Tune in Karaoke

Gone are the days when bathroom singers were recognized for their veiled talent,today you may not be the trained maestro but appreciation will be yours if you have the guts to sing your heart out in open. Nobody at the office would have imagined Suresh Tyagi singing so admirably amongst his colleagues at the office bash or the general manager of a firm related to the agricultural sector humming the tunes of 70’s specially songs of Rafi and Kishore without inhibitions till it all happened at a Karaoke party. “It’s a good feeling,takes out your stress and helps you connect with a lot of people,” says Tyagi. The concept of Karaoke parties is gaining momentum not only at private parties but also in the corporate sector. “It’s a better way of partying and healthy too; avoids the indulgence in politics and misbehavior which often results due to the strain of work,” affirms Shlok Tripathi,an event manager.

Karaoke owes its origin to Japan as a form of entertainment in nightclubs,with customers singing to music backing. “They are so used to the LCD in the conference hall that it is like refreshment for them in the lawn,at times around a bonfire,” says ts Pranay Kumar who is into hospitality services,and organises at least four such parties for the business people every month “Karaoke Party is complimentary from our side after a conference,” he adds.

Music and singing have always been the best de-stressers- they also help people loosen up.“Sometimes people want to sing but they can’t,either because they don’t know the complete song or because they are reluctant. Karaoke cures all that,” grins Singh.

The Karaoke Kit,as it is called; resembles a smell medical kit measuring somewhere around 10 to 12 inches,and can be easily carried in a suitcase or backpack. All that this kit contains is a microphone and an index book,that has the guidelines for using the karaoke system and the code numbers of the song already fed in the system software,in almost all the Indian languages including English. If one wants songs other than the ones stored,the chips in which songs can be transferred with the help of a USB port are available in the market,costing around Rs.500/-. The microphone plays multiple roles apart from being used as an output device and as a remote control for various operations which includes setting the codes of the songs to be played. Another unique feature of this microphone is its ability to convert a male’s voice into that of a female and vice versa. This microphone has chords,which is attached to the LCD screen and the Public Address System with the facility of a sub-mike if the song is a duet. And be ready for being rated on the quality of your singing with remarks on the screen. The software which is manufactured by a Korean company has an inbuilt system to rate voices. Last but not the least one must not forget the UPS because once into the rhythm nobody entertains a break due to power cut. The equipment although not available everywhere in the country,ranges from Rs.8500/- to 10,000.

Prabhakar Vishwanath,who is into computer maintenance alongwith some of his friends,interested in music started organising Karaoke parties a year ago but only for their families or family friends; but now the sphere has widened,“People are enjoying these parties and I had set up the some for the new year’s eve too,” says Prabhakar,adding,”Along with entertaining singing Karaoke actually boosts up some people’s confidence levels too.”