10 Commandments Of Karaoke

To many ads? Support ODJT and see no ads!
H

HiDefDJ

New DJ
Aug 13, 2006
2,150
0
44
When I first got into karaoke years ago I came across this website, made a few visual changes, printed it and put it in the front page of all my karaoke books. I encourage everyone to do the same.

http://www.angelfire.com/nh/nhdiscjockeys/10com.html


COMMANDMENT #1
THOU SHALT NOT jeer,heckle,boo,harass,or otherwise interrupt a singer. It's not only bad manners, but may result in a very quick 86 out of the bar.

COMMANDMENT #2
THOU SHALT NOT swing the mike by its cord, dance with the mike stand, or get too drunk to control your actions. The equipment used for karaoke is expensive, and you may be held accountable for damages. The 86 experience may also be encountered here.

COMMANDMENT #3
THOU SHALT NOT whine about when your next turn is; you will sing no less than everyone else.

COMMANDMENT #4
THOU SHALT NOT be upset if another patron sings a song you were planning to sing. There are plenty of songs to choose from, and you can always do it another night.

COMMANDMENT #5
THOU SHALT NOT use foul language when at the mike. You might find it is the last time on stage for you, if you don't wind up taking the old 86 Express!

COMMANDMENT #6
THOU SHALT NOT come to the stage with a beer or cigarette. Again, the equipment is very expensive, and easily damaged by things such as spilled drinks and cigarette burns.

COMMANDMENT #7
THOU SHALT NOT sing along louder than the performer or join he performer on stage unless invited. This can be very irritating and distracting for the singer.

COMMANDMENT #8
THOU SHALT NOT walk in front of the screen or block the singer's view of the screen. This is very rude, as the singer must be able to see the words in order to sing.

COMMANDMENT #9
THOU SHALT NOT carry on a loud conversation next to the stage. It is hard for a singer to follow the music cues when they have people talking loudly next to them.

COMMANDMENT #10
THOU SHALT APPLAUD!! Come on now, anyone who gets up there deserves some attention, don't you think? And besides, we're all here to have fun!!

Back then someone even gave me a cool looking clipart image of Moses. He's holding the tablets and has glasses and a ZZ Top beard. lol I can't find the image anywhere but I still have it printed. I place the image in the center above the commandments. It's not this but it's the closest I could find.

1168107918.jpg
 
Your Welcome Chris, I haven't seen these in a long time great post!
 
Like I said, I've got a great looking sheet with these with the Moses pic. I don't have the file anymore but maybe I'll try and scan it for here.
 
COMMANDMENT #2
THOU SHALT NOT swing the mike by its cord, dance with the mike stand, or get too drunk to control your actions. The equipment used for karaoke is expensive, and you may be held accountable for damages. The 86 experience may also be encountered here.


COMMANDMENT Revision:

KJ'S shall not use microphones with cords. It is cheap and resticts singer patron interaction.


COMMANDMENT #6
THOU SHALT NOT come to the stage with a beer or cigarette. Again, the equipment is very expensive, and easily damaged by things such as spilled drinks and cigarette burns.

COMMANDMENT Revision:

With wireless mics singers can sing anywhere they like and I can care less if they smoke or drink.
 
DJ Cam said:
COMMANDMENT #2
THOU SHALT NOT swing the mike by its cord, dance with the mike stand, or get too drunk to control your actions. The equipment used for karaoke is expensive, and you may be held accountable for damages. The 86 experience may also be encountered here.


COMMANDMENT Revision:

KJ'S shall not use microphones with cords. It is cheap and resticts singer patron interaction.


COMMANDMENT #6
THOU SHALT NOT come to the stage with a beer or cigarette. Again, the equipment is very expensive, and easily damaged by things such as spilled drinks and cigarette burns.

COMMANDMENT Revision:

With wireless mics singers can sing anywhere they like and I can care less if they smoke or drink.
Click to expand...



These revised commandments are great if they suit your show. Some people choose to have wired mics so that the wireless ones don't get lost. I prefer to have the singers close to me. Last thing I want to see is a drunk walking around the bar singing and not paying attention to where he's walking and fall. There goes my mic.

Not only that but it keeps the flow going too. What happens when the song ends and the guy is on the other side of the bar? Even if you have backup mics for the next singer you still have to wait for the previous singer to bring the mic up. Just a PITA in my opinion.

