Karaoke Forums

well, as some of you noticed, i'm from portugal and so i'm trying to understand how karaoke works at your different countries. i would like to have different opinions and options about the styles of music, bands, and musics itself, you like to play between the karaoke's performances... as for me, i try to have in consideration the type of audience, the venue itself, the current hour on the show, etc... am i right?, what do you think?

everybody's right in what they think on how a show should be ran. The thing of it is, when you find a show or custumers that dig what you're doing.

for my shows, I enjoyed playing a variety, but especially to help out when the customers got into a slump. If someone sang country, I'd play classic rock till the next singer came up in the next ten or twenty seconds. If it was headbanging rock, I'd do classic or new country. Maybe a funny sound byte... or tell a light hearted joke. Play a music video with the same kind of attention to bring the room back up after a groaner, or back down after an adreneline-pumped song!

Hi S&M

Welcome to the Forum. I live down the road from you in Spain (Costa del Sol). Most of the music I play in between depends on the crowd but I play everything from 50s through to current. If it's an oldish crowd I tend to stick with 50 60 70. I like to throw in the odd rare track that people say I havn't heard that for ages and if they get up dancing I let it ride.

Don't know if your new to it, but if you need any help or advice just PM or contact through my website. www.costakaraoke.com

_________________
Regards
Brian

It's always nice to ear from neighbours yes, i've started only one month ago. i really like "old music" specially 70's and 80's (the decade of the best music, imo), so based on your experience and from other users too, it would be great if you advise me with some good music... send me a PM!!!

Thanks for the support showned by all of you!

Well being we advertise karaoke (not karaoke/dj) & people come in to our club to sing, the ONLY music played in between songs is just a little clip of songs (any genre from new to old) while the current singer leaves the stage & I call the next singer up the in between music goes down & the singer begins.  Never to extremely rare that I would play an entire song in between karaoke singers.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Well Lonman,

I'm just the opposite, I've been advertised (not by my choice) as DJ not even DJ/Karaoke, but I run with whatever is needed at the time.  If people want to sing, I let them sing.  I've never played music clips between singers, that is something I may do in the future...I can see the calling for it.  I've scaled back at the current bar to big weekends, so I'm in the mode of trying to find another constistant gig or enjoy a little time off, which I can certainly use to get some other stuff done.  I do know one thing for certain: I am not going away!....MrD

_________________
[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

But at the very least you are billed as a dj & not karaoke deciding to play dj music when it becomes necessary.  I have been to 'billed' karaoke shows that have played more dj music.  People don't go to karaoke to listen to dj music, they go to sing.  If they are going to do both, then that's what they need to advertise.  We advertise strictly karaoke & that what we provide - whether there be 1 singer or 100.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I have always played short snippets of music between singers, suited to the crowd. It is easy to tell if you're on the right track with your choice of music. I have ripped custom CDs (legally, of course! ) that are compilations of TYPES of music so I can leave it playing and use my slider to bring up the music between singers. To me, there is nothing worse than those 2 minutes between singers when there is nothing playing..for some reason I've noticed the whole room gets quiet. Not what we want! Keep the energy level up. I use a six-disc 'regular' music player and load it with six different discs - put it on 'repeat' and when I hear a song for the second time, I switch it to the next CD.  I tried the shuffle option but inevitably the disc would be changing the same time the CDG was being loaded!

2 minutes?  You just need a second player & have the next song already cued up & ready, when the next singer comes up, you'll have little time if any to even slide the fill fader up  :D
When I went to computer, it actually slowed my rotation down a bit as my program I have to stop the song so i'll fade it out, slide up the fill, get the next singer & start their song fading out the fill.  I have a pretty nice dj program that automatically crossfades so there is never any dead air even when a song ends, it automatically goes into the next while one is fading out, the other will start.  It's nice.

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

Oops....didn't make that clear - I don't ever have 2 minutes between singers - I was talking about shows where the host doesn't play music.  My singers are usually RUNNING because I use a triple tray!  LOL  :oh yeah:

Yeah from the way you talked before I didn't think you'd allow 2 minutes of nothing  :no:
Yes I have been to many shows that are just like that, they don't even talk or anything JUST call up the next singers name.  Not even a 'Next up to the stage is...." they just go, {name} is up now.  Then go to pull the next song, nothing playing in the background.  Singer is up at the stage waiting, looking over at the host wondering why the song hasn't started yet, then kind of looking uncomfortable on the stage, the music FINALLY begins.  After this singer, the process repeats!  Although haven't seen as many of these lately around here as there used to be.

Hope you can make it down one night, I think you'd enjoy (well except for the smoking).

_________________
LIKE Lonman on Facebook - Lonman Productions Karaoke & my main site via my profile!

I'd LOVE to come down there...it's a bit of a drive for me, especially on the way back, but will work on it definitely!  Will bring my O2 mask...

