Karaoke Forums

The word professional is used in certain posts like listen this is the only way... I am a professional!!!

What do you think the most important factor is in being professional?

These are general in nature  Why do you consider yourself as a pro?

The ability to operate the audio system and make it sound the best possible.

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

They are all important, so I wasn't sure what to pick. I think we need to add Jian's
point too.

I picked entertaining the crowd because I figure if you are doing that the crowd is happy, so you must have all the above.

This is a hard question to answer because you need a combination of all to be professional. Lose one or 2 of them and you're probably not professional.

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

A good and adequate audio system for that venue
A good technical knowledge on how to operate the system
A good book
A good rotation system that is fair
An entertaining personality.

Be very good at one and be good at the rest.... a Pro
Be bad at one and be very good at the rest  .....and you suck.

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

The service a KJ supplies is entertainment.

The rest of the items are descriptive of the quality of entertainment.

A professional delivers the highest quality service possible with the materials at hand.  Equipment does not have to be gold plated to be effective.  Equipment simply has to meet the expectations of the client.  Purists may disagree but the client mix varies and most clients are not sophisticated enough to know the difference.  They WILL notice unfairness in rotations, lack of fun, a sense of being 'out of their league'.

I no longer consider myself a professional.  *To me* professional NEVER meant somebody who earns money doing something.  To me professional has always meant proficient.  To me the professional singer well enter the 9 or 10 to MY ears in Singer's Showcase.  This person will have training and skill in their craft, they don't just "profess", the proof is in the pudding.

This is MY definition.  To me a professional is an expert, he or she excels.

Most won't like the entertainment ALL the time. This means they won't always like the DJ or entertainers selection, singers onstage.  However, most still can recognise the pro entertainer despite whether or not his equipment is state of the art, selection is 100%, etc.   So if your question is what is a professional KJ,  I don't know.  I'm not qualified to make such a determination.  But I can spot an excellent entertainer.

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

.  

Have their ears check.

Clipping and distortation .......most people can hear that. Just one example.

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

Come to think of it, In accordance to my own definition I never was a professional  :( ..  But I tried to polish the turd,  and it sounded OK !!!  and I made money doing it !




Ollie,  Professional in what area ?  I think many tend to pet themselves on the back and throw the term around loosely.   Working doesn't mean professional to me. Or do you mean like in Singer's Showcase where EVERYBODY is a professional ?  

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

Me? Too stiff to be entertaining, too off pitch to be a singer and hate half of the songs other people pick to sing.

No I am not a pro.

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

Same here Jian  


But at least I admit it.  I was a good musician, but a sucky entertainer.  I just can't hold my emotions in well enough.  Not everyday at least.  Too often, I wore my mood, couldn't shake stuff off.  Not a good thing when you are acting/entertaining.  That was always my downfall

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

Professional:     Someone extremely skilled at a particualr activity.    

I'll send you my picture.

If you ain't working in your chosen field, you ain't a pro.     Unemployment cancels your status.

Just because you have a machine and some discs and can undercut a job once in a while, does not a professional make.

that counts me out then

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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."

I am on to you now....you are not Steven Kaplan are you?? Your real name is Ritchie Blackmore

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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."

Yep,  I think we agree here.   To me whether the person is working or making money in the area is secondary assuming they just don't feel like it.  Meaning if they wanted a job,  they could easily get it based on their ability. I know some superior musicians, but they need to work and make a living too    LOL

(what I'm saying is a few Doctor and Atty friends have found other means of supporting their family, and being with them nights too,  musicianship just doesn't suit the lifestyle they wish to lead)

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

Why Yes !   Yes I am !    :shock:

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

Actually, by definition, anyone who is consistently paid to be a KJ is a professional KJ. The Merriam webster definition is SOMEONE WHO ENGAGES IN A PARTICULAR ACTIVITY AS PART OF THEIR LIVELIHOOD. That just means you have to be consistently paid for whatever you are doing. Skill has nothing to do with it.

