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Tips for playing and singing at same time


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Posted

Hi, im really struggling to get singing and playing guitar at the same time... iv written 3 or 4 songs that id like to be able to take to uni with me and gig solo... i just cant seem to do both at the same time.. i either think too much about my playing and forget to sing or vice versa... any tips as to how you grasped it would be hugely appreciated.

 

Cheers,

 

Liam :thu:

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Posted

It is going to take alot of time to perfect it, but if you are dedicated, it will pay off.

You really need to practice playing guitar with a metronone (work your way up, don't do too much at once or else you'll get discouraged). This is easier if you write you rhythm down so you can look at it while practicing, so you can see the rhythm instead of having to anticipate what comes next.

Next you need to write your vocal melody out...or atleast play the melody on your guitar. Practice singing while playing the melody on your guitar (so you and your guitar are playing the same notes and same time). First do it on your guitar with the metronome until your comfortable, then as the vocals with the guitar melody. This will not only train your sense of rhythm, but also train your voice.

Add them both together. If your still having trouble after those exercises, it is probably because you wrote the guitar and vocals in 2 different time signatures. If you are more voice orientented, write your guitar to compliment your melody...so write the melody first and then make a chord progression around it. If you are more guitar orientented, then write a melody to compliment your guitar. This would mean your vocals are more simplistic and follow a simple rhythm.

If your trouble is because your voice sounds off, you are probably singing in a different key. When you play guitar scales, especially 3 octive scales, sing along. This style of playing has made me easily able to sing in a 3 octive range, and able to sing in key with what I'm playing.

If you are not this dedicated to learning, you could always just try sing and playing together slowly and then working your way up.

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I started with a real simple strum, one or two to the bar, and sang along with it. Something like this: strum a C chord and sing "Oh when the saints ..." ; strum a C chord and sing "go marching in!" Etc. Or strum on each beat. Try not to jump into rhythmically complicated stuff like bossa nova (unless you're Brazilian, then that stuff seems to just come naturally).

Shuffle patterns (a la Chuck Berry) are fun to sing with and can work in many different song settings.

Goes slowly at first, but it'll take if you keep at it. Eventually, you'll add more interesting guitar parts and vox parts. One day, you'll add the harmonica!

Don't give up!!!

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Posted

It's all about coordination. Practice each part (playing and singing) seperately until you can do it without thinking. Then start doing both together. If you still have trouble, try to simplify the guitar part as much as necessary (only whole notes or quarter notes) until you can do both. Once you have that down, you can start to bring the original guitar part back in.

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Posted

Try to find a song you know really well.
For me it was something like 'high and dry ' off Radiohead's 'the bends'.. something with three chords and an easy strumming pattern. Then play it over and over again... and then again and again and again and again until it 'clicks'. Apply this to harder and harder songs. It'll get easier with practise.

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Posted

What works for me is to
1st perfect the rhythm without singing.
2nd i sing the words in my head while i play the rhythm. this means the main focus of my attention is still rhythm, but the vocal melody and lyrics are at the back of my mind. this stage is confusing, but less so than actually singing out loud, cos what i can actually hear is only the guitar instead of my voice as well.
cos i'm not singing out loud, i make less mistakes and slowly perfect the easier parts and then the tougher parts. This stage is really important for me cos it means making the change in focus from rhythm to vocals gradually, not suddenly..
3rd when i am pretty sure i can do both, i sing out loud, but still make many mistakes cos now the focus is on singing correctly and singing well. but cos of the gradual shift, this is not as tough. also, in some parts of the song i'm forced to go back to stage two as i had not perfected it like i thought.
4th, it's done, hurray, next song :D but if i dont practice the old song often, i lose touch... and rhythm... and melody.. and my mind!

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