Have a Karaoke Party!
We were blessed by another choir performance during today’s service, and many of us will be singing those songs for at least the rest of the day. If your family is feeling melodically inspired, bring the music into your home with a karaoke party!
It used to be that you had to go out, or buy an expensive karaoke machine, to indulge your love of singing. But now, all you need is an internet connection and a device with a speaker. In fact, on YouTube, you can find a karaoke track for pretty much any song you can think of. This includes all of today’s hymns (except “Press On” – you’ll have to sing along to someone else’s voice for that one), if you’d like to try your hand at those. The YouTube channel KaraokeOnVEVO has tons of songs, including an entire playlist of hymns and a large selection of songs from other genres.
Technology has come so far in recent years that you also have lots of options for how to sing along to your favorite tunes. You can sing from your phone or computer, set up your TV to mirror your device, or, if you have a smart TV, use its internet browser. You don’t even need a microphone, though of course you can add one to the mix if your family gets really serious. You can also download an app like Smule or KaraFun if you’d like to invest in a more “official” karaoke experience.
Once you’ve got your set-up all set up, take turns choosing a song to sing. You can spotlight each person, or do duets, or sing all at once if that’s more your family’s speed. You can even game-ify it if you’d like – pass out slips of paper and have everyone write down a few song titles, then take turns choosing one at random and singing whatever song the paper says! If it’s messy, who cares? You’re at your house, being silly, with the people you love.
Karaoke does require following along with the song lyrics, which might be tricky for young kids who are still emerging readers. It’ll help to choose songs they know very well, so they can read the words like they read their favorite books. But it’s also a great way to practice their reading and expand their vocabulary. Singing has a host of other benefits as well, which can be enjoyed by people of all ages: it’s a great emotional outlet, it can boost your mood, it’s literally exercise (skip the gym on karaoke day if you’d like – we’ll vouch for you!), and it helps us communicate.
Don’t worry if you forget how the melody goes, or you’re off key, or you start laughing during your song. Give yourself permission to let go and have fun. And if you discover that somebody in your family loves singing enough to join the choir, well then, we all benefit, don’t we?
What is your family singing at your karaoke party? Share with us on Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram!
