Last weekend, I and several of my workmates went for a karaoke session. We booked a karaoke room at Nav Karaoke at Plaza Dago and went singing like crazy for about two hours. I quite enjoyed it, it was quite a while since I had a chance to sing my heart out.
Just a little bit disclaimer here: I am not a good singer, but I enjoy singing. Singing for me is the easiest musical thing I can do, since I do not play any musical instrument. Yes, I know how to sound a C-chord with a guitar, and I did my Art lesson back in (junior) high school where I was taught how to play guitar and flute (soprano flute?). But again, singing is my “best” musical thing. And believe me, no, I am not good at it.
But nevertheless, at the karaoke session, I sang like a crazy. Every song that I knew (or at least partially knew, such as just the chorus or just the intro), I sang it out loud. We were only given two microphones, but I sang out loud in every chance I can get.
Several songs chosen (mind you, I forgot most of the titles and perhaps I got the title wrong) in the session were:
- NaFF songs
- a Samsons song
- Dan by Sheila on 7
- Soldier of Fortune (featuring a video of a woman, so unrelated with the song, typical karaoke videos)
- Surti Tejo, Pelangi di Matamu, and another Jamrud song
- Metal vs Dugem (new song?) by Project Pop
- Mars Pembantu and Jablai from the movie Mendadak Dangdut
- Kelakuan si Kucing Garong (I know that this song is so “ndeso” (is the english word “hill-billies” a correct translation for “ndeso”?), but we chose it for the fun aspect)
- I’m Sorry Goodbye by Krisdayanti
- and many others…
For me, the happiness factor of a karaoke comes from the “togetherness”. I was among other eight persons and the atmosphere was relaxing. Everybody laughed and excited knowing what’s next on the list. Everybody didn’t really care if anybody was off key, and if somebody forgot how the song was, everybody were cheering for the person. Everybody sang along familiar songs. For the less familiar ones, if the songs were slow, everybody would raise their hands and wave them left and right just like in a live concert; if the songs were fast, everybody would shake their head and body as if they were enjoying a rock concert. Everybody cheered. After all, it was Friday night!
After the session ended, I felt like I was just having a little jog. Sweat here and there, my heart rate escalated, my breath was intense. So when I managed to got in front of the computer and connected to the Internet, I googled the relationship between singing and health. Quite surprisingly, the results were, at least, interesting. Continue reading →