Fellow guitar players - Can you sing and play?

I've been playing guitar for quite a while now. I've never formed a real band, although I'd like to, but one thing has always bugged me. No matter how much I try, I cannot sing and play at the same time. Sometimes I can pull it off with a very simple, slow strumming pattern, but even with that I have the hardest time imaginable. Are there any hints or anything like that for people who learn to play and sing at the same time, or do I just not have the rythm? Any help would be appreciated.

The only way I could do it, was to become extremely familiar with the music first. Until I got to the point that I could play it without a thought of where my fingers were. THEN, I could do the lyrics.

Yup, that happened to me too. If I would start saying things my arm would move to my voice and I could keep any rythms.


But after a while you can play songs without paying attention and it doesn't become a problem anymore.

I'm the same way man, I can play songs in d, c, g with simple strumming patterns and sing like slower country songs but to try and throw lead licks in while I'm singing just messes me all up. I have seen people doing cover songs in bars that play all those lead notes and everything , singing lead too and never miss a beat. I'm thinking a fellow might have to work on little trouble spots and go over and over em till you get em nailed. Good luck man.

If I play death or black metal its pretty easy, but Ive been weight training and learning jiujitsu so my playing sucks, plus I broke my Gibson.

So, the general concensus seems to be that you just need to learn the songs really well before trying it out. Thank for all the input. It's like my hands want to move with the words, but I suppose I just need to get over that somehow.

Oh well, it's not like I'm going to be performing on stage anytime soon.

you just gotta keep practicing and you will get better at it.

I never used to be able to, but I've gotten better at it.

Keep on rockin'.

I can if i'm playing something simple. You just have to get used to concentrating on doing 2 things and not 1.. it gets easier with time.

I found it alot more natural and easy to do when I also had the band backing me up. But I also was mainly playing bass, rather than guitar on the occasions.

It just seemed to come more natural to sing when I had the three piece guitar/bass/drums going. Kinda like the song wouldn't sound complete unless I just did it. Though it still has been tough, of course, it gets easier with practice

Herman,

I just remembered that the VERY first songs I learned to play and sing, I started
by Humming the lyrics. So I could get the melody of the lyrics to fit in with my strumming, without having to concentrate on the words.
that might help too..

Well, to all the Kurt Cobain wannabe's out there, such as myself .. I find that the easiest way to do anything musical is to become coordinated.. I usually sing along to a song and make beats with my feet and my hands, and try not and make em' all insync.. The more you develpo coordination with that, it will become easier to play guitar and sing.. Atleast that's how I do it.. I know what most of you mean though, I've written my own songs, and music.. But at first I couldn't quite put my finger on the whole playing them together part. Until I started to coordinate myself. Train to multitask, that also helps.. Sing and type.. As i'm doing now ... Let me know if this helps a little..

DoogKcuL

I feel there are three tyes of singers though.

1. Singers who only sing and don't play an instrument

2. Singers that sing and play an instrument but will never play more than simple accompanyment chords.

3. Singers that sing and rip up and down the guitar like they don't even have to think about it. Kieth Urbin comes to mind.



I found that kicking off a drum macine while your playing with just guitar helps to give you more of a band feel.

I have been playing for about 13 years now, and singing and playing came after about 5-6 years. I had the same problems, but you eventually overcome.

Might I suggest trying something like STP - Creep. This seemed to be the catalyst for singing and playing at the same time. Now it comes naturally.

Wow, thanks for all the replies! It's actually pretty inspiring to see that a lot of other people have the same problem. I was getting worried for a little bit there that I just lacked something. I guess it's just practice, practice, practice as usual.

Like everything else, practice. Lots of practice.
I can sing and play at the same time, but the playing becomes very basic.
More importantly, I sing only when absolutely necessary. I really prefer just playing.

John Entwistle, bassist for The Who, once said that playing (the bass) and singing was like trying to dial two separate phone numbers simultaneously. This was in the days of rotary phones (remember them?)

I think he about hit it on the head there.

I imagine that to overcome the problem one has to practice so much that your playing sort of goes on auto pilot and you just play almost without thinking about it. Like the finger pointing to the moon you don't concentrate on the finger you just point at it naturally.


I don't what the best way to practice is but lately I just learn a solo from a song I like and just keep going over and over it. And also I practice chords that don't seem to come easy. Oh and finger exersizes that I just make up moving up and down the guitar to build speed. And repeticious riffs that you here in popular music.

Start learning scales, all kinds. You can't know enough.

This is still a weak point with me. I find learning and practicing scales extremely tedious.

My loss.

Originally posted by subject x
Start learning scales, all kinds. You can't know enough.

This is still a weak point with me. I find learning and practicing scales extremely tedious.

My loss.

Yeah I practice a lot of scales Major, melodic minor , Harmonic minor, Blues and chromatic. Although I don't do it daily I have to do something different so it dosn't get old. I'm a self taught sort of fellow not that I don't read everything that I can get my hands on that will help me progress. Anyways, I read that one should be able to play a scale that tends to match the chord that might be happening at the time. In other words if you have a chord with a flatted 2, 5 and 7 you should be a ble to play a similar arpeggio and scale to it.

One thing I would like to know is how much time per day the best players in the world spend on the guitar.

I think if you start with a fairly simple (3 chord) tune first, one that you know really well, and just focus on playing the music first, adding the vocals is not that much of a stretch. It's ALL about practice. Once your guitar playing becomes second nature, singing over the music should not be a problem. Some people can do it, some can't.

yeah bud it's just practice practice practice