Karaoke originated in Japan with the meaning of an orchestra, plainly put. It is a form of entertainment, when you can sing along with some music which is playing on a system. The original singers voice is not there, but it is a popular song, which most people know. Sometimes the volume is down lower, so that the singer can not be heard quite as well.
The DVDs of karaoke are played on a DVD with the lyrics so you can read them while the music is playing. There are some other methods used for karaoke and they are laser discs, VCD and CD+G. CD+Gs were ordinary CDs which had the audio included and with the lyrics included. These could be played on a CD player but the words were hard to read. Then the VCDs which are used for karaoke will keep the quality MPEG videos to display the lyrics.
With the DVD the video is also included so that it is accompanied by the videos of high quality because they are just for karaoke. The DVD discs come in two different formats non-multiplex and multiplex.There are vocal demos for the multiplex ones so the listener has a choice to either use them with the vocals and listen to the song at the same time. This helps to practice and use it as a comparison to the original song played. You can remove the vocals if you want to sing along without them. For the person more familiar with karaoke, the non-multiplex are the ones without the vocals.
A very important fact is that the karaoke tracks on the DVDs are not of the original artist who recorded the song but it is created differently. The sound is so close to the original though and the original artist is probably not the original one singing either with the multiplex DVDs.
With the technology today the players of karaoke can change the pitch of the music to suit the voice of the person singing along with it and also keep the original songs tempo the same. Karaoke discs will come with some background singers or singer with mainly the chorus as an accompaniment or a background singing.
There is a room called the karaoke box which can be rented for any number of times which the user would like. It has all the equipments which a karaoke room needs so that the person look at this site can have a personal quiet place to practice for their own performance. Some bars which have karaoke sometimes will charge a fee for the use of the karaoke which could be either $1 or $2 and this will be per song.
There is another option that is available too to buy their own karaoke player to have in their home. They are not all that expensive and the karaoke DVDs are about the cost of a CD.
There is a game played in karaoke bars called karaoke roulette and songs are played randomly and the people have to choose the song being played and these can be bought on the computer also. There are some websites which make it a global community for karaoke so singers can share with others.
This article is not for you who feel that Karaoke - next to Pearl Harbor, is the worst thing the Japanese have ever done to America. Understandably, when subjected to a screaming, inebriated, off-key singer while trying to have a nice evening out in a quaint little club can make you just HATE karaoke. This article is for you who love Karaoke, enjoy singing, or at least enjoy listening to a good singer. Unfortunately there are plenty of people that enjoy singing and have no compunction in sharing their so-called talent with others, when in reality what they should be doing is following the age old adage of "better is it to be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt." I have had a Karaoke Store for years and you can't imagine how many times people come into the store, sing a horrendous version of their favorite song and then ask me for a review. Now remember, I'm running a karaoke store and I am not a judge on American Idol, so I have a goal of making a sale. With that goal in my mind I'm thinking of several possible outcomes. I could tell them the truth and lose a possible sale or I could lie and sell them the song that they just butchered.
Well from now on I going to do my share of making the world a better place; I'm going to tactfully suggest a different song. Now I can only do so much; if the shopper is insistent in buying his or her song then I'm going to sell it to them. The solution obviously is to pick the right song for your vocal range (just because you like a song doesn't make it the right song for you) and of course to practice, practice, practice. Finding a wide selection of karaoke songs can be challenging but not impossible. There are some websites that offer a huge selection of karaoke songs. I know of one personally that has a selection of nearly 300,000 songs! Wherever you go to find your music, whether on the internet or in a store, practice the song ahead of time, before purchasing it. You could be surprised to find that the song is just not in your range and does not suit you vocally. If you're not sure, sing the song in front of a friend. That part may seem strange, but if you're singing to another karaoke enthusiast or someone that supports your singing adventures, it will not feel out of place.
Of course, as I mentioned at the beginning of this article, you can actually take your talent to a local Karaoke Store, if you have one in the area and talk to a living breathing, thinking, and hopefully honest person who will help you choose the right song for your vocal range and not lie about your abilities. So stop being a reason that 'the hatred against karaoke' continues. When you go out and find yourself in that quaint little club, you may become inebriated but the screaming, off-key singer will disappear with practice, practice, practice and choosing the right song. So get your own karaoke machine and your favorite karaoke songs and make the world a better place.