How to Do Karaoke

Co-authored by Tanisha Hall

Last Updated: May 29, 2024 References

An evening at home or out at a party or club singing karaoke among friends or strangers is an enjoyable experience. Even if you’re quiet and introverted, you can get on stage and belt out your favorite song. Regardless of how long you spend watching how karaoke works while working up your courage to perform, don’t hesitate to get up on stage and try. By choosing the right song and having fun while singing it, you’ll enjoy yourself and put on a good performance.

Part 1

Part 1 of 3:

Choosing a Public Venue

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1
Find a suitable location. Do you want to sing to an audience or with a few friends? Specialized karaoke bars exist and let you rent private rooms or sing to patrons for a small charge per song. Otherwise, many other businesses offer karaoke nights. Check with restaurants, bars, community centers, and other locations for advertisements stating when they allow performances.
- You may want to go ahead and sit in on a karaoke night first, especially if you’re nervous. This will allow you to become familiar with the atmosphere and the particular crowd at the venue.
2
Pick a song you know well. The karaoke DJ will most likely have a catalogue of songs for you to choose from. They may also have more recent songs they have yet to list in their binder. A good karaoke song is one that you know all the words to and be able to sing effectively. You should never be stuck humming parts, waiting for long instrumental breaks, repeating phrases often, or singing in a monotone.
- Listen to songs on sites such as Ameritz and Sunfly before you go. Many of the songs will sound different on stage because they have different arrangements for karaoke.^{[1]
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- Consider if you can sing the song as well. You don’t need to have professional vocals, but you should be energetic. Choose a song with vocals that match yours, such as one that has more talk-singing instead of wailing if your singing voice will sound soft.
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3
Choose a song appropriate for the venue. Take a look at the people who will be listening to your performance. In karaoke, you’re performing for them, so to keep the night fun, choose a song that keeps the energy level high in the room. Don’t choose a long, slow ballad at the end of the night, for example, or show tunes in a standard bar where most people won’t appreciate these songs.
- Remember that you can change your song up until your performance, so monitor the mood around you.
Many places have you write your name and song choice on a slip of paper. Figure out how to sign up for karaoke so that the DJ can call you up to the stage and queue your song. Watch how other people sign up or ask someone during songs.

Part 2

Part 2 of 3:

Singing Your Selection

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Other people will want a chance to sing, so sit back and appreciate their performances instead of being rude. Listen to the performances and clap when one ends. Don’t crowd around the DJ asking for your turn and don’t interrupt someone else’s performance.
2
Respect the DJ. Be kind to the DJ and their equipment. Often running karaoke is work for them and they deal with many people who may be drunk, rude, or requesting the same song. When you request a song, give them a little bit of money. For special requests, such as bringing all your friends on stage to sing one song, give them an extra tip.^{[2]
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- If you need to politely ask the DJ a question, do it during a performance. When there’s no singing, the DJ is usually busy setting up for the next song.
3
Sing with confidence.^{[3]
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Expert Source

Tanisha Hall
Vocal Coach

Expert Interview. 27 March 2020.} So it’s your turn at last. Now you have to go on stage with all the eyes in the room upon you. Breathe in. Breathe deeply and try to take in more air as you perform. This will help you relax and sing louder. Get into your performance. Don’t be afraid to move around and project your voice. Have fun and you’ll find that your performance benefits too.^{[4]
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- If you're singing karaoke with a mic, keep in mind that microphones will make your exhalations sound much louder.^{[5]
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  Jonathan Stancato
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  Expert Interview. 31 March 2020.}
- To bypass this, try to get clear unobstructed exhales from your nose, take a step back from the mic, or else shift the microphone so the top is a bit more parallel to the floor.^{[6]
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  Expert Source
  
  Jonathan Stancato
  Voice Coach
  
  Expert Interview. 31 March 2020.}
- Karaoke isn’t about having the best voice in the room. Stay present and stay excited at being the focus of the attention for a few minutes.
When your turn is done, go back to your seat. Don’t try to perform another song. Also, move away from the stage. Crowding other performers, dancing in front of the stage, or jeering is bad etiquette.

