Getting Started

kJams is designed to be user-friendly and easy to figure out. Those of you who use iTunes, or other karaoke software, can probably jump right in and begin playing karaoke. The following is for those of you who might need a little more help getting started.

Starting kJams

1. Download and install kJams. Then the kJams icon will be in your Start Menu (Windows) or in your Dock (Mac).
2. Click the icon to start the program.
3. The Main Screen opens and displays your main music Library (which is actually a Playlist, initially empty) and the kJams menu bar. I suggest you click through the menu options and preferences, just to see what's there. Pay close attention to the Edit and Control menus, as you will be using these a lot.
4. If there are any new online Music Stores available, you will be asked if you want to download them. (This can happen any time you start kJams.) I suggest you always download the new stores as they become available, or when they provide updates.

Ways to Play

There are three ways you can play karaoke music through kJams.

• You can play music that has been downloaded or copied to your computer. This includes music that you purchase through kJams and an online music store, but also music files that may already reside on your hard drive.
• You can play music directly off of a karaoke CD. (This assumes your drive can read karaoke CDs, which is not always the case.)
• You can stream karaoke music from internet music sites.

And of course, you can do any combination of the three.

A note about streaming music: To stream music, you purchase a subscription, kind of like Netflix, and then you can access any songs you like, as many times as you like. Keep in mind, however, that in order to stream, you have to have an internet connection. Also, there can be a considerable lag time as the songs buffer, so it's best to cue up several in a playlist, because kJams will pre-fetch the next song, so it can start instantly.

Where do I begin?

If you're not sure where to start, I recommend the following:

1. First build a small library of music. The easiest way to do this is to purchase music through the built-in Music Stores.
2. Next, learn how the library works—try sorting by columns, add and delete columns, etc.
3. Now you're ready to play some music! Learn how to start/stop songs; familiarize yourself with the various controls and video options.
4. kJams Pro and 2 users can use ShowScreens
5. Create playlists.
6. Check out some of the other features, such as Trimming, Slipping, changing Pitch and Tempo, and Auto-Cue.
7. Maybe you like to have Disco Lights too!

Once you've gotten this far, you'll have the hang of it, I promise.

Everything you need to know to complete these steps is in the Documentation. Just go through the topics in order, skipping over those that don't pertain to you. It's that easy!

Special notes for Mac Users

See this critical info.