Karaoke. The more I wade into the technicalities, the more I realize Karaoke was more discovered than invented. During the process of building up tracks, a no-brainer technician programming midi must have often wished there were lyrics to refer to as he went along. Y’day I failed to find a standard method (Ahead Nero/NTI) to copy the CDG disks, thus I was in the shop solving that problem. Today’s photo is an intentionally grainy shot of the Karaoke setup I am going to miniaturize. When done, the whole show will be half the size of the grey DVD player shown right of center.
Yet again once more, nobody I know in the music industry seems to have any idea what I’m talking about. Now it makes sense why they are so protective of their disks. If they lose them and don’t have the money for replacements, they are out of business. So much for the towering financial tycoons in this field. And their whiz kids, too.My conclusions were as follows: I could copy the music, but not the lyrics, as already said, but I could also not even view the names of the lyrics files on the CD. This kind of situation makes me think, so I did. The files exist, but they cannot be seen. Where have we all encountered this before? I know, I know! Rental DVDs. They have those French and Spanish subtitles you can enable. Aha, but if you have ever looked at the file list (using your computer), there is no folder full of subtitles. Interim conclusion—the hidden files are on a sub-channel.
Continuing, I have copied DVD movies before, therefore a DVD burner must be capable of burning sub-channels. There is a backward compatibility between DVD and CD, meaning you can burn CDs with a DVD burner, but not the other way around. Therefore, I reason that any Sony DVD burner (all of which can play subtitles) should be able to duplicate a CDG disk. Am I right or wrong? We’ll soon know. This kind of thinking is best done out loud and Fred said he has never seen anyone figure something out the way I just did. I believe him.
Still at the shop because my CD burners are at home, I now began to Google armed with a list of questions I had most recently learned to ask. Sure enough, I found dozens of excellent sites with hardware and software, including “ruggedized” laptops intended for Karaoke work. There are programs to copy the CDGs but they cost money, the same with apps that will change the key of MP3+G. That last format, MP3+G, is most interesting, because that is exactly where I stated I wanted to go without yet knowing it existed. The same article said MP3+G on a hard drive was “the future of Karaoke”. Gee, they’re catching up to me.
So I went home and copied 19,000 midi files in 450 directories, every tune released since 1952. No ticky-bob vibraphone versions, the real studio productions. Including Japanese, German and all known national anthems. Arnel, I think we just hit the jackpot. The CDGs will follow, if only pending their conversion to MP3+G. That is an interesting conversion because each tune requires two files with the same name but different extensions. Hmmm, doesn’t that sound like my old Serenade program? Dang, there I go, thinking again.
Eddie Monroe has been in to chat. Did I mention I finally heard him sing at the Thursday Karaoke show? He sounds a bit like Bill Monroe, his great-uncle. Eddie has been laid off his job and wants to play. By assuring me he is a lousy guitar player (which is exactly what I am looking for), this may be an opportunity for both of us. A poor guitar player won’t strike out on his own, and I assure you every other musician he could ever team up with in this town will let him down. I will keep my solo act in the works just in case. He likes old CCR, a group I don’t mind.
Trivia. Buffalo is no longer an endangered species. Once numbering 1,000 in 1900, they are now home on the range at 225,000 head.
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