Part 3

Part 3 of 3:

Singing Karaoke at Home

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1
Choose song software. There are many ways you can bring karaoke into your home. Classic karaoke machines use CDs and DVDs, but a more common option now is computer software. Karaoke can be done using your computer and finding, streaming, or downloading songs as well as CDs and DVDs.^{[7]
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- Song software services such as KaraFun and Karaoke Version allow you to play karaoke songs from your computer for a monthly fee.
- Applications such as Yokee Karaoke and Red Karaoke work with phones and wireless speakers.
- Karaoke tracks can also be downloaded from sites such as Karasongs.com or Youtube.
- Some TV providers offer subscriptions to on-demand karaoke services such as The Karaoke Channel.
2
Get a good microphone. Unless you’re going to depend on the loudness of your own voice, you need amplification. Microphones have a wide range of prices and if you’re starting out or don’t plan to do karaoke often, you will be fine using an average microphone.that you can find in electronics stores or in karaoke shops online.
- If you’re planning on singing with friends, get a second microphone for singalongs and duets.
- Some microphones now operate wirelessly. These are a little more expensive than the wired variety.
- Try using your microphones with headphones, so you can see what it's like to have your entire auditory space filled with your own voice and to better hear the subtle nuances in how a microphone makes your sound fuller and bigger.^{[8]
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  Jonathan Stancato
  Voice Coach
  
  Expert Interview. 31 March 2020.}
3
Make your own tracks. If there’s a particular song you want to sing, you can make a karaoke track from it without much effort. This requires an audio editing computer program such as Audacity. Load the song in the editor. Separate the vocal track from the instrumental track. Invert one of the tracks, then change them both to mono.^{[9]
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- If you don’t want to manipulate sound files yourself, download a program such as Karaoke Anything! to convert CD files and MP3s through a simple menu.
4
Assemble a sound system. The more you perform karaoke in your home, outdoors, or at parties, the better sound quality you’ll require. A laptop computer comes with small speakers that are good for you alone in your bedroom, but even cheap plug-in speakers project sound much better. Choose speakers designed for musical performance. These often have amplifiers built in, may be wireless or Bluetooth-capable, and can be found in electronic stores or online.
- Standard speakers, such as the ones you use with your TV, are designed to replay recorded audio, so they can’t handle the range of singing vocals.
- As you customize your setup, you can add amplifiers, subwoofers, and additional speakers to create more sound range.

Expert Q&A

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Question

How do I stop being nervous when singing?

Jonathan Stancato
Voice Coach
Jonathan Stancato is a Holistic Voice Coach and the Founder of Inside Voice, an approach to improving one's voice and singing abilities through a mind-body 5-octave approach developed while he was working at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. He serves clients online and in-person in the New York City metro area and has taught students in theatre conservatories, music festivals, mindfulness organizations, TED Conferences, colleges, choirs, and corporations. Jonathan has extensive training in extended voice (Richard Armstrong/Roy Hart), Hindustani classical vocals (Michael Harrison), and trance singing (Thomas Richards/Grotowski Workcenter).

Jonathan Stancato

Voice Coach

Expert Answer

One thing you can try is to take your worst fear of how something might sound and do it intentionally. For instance, if you're afraid your voice will drift off-key, sing a version of a song where you make whatever notes you want. Implementing those fears makes them another source of play and imagination instead of something that's a real obstacle in the way of your voice.

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Question

Are there recorded songs I can use?

Community Answer

Go onto YouTube,and type the name of the song, then add the word "karaoke" at the end. The channel I use is called Sing King Karaoke.

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How do I choose a song?

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Choose a song that you already know the lyrics to. This will help you feel more comfortable. You may also want to consider choosing an uncommon song--one that other people may not have heard often. This will help make your performance stand out.

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Tips

Karaoke is about having fun, not about performing professionally. Don’t be embarrassed if you can’t sing well.

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Remember to check out the karaoke version of a song before you choose it. Some songs sound different than the version you know and will hurt your performance.

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Always be respectful of the DJ and other performers. Don’t try to compete with them or heckle them.

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Warnings

Relying on a lyric prompter will make you sound flat because you’ll be spending your effort reading from the screen. Know the song before you choose it.

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