Set up your mic and latency
· 2 min read
Karaoke listens to your voice to draw your pitch line and score you. A few minutes of setup makes the feedback much more trustworthy.
Use Chrome or Edge and allow the microphone
Music Tools targets the latest Chrome and Edge. When the browser asks, allow microphone access. If you dismissed the prompt, click the icon at the left of the address bar, set Microphone to Allow for the site, then reload.
If the microphone is blocked, the player still works and shows the notes only.
Choose the right device
Open Settings and find the Microphone section. Pick your input from the device list. The names only appear after you allow access. The level meter there moves when the microphone hears you, so sing or speak to check that it is the right one.
In the player, the Microphone switch in the Pitch panel turns listening on and off.
Wear headphones
Headphones keep the backing track out of the microphone. Without them, the mic hears the song as well as you, and your pitch line gets confused. Wired headphones are best, as wireless ones add delay.
What latency is
Latency is the small delay between you singing and the app hearing you. It comes from the microphone, your audio hardware and especially wireless headphones. The result is a pitch line that lands a little late against the notes, even when you sing correctly.
Tune it
The Mic latency slider in the Pitch panel goes from −300 to +300 ms.
- Put on headphones and start the song.
- Sing along to a steady note.
- Watch your line against the bar. If it trails behind, raise the latency. If it runs ahead, lower it.
- Nudge the slider until the line sits on the bar.
Only your pitch line moves. The notes, beats and playhead stay locked to the audio.
To start every song with the same value, set Default latency under Settings, in the Microphone section.
Octave-insensitive matching
Voices differ, and many songs sit too high or too low for you. With Octave-insensitive on, which is the default, singing the right note an octave higher or lower counts as correct. Turn it off in the Pitch panel, or by default under Settings, if you want to match the exact octave.