--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: To enter into that karaoke mindset, you…" description: "\"“To enter into that karaoke mindset, you have to leave behind all your notions of good or bad, right or wrong, in tune or out of tune. The kara in the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/rob-sheffield-1368_karaoke_to-enter-into-that-karaoke-mindset-you-h_1383660.png" --- # To enter into that karaoke mindset, you have to leave… ![“To enter into that karaoke mindset, you have to leave behind all your notions of good or bad, right or wrong, in tune or out of tune. The kara in the word karaoke is the same as the one in karate, which means 'empty hand.' They're both 'empty' arts because you have no weapons and no musical…” quote by Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/rob-sheffield-1368_karaoke_to-enter-into-that-karaoke-mindset-you-h_1383660.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/rob-sheffield-1368_karaoke_to-enter-into-that-karaoke-mindset-you-h_1383660.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/78b/rob-sheffield-1368_karaoke_to-enter-into-that-karaoke-mindset-you-h_1383660.png) > ““To enter into that karaoke mindset, you have to leave behind all your notions of good or bad, right or wrong, in tune or out of tune. The kara in the word karaoke is the same as the one in karate, which means 'empty hand.' They're both 'empty' arts because you have no weapons and no musical instruments to hide behind--only courage, your heart, and your will to inflict pain.”” [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Sheffield likens karaoke to karate, urging participants to abandon judgment and embrace vulnerability, using only courage and will. **In simple terms:** Karaoke is about letting go of judgment and using courage. Key Takeaway Let go of judgment, sing with heart. Themes vulnerability expression courage Mood playful encouraging Type motivational reflective When to use this quote - social gatherings - public speaking - personal growth - overcoming fear Key Concepts empty hand metaphor performance art Questions to Reflect On - What does “empty hand” mean to you? - How can you use karaoke to build confidence? A Different Perspective Risk of embarrassment may deter participation. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Karaoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/karaoke/) [Karaoke Karate](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/karaoke-karate-4801585/) [Karaoke Mindset](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/karaoke-mindset-4801584/) [Karate Means](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/karate-means-4801587/) [Musical instruments](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/musical-instruments/) [Right or wrong](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/right-or-wrong/) [Word Karaoke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/word-karaoke-4801586/) ## Related quotes > [“Tacos will grow on Christmas trees before I learn to carry a tune. Fortunately, it doesn’t matter. In karaoke, talent means nada; enthusiasm is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/tacos-will-grow-on-christmas-trees-before-i-learn-to-carry-a-tune/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“For all karaoke freaks around the nation, “Total Eclipse of the Heart” is one of those sacred anthems. It’s the kind of song that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/for-all-karaoke-freaks-around-the-nation-total-eclipse-of-the-heart/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“What I get out of karaoke is a little weirder than mere musical competence. It's a love ritual that keeps me coming back, craving…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/what-i-get-out-of-karaoke-is-a-little-weirder-than-mere-musical/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Never take liquor into the bedroom. Don't stick anything in your ears. Be anything but an architect. Live in a nice country rather than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kurt-vonnegut/never-take-liquor-into-the-bedroom-don-t-stick-anything-in-your-ears/) [Kurt Vonnegut](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kurt-vonnegut/) > [Wrestling was my first success, the first thing that confirmed that I could be good at anything. Devoting yourself to wrestling, or tennis, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-irving/wrestling-was-my-first-success-the-first-thing-that-confirmed-that-i/) [John Irving](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-irving/) > [If you had a sign above every studio door saying ‘This Studio is a Musical Instrument’ it would make such a different approach to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/if-you-had-a-sign-above-every-studio-door-saying-this-studio-is-a/) [Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/) > [“Harping should be limited to musical instruments. - Charmainism”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charmaine-smith-ladd/harping-should-be-limited-to-musical-instruments-charmainism/) [Charmaine Smith Ladd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charmaine-smith-ladd/) > [I enjoy roles that involve a task outside of my natural capabilities - for example, playing a number of musical instruments or sword fighting…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/geoffrey-rush/i-enjoy-roles-that-involve-a-task-outside-of-my-natural-capabilities/) [Geoffrey Rush](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/geoffrey-rush/) > [“In the old law, God was praised both with musical instruments, and human voices. But the church does not use musical instruments to praise…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/st-thomas-aquinas/in-the-old-law-god-was-praised-both-with-musical-instruments-and/) [St. Thomas Aquinas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/st-thomas-aquinas/) > [“I