Singing while playing guitar..

[milod]

Hey, I've been nervous a lotta times. Open mike things usually are easier because you're closer to the audience and there's usually less of a "spotlight" kinda thing so you can't see anybody.

 

I like being able to look at folks and smile at 'em and just have fun regardless of venue.

 

That not being possible, a duo or band has the advantage of looking at each other.

 

Keepin' things human always is more fun.

 

m

[badbluesplayer]

I can sing and play O.K. but I can't think about two things at the same time, so if the singing and playing are different parts, like "Politician" or "Born Under a Bad Sign", I have to do one of two things. I either try to think very quickly to break the song down and stay ahead of the different parts, or if I can play the guitar part without thinking too much about it, then I can concentrate on singing.

 

Like Milod, I sang when I was a kid. Me and my sisters would sing the pop tunes of the day, including all the Beatles tunes, doing the harmonies. We would sing harmonies for tunes like "I Will", that didn't have a harmony part on the record. I still always have a tune in my head and I hum and whistle all day long.

[cjlandry]

WOW, OH come to me my wanting to learn person. Lets go to old school simple basic's 101. First you say you can't sing. Old School way, Go to a bathroom,or a empty warehouse. something that has great harminics This way you can harmonize with yourself. Then take your guitar with you. Play your song. Things to look for while your doing this. This song I'm playing, Is the key Im singing in right for the Key I'm playing in? If not, see if you can find it, without getting out of a comfortable range.(Short version, See if you can hit the guitar key with out hurting yourself).

Next while tunning your guitar, Humm, trying to find the note, (also if you get good enough to be able to Memorize the sound you won't need a tunner anymore). I also do this with the courds. That way while I'm playing a song. The music is an afterthought, So I can put the entire focus at learning New words to new songs.

More to come if you think the Knowledge is worth it. :-"

 

Great advice!

 

I forget who it was, but one rather famous guitarist said that he plays a song, over and over and over, so many times that he doesn't have to think about playing at all, then he can sing and play at the same time. I can't play any song that well, yet.

 

 

I'm like Dub-T, in that I have a low voice. Deep, even. I always pick songs like LA Woman, or La Grange, when I sing karaoke (yes, I do that, too). I'm always a hit when I stay in my natural range. (I also like to play Beatles tunes. It's nice, too, because my 11 year old son is a HUGE fan of the Beatles.)

 

Also, if the guitar isn't sort of in time with the vocals, I can't do it. My right hand will try to go along with my voice, and it throws the entire thing off.

 

I've been practicing singing along with scales during practice. Singing the numbers, so I can memorize the intervals, but at the same time, I'm training my ear.

 

Lately, I've been tuning my guitar by singing the opening E note from Pink Floyd's "Time". I test it with my electronic tuner, and I've been nailing it 8 out of 10 times.

[Silenced Fred]

I can sing and play O.K. but I can't think about two things at the same time, so if the singing and playing are different parts, like "Politician" or "Born Under a Bad Sign", I have to do one of two things. I either try to think very quickly to break the song down and stay ahead of the different parts, or if I can play the guitar part without thinking too much about it, then I can concentrate on singing.

 

Like Milod, I sang when I was a kid. Me and my sisters would sing the pop tunes of the day, including all the Beatles tunes, doing the harmonies. We would sing harmonies for tunes like "I Will", that didn't have a harmony part on the record. I still always have a tune in my head and I hum and whistle all day long.

 

Most of the stuff I sing with isn't crazy cool stuff, usually riffs or chords. I get too distracted otherwise. It takes a lot of practice though, it won't just be a moment of "I got it"

 

That's why I play bluesy stuff, isn't crazy hard, and if you forget the lyrics, you can always just kinda make something up I kid, I kid... but really, you can

[Notes_Norton]

I've been a pro musician for most of my life.

 

When I was young, it was very difficult to find singers for the band. It seemed that most musicians didn't sing well, and most good singers were few and far between.

 

So I decided to learn to sing.

