How To Pick a Karaoke Song If You Can’t Sing
- August 26, 2008
- 13,482 Views
Writer
Jake_Bakkila
Music
Todd Mazierski
Voice Over Artist
Darcie Champagne
Actor
Jennifer Wren Campbell
Just because you’re tone deaf doesn’t mean you can’t take the mike at the next karaoke night.
You Will Need
- A talented or loud singing partner or two
- Bravery
- Booze
Step 1: Get partners
Get a talented person or two to sing with you, so you can mostly just mouth the words. Or find someone loud enough to drown you out entirely.
Step 2: Keep it simple
If you’re on your own, begin by narrowing down potential songs by complexity. Look for a simple verse-chorus-verse structure and a reasonable tempo.
Down a shot before you take the stage—alcohol is a time-honored inhibition-reducer.
Step 3: Stick to the middle
Stick to songs that are sung mostly in the middle of the standard vocal range, with as little variation as possible. In other words, stay away from tunes by Mariah “I Can Shatter Glass with My Vocal Cords” Carey.
Step 4: Rap it up
For an easy way out, pick a rap song, or anything that is more spoken than sung, like “These Boots Are Made for Walkin’.” It’s kind of cheating, but what do you care?
Favor songs whose lyrics you know. Yes, karaoke machines show you the words as you go along, but this way you can concentrate on your pitch and tone.
Step 5: Consider weird songs
Consider weird songs. If no one really knows how a song should go, they won’t know you’re massacring it.
Step 6: Keep it short
Keep it short and sweet—three minutes of bad singing is less likely to get you pelted with lime garnishes and maraschino cherries than six.
Step 7: Have fun
Most important, have fun. And don’t worry about the audience—if people wanted real music, they would have gone to a jazz club.
Karaoke was popularized in Japan in the 1970s, and spread to the rest of the world in the 1980s.
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Comments (6)
I tried, but I didn´t undertand the purpose of this site yet...
over 3 years ago by Julisfrangus
How-To videos...
over 3 years ago by kpfingaz
I am getting..
over 3 years ago by Julisfrangus
good image and nice vid! wich mpeg did you use? what´s the size of the file?
over 3 years ago by Julisfrangus
I think Abba's ";Dancing Queen"; is universally considered a least complex song.
12 months ago by ablang
I saw this on NBC2 for the second time today and it breaks my heart. First question is, why ";do"; something that requires, as step one, that you find someone to drown you out so you can ";mouth the words"; instead of actively DOING what's called for? That's like saying ";tonight you're going to bungee jump, but instead of a bungee you're using a recliner, and instead of a bridge, you'll just leave it on the floor of your den in front of the television."; Ummm... it's not bungee jumping. And ";mouthing the words"; while someone ";louder or more talented"; steps up isn't singing karaoke. My other problem is the reliance on alcohol, but that's just because I'm an old stick-in-the-mud recovering alcoholic. So i guess the solution within my quandary is: if you don't want to sing and CAN'T sing, why not just stand there and smile and get drunk? Or go to a nudie bar where all you need is booze and a few (preferably soft) dollar bills? :)
8 months ago by CasMarino
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