dream that someone in space says to me: So let us rush, then, to see the world. It is shaped like an egg,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-cheever/i-dream-that-someone-in-space-says-to-me-so-let-us-rush-then-to-see/) [John Cheever](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-cheever/) > [Heartbreak is our indication of sincerity: in a love relationship, in a work, in trying to learn a musical instrument, in the attempt to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-whyte/heartbreak-is-our-indication-of-sincerity-in-a-love-relationship-in-a/) [David Whyte](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-whyte/) > [Nature is an aeolian harp, a musical instrument whose tones are the re-echo of higher strings within us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/novalis/nature-is-an-aeolian-harp-a-musical-instrument-whose-tones-are-the-re/) [Novalis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/novalis/) > [“After the funeral, they went to a private club in Chelsea, where they drank and jammed the night away together—greats and nobodies alike. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lyudmila-ulitskaya/after-the-funeral-they-went-to-a-private-club-in-chelsea-where-they/) [Lyudmila Ulitskaya](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lyudmila-ulitskaya/) > [In our culture we have such respect for musical instruments, they are like part of God.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ravi-shankar/in-our-culture-we-have-such-respect-for-musical-instruments-they-are/) [Ravi Shankar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ravi-shankar/) > [It's difficult for people to come to the understanding that only a small minority of the people ever really get the word about life,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/earl-nightingale/it-s-difficult-for-people-to-come-to-the-understanding-that-only-a/) [Earl Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/earl-nightingale/) ## More by Rob Sheffield > [One of the best moments of any Liars show is hearing the crowd squawk 'We're doomed! We're doomed!' on cue during 'We Fenced Other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/one-of-the-best-moments-of-any-liars-show-is-hearing-the-crowd-squawk/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I suck at fighting. I have never really learned how to talk and be mad at the same time. If I have angry words…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-suck-at-fighting-i-have-never-really-learned-how-to-talk-and-be-mad/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Morrissey was my Mrs. Garrett, the house mother from the Facts of Life, a soothing adult figure giving me words of wisdom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/morrissey-was-my-mrs-garrett-the-house-mother-from-the-facts-of-life/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I had never gotten the hang of dating — I was always going to be somebody who either had a girlfriend or didn't.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-had-never-gotten-the-hang-of-dating-i-was-always-going-to-be/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [The hottest trash-disco star in the world: Ke$ha! She has a lot in common with Kiss, actually, even spelling her name with a dollar…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/the-hottest-trash-disco-star-in-the-world-ke-ha-she-has-a-lot-in/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“on the 11th of every month my friend elizabeth would say, "well we made it through another month. so do we get her back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/on-the-11th-of-every-month-my-friend-elizabeth-would-say-well-we-made/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“What doesn't kill you maims you, cripples you, leaves you weak, makes you whiny and full of yourself at the same time. The more…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/what-doesn-t-kill-you-maims-you-cripples-you-leaves-you-weak-makes/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“But when you're a teenage boy, you can be narrow-minded about things that are girlie, things that are frivolous, things that are pop. Boys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/but-when-you-re-a-teenage-boy-you-can-be-narrow-minded-about-things/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“I've never heard of anybody getting rid of their prized Exile postcards, much less actually writing on them and sending them through the mail…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/i-ve-never-heard-of-anybody-getting-rid-of-their-prized-exile/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [It's always that one song that gets to you. You can hide, but the song comes to find you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/it-s-always-that-one-song-that-gets-to-you-you-can-hide-but-the-song/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [There are all kinds of mix tapes. there is always a reason to make one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/there-are-all-kinds-of-mix-tapes-there-is-always-a-reason-to-make-one/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“By the time you're an adult, you're used to seeing your friends disappear into their five-year plans. They drop out to get married, have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/by-the-time-you-re-an-adult-you-re-used-to-seeing-your-friends/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“Last fall, I was sitting at the kitchen table of two friends who have been together since 1972. They tell me a story about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/last-fall-i-was-sitting-at-the-kitchen-table-of-two-friends-who-have/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [Tonight, I feel like my whole body is made out of memories. I'm