Smoking is not allowed in public places anymore so I don't have to worry about that.
 
Yup. With karaoke I go wired.

I was using a pair of wireless Shures and this idiot decides to a dance routine. Instead of laying the mic down or taking a few steps of to the stand the idiot throws the mic down. He didn't drop it, he threw it.

When I came out from behind the table he bolted.

Fortunately these Shures are like Timexs.
 
Cheap Wired Mikes

For those who do shows in low places where microphones are often abused, may I suggest using cheap corded mikes. Musicians Friend has some $7.99 Nady mikes that will do the job. Do these mikes sound great? No, but for unruly drunks that wouldn't sound decent with a $400.00 mike they will do. I used a 'Nady Starpower 3' for about two years while doing a show in a rather rough location as my personal mike. A little bit muddy on the low end, a little muffled on the highs, but the mixxer took care of most of that. I would rather loose a $7.99 mike than a $100.00 Shure. Just a thougth.

Better solution. Avoid rough bars!
 
But you just have to love the guy singing "I Cross My Heart" out of tune but he has the (cheap ) cordless, on one knee, crooning his wife and she is loving every minute of it. I don't have many that will walk and sing even though there are four TV's working the graphics.
 
Wild Wally said:
may I suggest using cheap corded mikes. Musicians Friend has some $7.99 Nady mikes that will do the job. Do these mikes sound great? No

Better solution. Avoid rough bars!
Click to expand...

I understand the cheap mike solution, and use Shure SM-48's ( around 35.00 ea) in those cases. But an 8.00 mike? In a professional situation? I'm sorry, but I can't do it.....
 
Joe,

I respect your professionalism, but sometimes ya gotta do what ya gotta do! After losing good Shures in a rough bar, the $7.99 Nadys kept the show profitable. If serious singers were frequenting the bar, they probably would be smart enough to resepect the equipment that makes them sound good. Tone deaf drunks, on the other hand, just want a mike that makes them loud! AND...for $7.99, they really aren't bad. The wind screen doesn't last long, but at $7.99 they are throw-aways.
 
I've got a pair of those $8 nady's as backup/extras also. I am rather impressed with them myself, for being THAT cheap they're not THAT bad!

Even the reviews at musicians friend were giving them praise last I saw...
 
Since I am reprinting my books, I have ditched the "Commandments" and changed them to "Rules". Commandments seemed to be too strict, karaoke is suppose to be fun, right?

I also added a couple of helpful hints pages a couple of years back, I'll attach them as a PDF, let me know what you think.
 

Attachments

  • Rules-Mic Tech 01-07.pdf
    69.9 KB · Views: 10
kayleigh,
I don't mind if anybody uses my version or not, we are here to share useful information between professionals.


I had to add the one stage appearance per rotation in the rules cause people were driving me nuts trying to sing more than everybody else and they thought of doing duets or group songs that they could get away with it, at least now it's in writing and don't have to explain to the yahoos that try to hog the mic. I try to run the fairest rotation that I can without playing favorites, some of my regulars have been to shows where the host was playing favorites and they don't go to those shows anymore.... they come to mine all the time now.

The helpful hints pages came a couple years ago of trying to educate my singers to MY show rules and to help them sound the best they can be. I saw that most were not using proper mic technique and was always getting asked about "which version is better". Of course these pages have helped my regulars, but the all the newbies that have been coming in lately must not have read them.... yet... lol.


:sqbiggrin:
 
Lito said:
I had to add the one stage appearance per rotation in the rules cause people were driving me nuts trying to sing more than everybody else and they thought of doing duets or group songs that they could get away with it....
Click to expand...
I have the same thing in my "Commandments," and I had a few people who were put off by that. Once they realized they actually get up faster in the next rotation because I'm not "doubling up" duets/solos and getting the same person up for a solo and five duets in the same rotation, they love it. But if it's a slow night with fewer than 6-8 people in the rotation, I'll fudge it a little (but MAX 1 duet/1 solo in a slow rotation). I think they're also cool with it because I'll go to them and say, "So-and-so is already doing a song in this rotation. Do you have another song you'd like to sing on your own?"

I reserve a special place in Hades for people who use five different names to try & get around the rotation. Grrrrrrrrrr.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top Bottom
Back