Host An Epic Karaoke Night With Just A Laptop And A Mic

Organizing a karaoke party at home is not difficult, but you will need some preparation and equipment. You can spend money on one of the best karaoke systems on the market, but it's definitely expensive if you don't plan on singing with friends regularly.

You may be wondering if you can connect a microphone to your computer and use it. The good news is that you can do it, but it does require a little preparation. Let's start.

Select the microphone

You won't be able to use the built-in karaoke microphone on your laptop or mobile phone because of the feedback. the microphone picks up not only your voice but also the music, creating an eerie sound that will sting your eardrums. And even if it works, a karaoke party where you and your guests scream into your laptops is no fun at all.

You need an external microphone.

If you have a good USB microphone for online business meetings or podcast recording, you can use it. But if you're shopping for a new one, know that you don't need an expensive microphone for a karaoke party. If you've ever played Rock Band or Guitar Hero , open your closet and pull out your old console microphone. They're designed for karaoke and usually work on a plug-and-play basis, meaning you plug them into your computer and you're good to go. rolling stock

[Contact explanation of the psychology of karaoke]

But if you don't have working microphones at home, you can always look online for a portable USB microphone, decent ones can be found for around $20.

Prepare the microphone

Connect the microphone to the computer and try to sing, you probably won't hear anything. This is because you need to set up your microphone first. To do this, open the "Settings" menu on your computer.

In Windows, go to System and select Sound . There, click "Advanced sound settings" . Select the microphone and click Properties .

Click the Listening tab and check the Listen on this device box.

You will now be able to hear your speech through the microphone. Complete the setup by going to the Levels tab and adjusting the volume on your device. Your computer will remember your settings, which means that the next time you turn on the microphone, it will automatically work the way you want it to.

Unfortunately, it's not easy to amplify the sound with your microphone and Mac, but that's an easy fix. Open QuickTime Player, select File from the menu bar, and then click New Audio Recording .

This will open a simple voice recorder. Increase the volume slider below and you can hear yourself through your computer speakers when you sing into the microphone. Feel free to minimize the window, but you will have to keep the app open during the karaoke session.

Find karaoke songs

Now that you have a microphone and can hear yourself singing into it, it's time to find the actual songs. I've tested several programs and found YouTube to be the best option for most people. You can search for any song and add the word "karaoke" and you will find it there.

I suggest doing a little test before the party. you may need to turn down the volume of a YouTube video, for example, to hear the microphone during the music. Creating playlists is also a great idea, but if you want to change things up, it won't take you long to find karaoke videos on YouTube, so feel free to search for songs as requests come in.

Additional. Connect the computer to the TV.

You don't need anything but a computer to set up your home karaoke, especially if you hook it up to the right speakers. But things can be a lot more interesting if you connect your laptop to your TV with an HDMI cable.

[Related: Five Cute and Romantic Ways to Turn Your Home into a Karaoke Bar]

The large screen makes it easy for everyone to see the lyrics and sing along, but it also means that the sound will go through the TV's stereo system. As an added bonus, connecting the TV to the laptop also allows one person to control the karaoke session without disturbing the artist.

Try our dedicated karaoke app

If you don't want to worry about searching for karaoke videos on YouTube, you can use a dedicated app to get the party started.

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Karafun has a wide catalog of songs, and although some of the songs on the app look a little ugly, they sync perfectly with the lyrics and you can watch them all in one interface. It's also easy to line up so guests don't have to fight every time you ask who's next.

Karafun has a limited free version that lets you play a 30-second preview of every song in their catalog, which isn't enough to get you over the bridge. So, if you want to use this app for a karaoke party, you'd better pay $9.99 per month to get unlimited access to all the songs on the platform.

Karafun is available for Mac and Windows. Get full access to our song catalog for $9.99/month.

a lion

If you want to skip YouTube, Lion is another option you can use in your browser. The platform offers multiple versions of most songs and the quality is generally good. Lion is also the only service on this list that allows you to adjust the pitch of any song, so any singer can perform even Mariah Carey's most difficult songs.

You get five songs for free every day, which isn't bad, but it's not enough for a karaoke party. For $5.99, you can purchase a two-day pass for full access to the Lions catalog, or if karaoke is your hobby, you can sign up for a year.

Leo is available online. Full access to the catalog starts at $5.99.

Mugen karaoke

Mugen Karaoke is an open source version created by anime lovers. As you can imagine, the catalog consists mostly of songs from anime shows and video games, many of which are available in multiple languages. You might think it's a party, but it has one major drawback: it's difficult to organize. To use Karaoke Mugen, you need to create an account and set up a web server running on your main computer. But when you solve all these problems, you get one great feature: the ability for anyone in the room to add songs to a queue using their phone.

Mugen Karaoke is available online for free.

Digital label. The Japanese office is SNL