singing

[goatboy]

How do you guys practice singing and playing at the same time? Usually when Im doing both at the same time one or the other screws up. Like Ill either mess up my singing or my guitar playing. My body wants to follow the same rythms, like if the guitar rythms are a little different from my vocals I end up playing the same rythms as my singing. Which is wrong. How can I improve on this?

[slaughteredsoul]

Dont worry cause thats how it always starts out/It was very difficult for me to sing and play at the same time,like you said, i keep singing to the rythm..try to play a little slower,and start singing,that way it will be easier for you not to mess up and sing to the beat,and then u can slowly pick up speed.what it really takes is practice,like everything else in guitar playing,and you'll get the hang of it soon enough.
good luck

[FretRage]

I'm not a genius or anything but i have the same problem.
But I've aslo found that if i perfect a song it is easy to blank out what your doing with your fingers and then it is easier to sing while playing.

[slaughteredsoul]

It will be much easier of course if you can play the song properly.that way you can concentrate on one thing:which is singing.Try to repeat what youre playing a couple of times before you start singing,and once you start singing,concentrate on that,and let your fingers just flow.easier said than done...but if you try and concentrate on everything at the same time,you're bound to mess up.
Also,like i said,dont go too fast,play the song real slow,for me that helps a lot,and once i can do that i play a little faster.It takes time but its not impossible:)

[smfulla]

what I find helps is if you do the following:
1) learn the guitar playing inside and out
2) learn the singing inside and out
(seperately)
3) put them together slowly (as slaughteredsoul said)

what I found really difficult was putting the lead guitar with the singing for The Unforgiven by metallica (I play lead guitar, and rhythm, but when performing, I play lead), but I slowed them down, and eventually I got it. It's like everything else, practise