I'm not a big fan of playing DJ tracks (whole songs) at a karaoke show.  IF the show is billed as "DJ/Karaoke" then fine.  A "Karaoke Show" should be KARAOKE IMHO.

The use of "filler" music to eliminate "dead air" between singers coming to the stage as described by Knightshow, Karen K and Lonman is a GREAT idea.  At SOME venues especially those that "pass the mic" it may not be a necessity.  There is one karaoke show in Laughlin, NV that has a big stage and a HUGE dance floor in the middle of the room where "filler" music is an absolute necessity (and it is used).  It takes time for singers to walk up to stage at this venue.

IF "filler" music is done right it SHOULD NOT reduce the amount of airtime for the singers.

"But at the very least you are billed as a dj & not karaoke deciding to play dj music when it becomes necessary.  I have been to 'billed' karaoke shows that have played more dj music.  People don't go to karaoke to listen to dj music, they go to sing.  If they are going to do both, then that's what they need to advertise.  We advertise strictly karaoke & that what we provide - whether there be 1 singer or 100."

This is true, I do strive to adjust to what the crowd wants.  My shows have never been billed as strictly karaoke, if the engagement called for that....karaoke from start to finish, I would have NO problem doing that.  This is a debate that could go on forever......MrD

_________________
[highlight=midnightblue]MrD - KJ/DJ Specialist
Visit MrD on facebook - mrdsentertainment
& on myspace - larrynance[/highlight]

I never played filler tunes until just recently. I started using CompuHost at my Monday night gig and it has a filler tune player that fades in and out as a song ends and another begins. My customers have responded positively to 20-30 seconds of music in between.

The bar is long and narrow and we have been packed lately and it takes a little extra time for the singers to get to the microphone. So it allows a little buffer in there. I don't mind doing it as it is all automatic with the program.

I just choose about 20 songs that are upbeat and favorite sing alongs and it does the rest.

_________________
FlipSide Karaoke
Scott

hmmm.... i've been watching the discussion and i can get to some conclusions...
first of all, i didn't meant i play the whole music between karaokes, but i always have something running so that the place is never silenced...
second, there are differences between people's culture. karaoke is something new here in portugal compared to you. from what i've realized you have a lot of singers each night, that doesn't happen here. when i'm short on singers, i play some dj music, not the entire music, but i let it run to gain some time... that's a usual thing kj's do here.

usually i try to have music playing that makes people wanna stay, i try not to get slow, so that people don't start "falling into sleep"...

also i use a video selector, connected to the secondary LCD (usually) so that between karaokes people can watch something else than the karaoke disc loading...

i use this scheme...

               mixer
-------------------------------
| wireless mic  |    video     |
|   receiver      |   selector  |
--------------------------------
|music player (between k's)|
-------------------------------
| video player (to 2nd LCD) |
--------------------------------
|        Karaoke Player         |
--------------------------------

Anything is fine between songs as filler---just so long as those COMPUTER GENERATED APPLAUSE TRACS ARE NOT USED!! THOSE ARE INTOLERABLE!!!

_________________
"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

I think I am one of the few who don't play any music. I have to many singers. I have a set up were I could play it if I needed to, but I'd rather not because the singers would hang me from the rafters if I did.  LMAO

My following are people who are very serious about their karaoke. Sometimes to serious. The advantage is great singers though. I would estimate 90% of the patrons are in the bar to sing. Crazy I know.

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

Ive found when you have that many VERY SERIOUS singers the eveing often turns into an undeclared hard-core singing COMPETITION as opposed to a rompin' fun party night!! All the singers start worrying if THEY were the best or not or has someone outperformed them. I know Ive been VERY guilty of that in the past. It can really put a damper on the party-time atmosphere. Might as well have judges and give out prizes. Ive come to prefer a few really good ones, some mid-level singers and a few beginners and someone specifically singing dance tunes to get people up and dancing and having a a partyin' good time instead of being at a place specifcally to try to outdo all the others!

IMO

_________________
"You know that I sing the Blues and I do not suffer fools. When I'm on that silver mic, it's gonna cut ya, just like a knife"-The SWINGCAT

With more filler music and dance sets we have run the hard hard cores and drunks out.  Our singer to crowd ratio is 1/10 and we run about 15 very good singers. Some dont even care if they dont sing every rotation. 90% of the time we are packed out and need more room desperately. They dont  tarry up to the mic, they know somebody might get up to dance. They are in the habit now of waiting because with somebody dancing we hardly go until the dance song is over. This format varies with the crowd and which rotation we are in. The last 2 hours it is more of the old karaoke style. It is more of a high paced, high energy show and we get the crowd cranked.