sing and play??help!

[omendiamond6]

alright i have been playing for about a year and a half and i am getting alright playing but i still can't get down how to sing and play at the same time..does anyone have any tricks that they do or warmups? anything would be appreciated thanks

[Sleepyboixcl]

DUDE! i have the exact same problem haha, i always end up strumming the wrong beat and totally screwing up. Sorry i cant offer any help, but i feel your pain man :p

[Revebullu]

Practice Practice Practice til you can play in your sleep

[hotlixx]

Theres a couple things you have to remember to sing and play at the same time.

You MUST be able to play that music very well with ease, preferably without looking at the fretboard, the reason being you can't sing if you're thinking about what you're playing on the guitar.

When you sing you have to remember the lyrics, so you're already thinking, but for playing the riff you have muscle memory to help you out.

Try it slowly and fit the singing into your playing, if you can't do it slow, you sure as hell can't do it when its up to speed. When you practice it slow you get more a better feel of it, so its more easier for you to do in the future.

And perfect practice makes for a perfect performance, if you practice it fast and crappy, thats how you're gonna learn it.

[Jimmy_Who]

practice really maybe the songs that you can play inside ou start with them.

Its a hard one ive alwasys been fine at it as when playing music i alwas sing the words when playing anyway. Maybe just try and get into a routine when playing/learning a song to sing with it. Definately helps in the learning process for me it does anyway. :D

[Malcolm]

Use some fake chord sheet music, that way the chord progression and the lyrics are right there in front of you.

Sing under your breath and as you get better get louder. I think most of us had the problem at first, it will come.

[55'gibby]

one thing I tell all... and I mean ALL new guitarist is to hum the vocal line EVERY time you play a song, even if you never intend on singing it. this help two ways. one, it helps you keep your place in the song (i.e. strum patterns, when to start the bridge, stops and starts... ) and two when you do want to sing it is much easier to add words to the humming and it isn't so much a new ability to learn.

[BrandyCreekG]

that's a good one from gibby. i, unfourtunately, never had that little nugget of gold advice.

what helped me immensely, however, was remembering to keep the machanics perfect. you say you've been playing for a year and a half, so your right hand (or left if you're goofy) might still be a bit robotic and jerky when you play. getting speed riffs on the E and A are fun, but if you can't master the fluidity of strumming with your arm below the elbow, you might be getting ahead of yourself. if you can keep the steady strum, then even when you miss a chord change you don't mess with the flow of the song, just like in classical music: NEVER drop the beat.

[Josh_plays_bass]

i have the same problem! it really makes me mad, but as said before, practice is the key to perfection.

[Millertime]

Hey, gibby, thats awesome advice, I'll start doing that right now. Thanks!

[muchavo]

tap your foot while you play , this stops from keepping time with your strumming hand which is inconsistent

[MetalZ0n3]

I always tap my foot naturally anyways lol. I really need to start singing, everyone says that, but I just figured I'd be the lead guitarist anyways.

[addicted2bass]

Yeah! There's another thing I ponder about! Do you have to be the lead guitarist to sing or u can be the bassist as well? :confused: I haven't seen a band where the bassist sings, either its the lead guitarist or a separate singer altogether!

[55'gibby]

chicago
the band

a couple dozen more that I can't think of right now

two bands where the bassist sings. the band primary singer is the drummer, but the bassist did a lot of vocals as well.

[BrandyCreekG]

pink floyd: before roger water left/was kicked out he played bass and sang, as well as the Beatles; Lennon played bass, and of course, sang.

primus, also. that dude plays a mean frickin bass and sings at the same time.

oh, and Genesis before phil collins went solo. he was the drummer/singer.

[BrandyCreekG]

oh yeah. the Police. Sting. sang and bass.

oh, and did you mean its the RHYTHM guitarist usually? i can only think of two lead guitarists who sing.

:confused: I haven't seen a band where the bassist sings, either its the lead guitarist or a separate singer altogether!

[leivaspelund]

Yeah! There's another thing I ponder about! Do you have to be the lead guitarist to sing or u can be the bassist as well? :confused: I haven't seen a band where the bassist sings, either its the lead guitarist or a separate singer altogether!

Cream!
Jack Bruce was just as important as Clapton when it comes to vocals.

And Paul Mc Cartny often played bass in the Beatles

[muchavo]

the eagles

niel young and crazy horse

...

[devildriver421]

one tip I've heard is to chew gum while you play, making sure you keep chewing, and dont chew with your strumming hah. once you can do that easily, then move on to singing, chewing gum starts you getting your mind off just playing the song, and youll be able to do other things. make sure you can play the song really well

[bassman60]

I saw a cover band a few years ago, and the bassist was doing the vocals. Yeah, the tapping the foot is a starting point to coordinating singing and playing. But I never did that for some reason, and I can sing and play together pretty well.

[Atomic]

I think the singer for Thin Lizzy was the bassist. And doesn't lemmy from motorhead also play the bass?

When I started playing guitar I also sang. For me it was a natural step. I have to sing to keep time. There are some things I play that I can't sing and play at the same time though.