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Any tips for singing while you are playing?


Muckbound

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I can sing and play guitar for many songs, but I find that if I am doing a song where the guitar and singer are different it is difficult to stay in time.

An example of this (for me anyway) is Back in Black. The guitar is easy; the singing is not too hard, but at the same time I find it very hard.

Same goes for Van Halen tunes. I can play Panama and sing it, except for the slow part right after the solo. He's talking while Eddie is playing(getting a little bit hot tonight, I can barely see the road...etc)

There are a few tunes that I change slightly so my voice and guitar don't throw each other off, but tunes like the ones I mentioned above shouldn't really be altered(it would change the song too much)

 

Oh, a big thanks to whoever it was that started the vocal forum:thu:

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My tip would be to make sure you've got the riff down to the point where you don't have to think about it at all.

 

Anything you're having trouble with throwing the vocals over the top of it, play through the riff really slowly and say (or sing or whatever) the words over the top of it to get a feel for where the syllables fall in relation to the riff. And once you start getting a feel for it, start moving it up to tempo.

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My tip would be to make sure you've got the riff down to the point where you don't have to think about it at all.


Anything you're having trouble with throwing the vocals over the top of it, play through the riff really slowly and say (or sing or whatever) the words over the top of it to get a feel for where the syllables fall in relation to the riff. And once you start getting a feel for it, start moving it up to tempo.

 

 

I have both songs completely down and flawless as long as someone else is singing. I'll try slowing it down like you said. This might take a while

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This is exactly like learning to pat your head and rub your stomach at the same time. It's difficult and awkward at first, but with some practice, no big deal. But it does take conscious effort.

 

Bass players often have more difficulty than guitarists, as bass lines are often syncopated against vocal lines. But there are some really powerful singers who play bass. It can be done.

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I play bass and sing.. I find the same things. bass lines that are very different from the vocal line in timing pose a challenge, but it's a matter of rehearsing, just keep playing the part and singing the part until it becomes natural. I do songs like 'Leave your Hat on' the JOe COcker version, there is little attention to the '1' in the way he sings that song. so I either adjust the way I sing it just a bit, or I work through until I don't have to think about it.

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yup

...pretty much what everyone is saying seems to be good.

 

Just gotta practice, doesn't have to be for weeks but it does have to be focused w/out tv, phone, internet, girlfriend/boyfriend.....

Get the separate guitar and vocal pats down where they are second nature and what I do if it's especially tricky is run the tune in headphones against a click.

 

Now if I could only learn to solo and sing at the same time......:facepalm:

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All the above. If this doesn't satisfy, alter the rhythm of one or the other to taste. Take a more broad approach to "...shouldn't really be altered(it would change the song too much)..." Check out live versions by the artist. Live versions differ from studio versions and can show the artist's take on what is not too much.

 

Have a backing vocalist or bassist cover a certain part.

 

And when you get Back in black down, you're really doing well, and post on youtube, because that one is brutally difficult to replicate!

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I learned this trick years ago:

 

When I recorded a demo of a new song I'd written, I'd record the bass and guitar over a simple beat, put the vocals on top, and then listen to the result a lot. And soon I'd discover that I could play the bass part and sing at the same time, without thinking.

 

My theory is that listening to the vocal and bass part together over and over tricked my brain into thinking I could do both at the same time, and that made it easier to do!

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I've played bass, keyboards and guitar while singing. I started on bass. I also play sax but I cannot sing and do that at the same time ;)

 

I don't find it difficult at all, but I did at first. So the practice, practice, practice advice is the best.

 

I found it best if I learned the guitar (bass or keyboard) part first and practiced it until I could play it pretty much without thinking about it. Almost to the point where it is automatic.

 

Then do the same with the vocals.

 

Then mix them together. If the song is difficult, it might be best to learn a part at a time. Say the verse or "A" part first, then the chorus or "B" part and any other sections that might be in the song.

 

The more you do it, the easier it gets. And eventually, it gets to be a lot of fun!

 

Now that I've been doing it for years, I don't have to practice a new song that much before it's ready (unless it is extremely difficult).

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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One keyboard, guitar and bass player had the biggest problem singing while playing bass. When I was just starting out, I had to have either the singing or the bass part down to the point of not having to think about it at all so I could concentrate on the other.

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In the late 1980s I took a gig on a cruise ship.

 

Once a week we had the night off in San Juan, Puerto Rico and Leilani and I would go find salsa music for our listening pleasure.

 

We ran across a guy named Junior Laredo who did all of the following at the same time:

 

Simply amazing.

 

We didn't talk much because his English was as bad as my Spanish, but I told him I was a musician and we spend some time on his break saying what we could and smiling a lot.

 

Notes

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The more you do it, the easier it gets. And eventually, it gets to be a lot of fun!


Now that I've been doing it for years, I don't have to practice a new song that much before it's ready (unless it is extremely difficult).


Insights and incites by Notes

 

 

 

 

Awesome post but I had to snip out this part. As someone who has been striving to play guitar and sing for some time now this advice is true to the bone.