 

As a trained sax player, I had one advantage, I knew how to breathe properly. Most people breathe the wrong way by expanding their chests when they inhale. Babies, cats and dogs (and probably most other mammals) never do that. And it's a good way to ruin your voice. You can develop nodules on your vocal chords and end up with that gritty sound like Rod Stewart or Stevie Nicks. There is an operation that will either leave you cured or unable to sing. The great Broadway star, Julie Andrews got them, got the operation, and it ended her career as she could no longer sing.

 

So when you inhale, your stomach should puff out as your diaphragm pushes down. - see illustration:

 

 

So since I couldn't sing and play sax at the same time (still can't) I would pick up the bass and let the bass guitarist play rhythm. Playing bass and singing is much more difficult than rhythm guitar, but I didn't have chord chops at the time.

 

I started out as a mediocre singer, but with practice and 6 nights a week on stage, the singing developed until now I consider myself a good singer. I know my limitations and I'll never be a Mark Murphy, but I can sing a wide variety of songs and get them across well.

 

I've since learned to sing while playing guitar (either rhythm or counter-melody) and sing about half the songs per night in my duo. My partner, Leilani is an excellent singer (I wish I could sing that wall) so she gets the hardest songs. She can sing and play guitar except for those songs where the vocals are too demanding. I suppose she still could, but there is no need to take away from the vocal concentration.

 

So how did I learn?

1. I learned the bass line first (later guitar or keyboard) until it was memorized and "under my fingers"
   
2. I learned the vocal part and practiced it until I could sing the song while my mind wandered
   
3. I put the two together which was more work than it should have been ;-)
   

 

It gets easier with time and practice and now, unless the song is very difficult on either the instrument or the voice, I only have to run through them a few times separately before I put them together, and putting them together is no longer a lot of work.

 

I now enjoy singing very much.

 

BTW Milod, I was the designated Dylan singer in the band, and did things "Like A Rolling Stone", "Rainy Day Woman" and a few others.

 

Insights and incites by Notes ♫

[duane v]

What helped me was being a Beatles nut..... Plus by the time I was 10 I was 3 years into playing trumpet and six years into playing piano. So when it came time to playing guitar at 10, it all came quickly and very natural.... I was able to sing and play Blackbird very well by the time I was twelve.

[milod]

duane...

 

I envy you keeping up with piano. I quit in 4th grade when I started trumpet. I hated piano and piano lessons - I think because of the stuff I hadda play. Now I wish...

 

m

[duane v]

duane...

 

I envy you keeping up with piano. I quit in 4th grade when I started trumpet. I hated piano and piano lessons - I think because of the stuff I hadda play. Now I wish...

 

m

 

I was always resistant with the piano, but my mom insisted I take lessons and stick with it. It wasn't until I started writing my own songs, that the appreciation for piano became apparent....

[Silenced Fred]

I was always resistant with the piano, but my mom insisted I take lessons and stick with it. It wasn't until I started writing my own songs, that the appreciation for piano became apparent....

 

+1 I started taking a piano class last year in high school, and my teacher hated me because I wouldn't do any of the assignments, I would just noodle around with my own stuff. IMO, keyboards or piano are the best help for song writing

[Dub-T-123]

Yeah I actually played the trumpet from fourth grade and then in high school I switched to guitar. I was in the jazz band and marching band and I was good and I can still play and read (at a pretty low level) but I was never REALLY into playing trumpet like I always have been with guitar. When I think about it playing trumpet for a few years probably helped me play guitar.

 

My favorite song of all to play and sing is Julia. Something about that song... It just never gets old for me. I just play it over and over and over.. Hopefully one day I meet a nice girl named Julia because I'll be able to play it for her perfectly lol

[milod]

Yeah...

 

Mom had me start piano at 4. I quit when I got the cornet in 4th grade and played it or a trumpet through concert and marching bands, pep bands, etc., informal jazz groups (no jazz in hs music programs in those days), then finally my senior year of hs playing in a two-headed combo for all the school dances with jazz and rock.

 

Orchestra and "pep band" first year in college, but by then I was playing guitar and that was the world I wanted.

 

Always was a poor sight reader.

 

The keyboard background was good, but I really regret I probably was too young and always too rebellious to wanna keep doing something I didn't really wanna do. I know the notes and can do some chording still, but that's about it.

 

You "kids," if you're doing keyboard lessons or even learning independently as I did everything after my soph year in HS, don't stop. I think - and I've a hunch Duane and Notes and others would agree - that it helps make your head better for playing guitar too.

