

Using technological innovations such as the video disk, laser disk, and CD graphics, karaoke has grown to be a major entertainment industry. Family-use karaoke sets have also become popular, making the amusement formerly limited to night spots possible in the home.

However, there is an obstacle to this end of the business: since most Japanese houses stand close each other and are still built of wood, with poor soundproofing, it would be very annoying of the neighbors to sing into a microphone at night.

Seizing upon the opportunity created by this problem, entrepreneurs created the karaoke box, a roadside facility containing closed-door insulated rooms for singing. They are advertised as a place where you can sing to your heart's content. The first karaoke box appeared in 1984 in a rice field in the countryside of Okayama Prefecture, just west of the Kansai area. It was built from a converted freight car.

Since then, karaoke boxes have been built on unoccupied grounds all over Japan, and in urban areas, karaoke rooms, which consist of compartments made by partitioning and soundproofing rooms in a building, were introduced and set up one after another.

As these facilities were established mainly to provide places to enjoy singing, they became widely popular among all sectors of the population -- female office workers, housewives, college students, and even high school students.

KARAOKE'S UNEXPECTED EFFECT :
Since karaoke boxes are closed-door facilities, they became an object of public concern as potential havens for misdeeds among young people. On the other hand, however, since not a few families enjoy singing together in karaoke boxes, the karaoke box also plays a role as a place for family communication through singing. This is important at a time when generation gaps and family breakups are a nationwide concern.

How, the karaoke boom has spread abroad, enjoyed not only in Korea and China but also in Southeast Asia, the U.S., and Europe. Since karaoke displays the words and scenes of a song on a monitor, it has also been attracting the attention of countries trying to improve their literacy rate, as a good educational tool.

It is likely that karaoke, the entertainment industry born in a small night spot in Kansai, will continue to make further strides in both technological development and popularity.

It is said that since the popularization of records, radio, and TV, people have become passive receivers of entertainment. The advent of karaoke might help correct this phenomenon and make a great contribution to the history of musical entertainment.


And is the offical story

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

I'd love to find access to some decent Guitaroke sources



Lonnie,

  Interesting thing about Mitch Miller. While his 50's early 60's show was "follow the bouncing ball" format (hard to forget when you have a tone-deaf father who loved the show, yet whos singing could agonize a 4 year old who's 75% deaf)/ Mitch also sold 45's with lyrics on the record cover with just his orchestra playing on the record for sing along at home purposes, as well as a few compilation 33 RPMS..  I think MM was in fact what is currently Karaoke in that regard.

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

Well then American Idol was karaoke (live band). They just kept it secret. The fact that it is karaoke has nothing to do with the fact that it was among the most watched entertainment shows on TV, and that many of the  contestents are viewed by many as being high quality. The fact that the winner (and often even runners up) can be expected to become rich Professional singers makes it a profesional contest at least at the final stages. The fact that technology allows us to essentialy get synced lyrics means that probably more than a few singers out there are probably doing that activity covertly. Some major acts have suffered accusations of forgetting the lyrics to their own songs over time, and I am sure that a few major acts do use such technology in high stress shows or live tv performance. The fact that they have not been caugt in the act per say has little to do with it. Certainly it is a smaller "crime" than lip singing to their own songs, something many major acts have been caught doing.

In my view the fact that the tracks are well done or not has nothing to do with it. Some songs can be found done by the primary artists as karaoke (example several Motown, or Queen and this is widespread in Asia). Good or bad you have to admit that the authority on who does a "Queen" song backing track "Right" is the band itself, espcially when it is the same backing track that is used in the most common major release of the full vocal version of the song.


I would hope that at least among the Karaoke fanatics here that karaoke does not have to mean bad singing to a bad version of a song (often drunk). Sure it can be that but it does not have to.