Absolute Beginner

[SydneyT]

Hello Dave - Please excuse me if this is already posted somewhere evident and I cannot find it! I know nothing about Kjams - I am a mother of a 9 year-old daughter who loves to sing old show tunes and all sorts of other music. I am a mac person and was hoping to get her some kind of karaoke software for Christmas that we could enjoy as a family. I found Kjams and downloaded it but have no idea how to use it or what it in fact, does. I have two Lacie D2 quadra drives, but obviously this is not what I need. I think I need a separate DVD drive - as far as I can tell, neither of the built-in DVDs on either of my macs supports CD-G. So, my question is - where can I find info explaining how to use Kjams from a beginner's perspective and also, what it might cost? Is this an on-going investment - once I buy the program, do I then have to invest in hundreds of dollars of Karoake music and how do I know if there are Karoake libraries with the kind of music she wants to sing? I presume, that there are no existing programs which allow the removal of vocals on professional recordings? Perhaps this is too advanced for us and I would be better off buying something non computer-based? Any and all info would be of much help. Thanks so much, Sydney

[dave]

i think kJams is just what you need. Probably the Lite version would be fine for your needs. it is $40. this info is available on the Downloads page

What does kJams do?
More details on the Lite version

Yes you will need to buy the music you play. There are two built-in music stores where you can browse the monster selection for one-click shopping goodness.

If you want to rip your own CD+G discs, you will need a new DVD drive to rip CDG discs, i recommend the plextor Q840U

Vocal removal from existing music is best left to the pro's, much better to simply buy actual karaoke music which let's you suppress the lead vocals perfectly (multiplex), or that has no lead vocals at all.

[SydneyT]

Thanks Dave. You have convinced me and I will shortly buy the Lite version. I was wondering, however, whether I really need the drive. For the moment, since we are new to all this, wouldn't it be more sensible to buy singles from the music libraries you provided or others? Thank you....

[dave]

oh definitely. you only need the drive if you have a bunch of discs to rip, or if you want to burn your faves to a disc to take with you when you go out to an actual karaoke venue