When the karaoke mic squeals: what to do in a Seoul noraebang

You reach across the table to pass a friend the mic. Halfway there, the room fills with a high, steady squeal. A useful word to know at that moment is 삐. Say it like a long “beep” and it gives staff a clue about the sound you mean.

Point the mic back toward you

Pause the handoff. Look at where the round grille is pointing. If it faces a loudspeaker, turn it away. When you’re ready to sing again, hold the mic by its handle with the grille facing your mouth.

The squeal can happen when the mic picks up sound coming out of the speaker. The speaker plays it back, the mic catches it again, and the sound builds into a piercing note. Shure’s guide to microphone feedback

Give the speaker some space

If you're standing next to a speaker, take the handheld mic farther away. Next time you pass it across the room, watch where the grille points as it changes hands. If the squeal continues, use the mic’s mute switch if it has one and leave the room’s audio controls to the staff.

Ask for a small adjustment

마이크에서 자꾸 삐 소리가 나요. “The mic keeps making a squealing sound.”

마이크 소리를 조금 줄여 주실 수 있나요? “Could you turn the mic down a little?”

The word 마이크 tells staff which volume you mean. If you like the backing music as it is, add 반주 소리는 지금이 좋아요 (“The backing track sounds good at this volume”). Once the squeal has stopped, a quiet “하나, 둘” (“one, two”) lets you check the mic before the next verse.

We run PrivateNote, a Korean-language site that publishes venue information and handles karaoke booking enquiries in Gangnam, Seoul.