 

In retrospect I think the reason I loved trumpet but didn't feel like it was deeply "me" in music is that I think my head is more a "keyboard" sorta thing. I can strum, I can do some basic "lead" guitar playing, but basically my head says I should do keyboard with guitar fingerstyle technique.

 

m

[Kimbabig]

I do both sometimes, but I usually crank my guitar up so I can't hear myself, That is also why I sing while mowing.

[Izzy]

What helped me was being a Beatles nut..... Plus by the time I was 10 I was 3 years into playing trumpet and six years into playing piano. So when it came time to playing guitar at 10, it all came quickly and very natural.... I was able to sing and play Blackbird very well by the time I was twelve.

 

Piano is what playing guitar and singing at the same time reminds me of. Both hands are complimenting each other but not working towards the same sound. Guitar is two hands one sound...piano is accompaniment, just like singing and playing guitar. (I'm redundant, I also repeat myself).

I started playing piano at ten because mom was classically trained and it was there. No formal training, just played I heard. Haven't played since my mid-teens. I can't coordinate as well as I used to, but I can sing and play guitar just fine, with the exception of odd timed songs.

 

Practice is what it took. Take one on that trips you up after you've mastered a few and move up from there, like anything else, really. That's what I'm gong to have to do to get back into piano.

[FirstMeasure]

Most folks don't like to hear my advice on this subject, but what helped me was Karaoke. Most Guitarists that say they Can't sing and play are in that situation because they can't sing. You have to be as comfortable singing as you are playing, and that's really all there is to it. Of course there's Practice and knowing both parts so well you don't have to think about it, but if you can't sing without your guitar you can't sing with it.

 

Karaoke not only helps you with singing in front of people, it lets you concentrate on the singing without worrying about your hands. Granted, there is very little that can be called Cool about Karaoke, but performing isn't all about being cool, it's about discipline.

 

That's a word that most players really don't want to hear. The discipline it took for DuaneV to keep at his piano lessons, the discipline it took Notes to learn multiple instruments and be able to sing while playing Bass (which is a lot harder than playing the guitar and singing). Discipline comes from a very different place than Cool, and it's 1000 time more rewarding.

[Dub-T-123]

Well I've been practicing it a lot with a lot of different songs (actually been at it for a while before I posted this thread) and I'm getting a lot better. I'm also starting to get where there are some songs where I feel weird playing them without singing. I want to be the frontman of my band. I always have. I'm getting there slowly haha.

 

I don't like my voice but other people tell me it's alright so I'll take there word for it.

[Notes_Norton]

<...>

You "kids," if you're doing keyboard lessons or even learning independently as I did everything after my soph year in HS, don't stop. I think - and I've a hunch Duane and Notes and others would agree - that it helps make your head better for playing guitar too.<...>

 

A knowledge of the keyboard makes everything else in "western" music make more sense. Even if you only learn basics, it will help since it is a very visual representation on how this music is organized.

 

I've never had formal piano lessons but learned from the keyboard players in various bands I was in. Later I bought synthesizers and music books and followed through. I'm not very good at two handed piano (mediocre at best), but I can do a decent right hand while the left controls the joystick on a synth. When I write my aftermarket styles for Band-in-a-Box, I use my right hand to enter the bass lines, and also for the comp, since they must be entered separately in the "StyleMaker" app anyway.

 

Although I've had my hands on both for the same amount of time, I get along better with the guitar than the keyboard. But the keyboard teaches music theory better.

 

I don't care how old you are, learning keyboard will probably help your guitar playing.

 

Notes ♫

[duane v]

Norton you touch on a very important subject in regards to breathing and technique . I studied using the Seth Riggs vocal technique. It teaches you on how to funnel energy. Most believe in order to achieve a certain tonal energy you have to sing at fff. This is so far from the truth. You should be able to sing with the same tonal energy at pp and mp.

 

A good example is to watch an infant cry.... look at their diaphragm in how it works... The belly pops out and pushes inward. Have you noticed how babies can cry for hours (and I'm not talking about chat forum cry babies) without losing their little voices??? It's because they are using the correct breathing technique when crying.