I think you are asking a question that doesn't match up to any of your answers.

You are asking what makes a GOOD KJ, not a professional. You are asking what consititutes PROFESSIONALISM in the karaoke industry, which is a whole different definition and completely different question.

Darko Millicik is a PROFESSIONAL basketball player because he gets paid to do it. He is really sucky at his job, but he is still a professional. Paris Hilton is a professional actress. All sports figures, and this is used often in the Olympic and golf world, are legally AMATUER until the point when they are PAID to do what they are doing, then they are PROFESSIONALS, no matter how good they are at their job.

Likewise, the old granny down the street who plays karaoke 2 nights a week for $35 a night as her semi-retirement job is a PROFESSIONAL, and doesn't have to meet any of your criteria above in order to be a pro!! She may suck at what she does, but she is still a professional in the business as long as someone is paying her consistently!! Skill has nothing to do with being PROFESSIONAL.

PROFESSIONALISM, now that is a totally different meaning and word!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

BTW, as a PROFESSIONAL writer, it is very dissapointing that some of you think that you can make up definitions of what a word "means to you." It is that very attitude that is the current trend in the english language leading to poor writers, poor speakers, and general stupidity and lack of communication skills.

There is a HUGE debate in language acedemia over whether words and grammar usage should be STATIC or change based on USAGE. I personally think it should be about 90% static with 10% room for advancement, but unfortunately the USAGE camp is winning right now for the first time in human history. I think that is just plain laziness, and just because the majority of people don't know the rules doesn't always mean you should change the rules!!

As a result, the English language is being further bastardized into a loose collection of euphanisms, illogical sayings, and loose meanings. And don't even get me started on grammar rules, which don't seem to matter to anyone anymore in the internet age!!

Words mean what they mean, and when they stop having rigid definitions, then communication becomes impossible. The only category of words that can "mean to you" whatever you want are called abstracts, and even those have loose definitions. Words like "love" or "disappointment." How would you know what I am saying to you right now if I had my own sence of what all of these words "mean to me" and those meanings are different than what they mean to you??

However, professional is not a word that is up for debate. It means what it means and can't mean something different to different people. I am so so sorry that some people are not educated enough to know what such a simple word means, or know that the original poster really meant to ask what PROFESSIONALISM in the karaoke industry is, and just used the wrong word (again, lack of vocabulary, or possibly a mistake).

Anyway, I know everyone is going to flame me on this one, but again, don't blame your lack of language education on me, go read some books sometime and when you don't know what a word means, look it up, don't assign your own definition.

I apologize for the rant. This is a peeve of mine that is very close to my heart. I had to leave my last job because they thought that they didn't need a corporate communications department anymore, and just assigned more and mthose responsibilities to the administrative assistants, most of which barely have HS diplomas, let alone know how to write properly. The company has been hemmoraging $$$ ever since, BTW. In that case, once they eliminated the PROFESSIONALS, the PROFESSIONALISM went right out the door as well!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

I think when we all refer to being professional it is a combination of all the above
and of course we get paid for it. I think the way a KJ presents himself is important
also. You can have all the above and not know how to conduct yourself with people.

Being rude, lude and arrogent is unprofessional.

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

Again, you are talking what constitutes PROFESSIONALISM in our industry, not what constitutes being a PROFESSIONAL in our industry. And the term UNPROFESSIONAL is the opposite form of PROFESSIONALISM, not PROFESSIONAL. AMATUER is the opposite of PROFESSIONAL

Michelle Wie didn't go from being unprofessional or being professional, she went from being amatuer to professional ONCE SHE STARTED GETTING PAID!!!

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C Mc
KJ, FL

thank you for clarifying - I'm laughing because your posts
reads like a tongue twister.

I think we all have in our minds the definition of professionalism,

and from what I usually read on the forum most peoples perception is about the same -

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