a mix-tape, a cassette that's been rewound so many times you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/tonight-i-feel-like-my-whole-body-is-made-out-of-memories-i-m-a-mix/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) > [“You're in a physical landscape you share with this bizarre and fundamentally alien creature, not alien because she's female but alien because you're a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-sheffield/you-re-in-a-physical-landscape-you-share-with-this-bizarre-and/) [Rob Sheffield](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) [Explore all 249 Rob Sheffield quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-sheffield/) ## More Karaoke quotes > [I'm really shy - I don't do karaoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-micucci/i-m-really-shy-i-don-t-do-karaoke/) [Kate Micucci](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kate-micucci/) > [Everyone's a singer now, thanks to karaoke, for better and for much worse. But the live band is now becoming ancient history in Thailand,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alan-bishop/everyone-s-a-singer-now-thanks-to-karaoke-for-better-and-for-much/) [Alan Bishop](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alan-bishop/) > [True love is singing karaoke 'under pressure' and letting the other person sing the Freddie Mercury part.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mindy-kaling/true-love-is-singing-karaoke-under-pressure-and-letting-the-other/) [Mindy Kaling](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mindy-kaling/) > [I can rock out anything. I mean, I can rock out a little 'Time After Time'. I can do a little 'Grease Lightning'. It…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-bell/i-can-rock-out-anything-i-mean-i-can-rock-out-a-little-time-after/) [Kristen Bell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-bell/) > [When I'd go to karaoke, I'd pretend to do an Ariana Grande impression, or sing songs from Chicago as if I was in musical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellie-rowsell/when-i-d-go-to-karaoke-i-d-pretend-to-do-an-ariana-grande-impression/) [Ellie Rowsell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellie-rowsell/) > [Now one thing I think is really lame, is if you're an artist and you go to a karaoke bar and sing your own…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-aldean/now-one-thing-i-think-is-really-lame-is-if-you-re-an-artist-and-you/) [Jason Aldean](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-aldean/) > [I cannot sing karaoke because it's hard and weird. If I actually tried to sing, I would probably sound good, and I think that's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-astin/i-cannot-sing-karaoke-because-it-s-hard-and-weird-if-i-actually-tried/) [Skylar Astin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-astin/) > [I don't believe in karaoke. Let's let the singers sing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jake-m-johnson/i-don-t-believe-in-karaoke-let-s-let-the-singers-sing/) [Jake M. Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jake-m-johnson/) > [“I've found that many of the people who have a passion for karaoke too often have misplaced confidence, which can become aggressive and border…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chelsea-handler/i-ve-found-that-many-of-the-people-who-have-a-passion-for-karaoke-too/) [Chelsea Handler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chelsea-handler/) > [When you go to karaoke with a professional singer and they really start singing, there's no bigger buzzkill than that.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-hilty/when-you-go-to-karaoke-with-a-professional-singer-and-they-really/) [Megan Hilty](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-hilty/) > [A lot of people go, "I'm influenced by the Beatles and Zeppelin," and they just sound like a karaoke.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-collen/a-lot-of-people-go-i-m-influenced-by-the-beatles-and-zeppelin-and/) [Phil Collen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-collen/) > [I am a typical teen who likes to shop, sing karaoke, spend time with family and friends, answer my www.myspace.com e-mails](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paula-deanda/i-am-a-typical-teen-who-likes-to-shop-sing-karaoke-spend-time-with/) [Paula DeAnda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paula-deanda/) > [ The artistic desire reveals itself in dark form - in karaoke bars \[or\] trolling on the Internet. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/young-ha-kim/the-artistic-desire-reveals-itself-in-dark-form-in-karaoke-bars-or/) [Young-Ha Kim](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/young-ha-kim/) > [Singing karaoke is my worst nightmare. But in the car, I rock out to anything Bon Jovi or Beastie Boys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adam-f-goldberg/singing-karaoke-is-my-worst-nightmare-but-in-the-car-i-rock-out-to/) [Adam F. Goldberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adam-f-goldberg/) > [I'm actually into the idea of doing stand-up comedy, as a joke. You know how people do karaoke for fun? Well it would sort…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/keeley-hazell/i-m-actually-into-the-idea-of-doing-stand-up-comedy-as-a-joke-you/) [Keeley Hazell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/keeley-hazell/) [Browse all 196 Karaoke quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/karaoke/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“To enter into that karaoke mindset, you have to leave behind all your notions of good or bad, right or wrong, in tune or out of tune. The kara in the word karaoke is the same as the one in karate, which means 'empty hand.' 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