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my annalysis on singing

Tue, 22 Apr 2003, 02:02 pm
coperfin13 posts in thread
Well I thought I would share my first valuable lesson about singing on stage.
Firstly, Karokie is extremely over rated and can - if not handled properly -damage any bravery and passion you may have about singing.
(I though doing karokie would be the easy and cheepest way to aquire some expertise on performing. But singing into a microphone and trying to pick the starting key is not easy, not to mention the fact that I sound like micky mouse. The horror!!)
Secondly, Having friends say how wonderful you were when you know very well that all the neighbourhood dogs were gladly singing along with you, only adds to the overall enlightning experiance. Never again!
The solution?
- Have singing lessions. Simple.
This is my lession I have stored away in my growing knowlage of
performing. Kerokie does not pay!!

Emma

Re: hari-kareoke

Wed, 23 Apr 2003, 01:36 am
They've got a kareoke night on at the pub we drink at after we play our Wednesday night volleyball game....

I find the whole phenomena highly entertaining, but probably for the wrong reasons...! There's a fine art to being able to pick a song that suits you, entertains the listeners, and doesn't make you come across as a complete prat. There are a couple of serious regulars who turn up every week and know exactly what song they're going to sing...still doesn't necessarily mean they'll be any good...but a few of them are.

And there's a few devilish songs on the disks that start without any real introduction, and if you've not picked up the key or your lyrics aren't in synch with the chord changes, it can be stunningly bad when everyone suddenly realises - usually halfway through the first chorus.

But the other thing I've noticed is that not many in the crowd really seem to mind about the quality either way - when you look around, they are ALL lip-synching the lyrics and singing along whether they have the microphone or not.

And the Japanese had the right idea...get stuck into the sake before you even get started...! That way everything sounds entertaining whether it's good or not.


That's not to say I don't think kareoke can be good, or that it actually CAN be good performance training...but it's probably not the place for a beginner to start learning! (Because it takes skills to get it right). Once you've brushed up on those skills though, have another go.

Last time I was there I chose songs to thoroughly take the piss out of the serious Celine Dion and Roy Orbison wannabes that frequent this particular pub.....one was Minnie Riperton's "Lovin' You" in a ridiculously camp and dangerously high falsetto, and the other one was Jerry Samuel's "They're Coming To Take Me Away, Ha-Ha" - just because it was on the list...why? why? !!

I was virtually trying to commit hari-kareoke, but the audience was probably too stunned at the audacity. Maybe next time I'll try to sing all 6 harmony parts of Bohemian Rhapsody at the same time...?

Cheers,
Craig

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