Karaoke is a fun way to experience the joy of performing, whether it is in front of a small group of friends or a large crowd of drunks. It also gives you an opportunity to sing alone with accompaniment without hiring a live accompanist. For a budding and often times broke musician, the benefits are tenfold, but here are just five reasons to get you excited about singing karaoke.

Practice in Front of an Audience: In my experience as a voice teacher, students tend to do well in lessons and freeze up in performances.


The only way to overcome stage fright is to practice performing in front of others and especially strangers. Going out to sing karaoke is just one way to do so. Since no one knows or expects you to come, it is also the least committed one. The best part about karaoke is that generally no one expects you to sing well, so positive feedback is more readily given. That may be just what you need to move on to a more critical audience.

Singing on the Beat: You may know that words are given to you on a screen as you sing karaoke. In addition, good karaoke tracts highlight words as you should sing them as well. Since so many novices tend to come in a bit behind while others lag from start to finish, following the visual cues exactly is a great way to practice singing on the beat. Great karaoke disc jockeys will also help you along when needed. The more you become aware of singing on the beat, the better you will get at it.

Easy Way to Learn Music: For those who do not read music, learning a song can be challenging.

You may listen to a piece over and over in order to learn it. Karaoke tracks give you a chance to check how well you know a song without singing with someone else. For instance, if you would like to audition for a musical and think you know the song “Memories,” from Cats, then start by singing along with your favorite Broadway singer. After you feel you are singing well with help, then look up a Karaoke track on You Tube. Singing with a karaoke track gives you a chance to sing alone and check how well you actually know the song. Typically the interludes or spaces between sung phrases where only the instruments or piano plays are overlooked by the novice. Eventually you will want to be able to sing with the karaoke track without actually looking at the scrolling words.

Stepping Stone to Memorization: Memorizing a song has several parts. You memorize the melody, when to come in, how long notes are held, and how loud or soft you sing different parts of the song. If you are able to sing a karaoke track well, then you have mastered the melody. Some people will find that the more frequently they sing any particular piece, the less often they will need to rely on the visual cues in order to come in on time. The real leap of faith is to stop watching the words all together, which requires you to memorize the lyrics.

Singing in Different Spaces: Where you sing makes a huge difference to how you hear yourself and how others hear you as well. That is true whether your voice is electronically amplified with a microphone or not. For instance, singing in the shower is known to be acoustically pleasing. On the other hand any venue with people in it can make it hard for the sound to bounce back to you. Since karaoke is held in many different locations, regularly singing karaoke can get you prepared to sing in various venues professionally.