 

It can be done. Im doing it. Never thought it possible. Im a late blooming metalhead. Bedroom warrior for YEARS. Never thought I could play OR sing, let alone both at once.

 

Im now playing in metal cover band doing guitar and background vocals. We have a fantastic singer but the process of finding him and all the time it took made everyone in the band a better player/singer(except the drummer, lol). You have to sing. Someone has to do it. Even a great vocalist needs good backup!

 

Even more unbelievable is Im in talks with my neigbor drummer friend of doing a side project with him. This guy has been around the block and has already taught me almost as much as harmony central... No small feat, as I have learned {censored} tons here. This would not be metal, just rock covers. Many of the main guitars and vocals would center on me, but Im ready for it if it happens. Well not completely ready but I know I can do it now, even to my own surprise!

 

Keep practicing and surprise yourself! {censored}ing do it. Bring music to someones life.

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Altough mechanically anything is possible, the truth is that you'll never hear a singer steal your soul while playing another instrument.Delievery and expression suffer greatly. Some songs are just not meant to be sang while playing... that's why they were done separately.

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Altough mechanically anything is possible, the truth is that you'll never hear a singer steal your soul while playing another instrument.Delievery and expression suffer greatly.

 

 

Well, a bit too much...isn't it?

 

Ian Anderson comes to my mind:

 

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=JDosgkws0-c&feature=related

 

And this, at 1:10 and especially at 4:53 :

http://it.youtube.com/watch?v=QqZmtq5LhFo&feature=related

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Well, a bit too much...isn't it?


Ian Anderson comes to my mind:




And this, at 1:10 and especially at 4:53 :

 

I'm not really sure what you're knocking at, but I wouldn't call that soul stealing; it's beautiful and he's barely strumming a couple of chords on a barred acoustic, and that's about it. If you're trying to make a case, that's pretty weak...

IMO Stevie Wonder was pretty special rhythmically, how he meshed his voice around some of his intricate comping that he does. I can't think of anyone else that did it quite like that.

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I'm not really sure what you're knocking at, but I wouldn't call that soul stealing; it's beautiful and he's barely strumming a couple of chords on a barred acoustic, and that's about it. If you're trying to make a case, that's pretty weak...

 

 

I think there is more...things seem simple but I think that if you analyze it well you'll notice thew perfect "expressive" control and a certain independence of the voice accentation from the simple, but perfect sounding strumming.

 

That playing and that singing sound like they are playing with each other with the freedom of two minds....not difficult things, but very high class in the way the two elements are tied, none of which is "following".

 

That's just the first example that came in my mind, but there are many who can do a great job in that sense, for whom the playing doesn't steal anything from the vocal interpretation....Ray Charles? Obviously the role of the parts, even if two separate performers are playing, is that one thing leads and the other supports.

 

But just stating that it can't be done seems a bit excessive to me.

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I disagree with the poster who said you can't sing expressively while playing. It can be done.

 

The aforementioned:

Stevie Wonder

Ray Charles

Ian Anderson (I saw him in concert and he did much more than that utube video)

 

And what about:

Diana Krall

Elaine Elias

Doctor John (not a great singer, but expressive)

Shirley Horn

Buddy Greco (Check out "My Buddy" CD - recorded live - it's excellent)

Jimmy Smith

BB King (OK he plays fill-ins to his vocal lines)

Little Richard

Muddy Waters

Johnny Winters

etc. etc. etc.

 

Sure, there is something special to singing without having to play, and it's easier for most of us to do it that way, but it CAN be done with an instrument in your hands.

 

I still haven't figured out how to sing and play sax at the same time though ;)

 

Insights and incites by Notes

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If someone can sing and play the harmonica at the same time, that's not just talent. That's downright freaky.
:eek:

 

 

I got a buddy that can sing harmony, play congas and harmonica at the same time. It only becomes freaking when you hear a mixer burn of it. You see him do it live and say hey this guy is great. You hear the recording and you go how in the hell does he do that. I guess its like playing bass and singing lead. They just do it and do it well. like the guys said practice. It used to be hard to play keys and sing lead. now its easy.

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<...>
"Notes"
:freak::rolleyes:

 

Yes, Notes. :rolleyes:

 

My little sister's business partner named me that. He had a nickname for everybody and loved alteration. So since I'm a musician, he decided Notes Norton was right for me. He has since retired and nobody much calls me that anymore.

 

When I got on-line and started talking to people on the Internet, forums like this weren't here yet, and we did all this on the newsgroups (Usenet). There were so many Bobs on the alt.saxophone and other newsgroups I visited, and there was a slew or Roberts as well, so another Bob or Robert just added to the confusion. So I decided to use the Notes nickname. Now everybody knows me as that, so although there is no longer a need for it, I keep it around for familiarity.

 

I guess I could have picked a better or worse nickname, but Notes was already given to me (my sister's partner was still working back then, so I heard myself being called that often). I guess I could have called myself "IAmTheMusic" or something like that ;)

 

Notes

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