Trying to sing while playing guitar.

[billperz]

Does anyone have suffer from this problem? I can sing pretty good and I can play guitar pretty good but the minute I try and do both I go completely mental.

Typically I will butcher the guitar playing sometimes if I even think about singing.

[davie]

Personally, I actually prefer to sing while playing guitar, since it helps to keep rhythm.

 

It really depends. Depends on how difficult is the guitar part or vocal part. It's obviously tough or nearly impossible to play complex guitar parts while singing. If the guitar and vocals land on different beats then it might be extra tough. The best way is to keep the guitar playing as simple as possible, and mainly strumming chords. A complex part might be doable if you practice it a lot and deliberately practicing the music in small parts before trying the whole song, for example paying extra attention to when each beat is being played and go through it beat by beat.

[DeepEnd]

I'm with davie. I prefer playing while singing. Among other things, it gives me something to do with my hands. Seriously, I'm just not an expressive singer that way and I even have to remind myself not to put my hands in my pockets. Also, I'm not a great guitarist so I don't play anything fancy anyway.

[CosmicDolphin]

I can't do them both at the same time as well as I can do them by themselves..I'm ok if it's a simple rhythm but something like Wonderwall jwith a bit of a differnt strum pattern just throws me if I try to do both.

[Idunno]

Practice.

 

Write the lyrics down if you need to and then place the chord that prompts singing them over the appropriate word or syllable.

 

The coordination will come soon enough with focus. If memory serves, it took me a year to get fluid with finger picking and then another 6 months to coordinate playing and singing fluently. That was with a lot of time and ambition dedicated to learning. Stick it out and it will become 2nd nature.

[daddymack]

agreed, it takes some time, but I was up and doing both in a couple of months. You will never get it if you give up, so you have to keep at it. I remember hearing Albert Lee comment on that while back, now he fronts his band, does the vocals and plays piano to boot. You just gotta put in the time.

[DeepEnd]

Then again, for some of us it never comes together. I've been playing for nearly 50 years and singing for longer than that and I still can't fingerpick worth a darn. It's possible it sounds okay to non musicians but to my ear it just sucks. It's not a lack of trying, it's just not something I'm able to do.

[billperz]

Thanks for all the replies from everyone. I’ve been playing for about forty years but over the last ten years there’s been a remarkable improvement with my playing. Thanks in part to some very good lessons and a patient instructor. Sometimes I just have to start laughing because I will be playing something a little complicated and my mind will wander just for a second and what was a great performance turns into a mess. Maybe it’s time to go back and get some instruction on playing guitar and singing simultaneously. I’m not going to give up you can count on that. Thanks again for everyone who replied to my post.

[Delmont]

My high school buddy who showed me how to play guitar taught me to simplify the guitar parts during the vocal parts. That works well, because it's hard for most people to concentrate on both at the same time. Simplifying is certainly what most pros do.

 

Be intentional about it. Plan out some simpler guitar parts to complement the vocal parts, and practice going from the non-vocal to the vocal parts.You're likely to find that it's very liberating.

 

If it's any consolation, B.B. King always took his hands off his guitar completely when he was singing.