Why is it so impossible to sing while playing?

[Witek]

I've been trying forever, and I just can't nail it. I either screw up the way I'm picking or throw everything way out of timing.

Anyone have any tips on how to do this? I know it sounds like a really beginner problem, but this has been driving me nuts for the past few years.

[Framus]

Been there...done that.

In my experience musicians who DON'T sing have two strikes against them right out of the gate.

It's impressive to be a smoking guitar wizard but musicians who both sing and play will all have the same attitude towards you.

" Yep...that's impressive as hell.Now let's hear you sing and be sure to play those exact same licks while you're singing.
Can't do that ? Oh sorry...Jimi,Eric Clapton and Stevie Ray didn't seem to have a problem with it...come back and see us when you grow up."

Bands can be vicious...be advised.
Of course you can always start your own band from scratch and that way nobody can fire you or complain that you don't sing.

A lot of players do double duty for equal pay which is not fair IMHO.
Realistically a full time singer gets an equal cut just like the rest of the band musicians...that's a horse of a different color...but on the other hand if everyone in the band sings except you they might consider you a liability...not an asset...regardless of your talent.They probably won't tell you to your face...but they think it just the same.

Now back to your problem...
How do you overcome it ?
Pure desire...if you want it bad enough you will storm the gates of hell to acquire the necessary coordination.
Start with simple stuff with well defined lead breaks where the song doesn't require fancy licks while singing.
Work up a couple of tunes you feel comfortable with and practice,practice,practice.

Warning: Singers have been known to walk out in the middle of a show leaving the band up the creek.
Playing two sets of instrumentals will get you fired really quick...don't let this happen to you...be prepared to take control and sing and play your ass off.
Oopps...that did happen to me...once...it was either do it or pack it up and leave with no pay.
It never happened again...My somewhat shaky singing career was born that night.It became easier the more I worked at it.
Sometimes it becomes a matter of pure necessity.

If Clapton can do it...you can do it :>)
Nothing is impossible.
Good luck.

[Paresh]

Get the parts down first or the weak link will break down - know yr song well, chords, melody, lyrics...I find it useful to play the melody as I sing to tune my ear as in scat singing...& esp to work out any difficult intervals or skips

then for me it's a matter of coordination of gtr technique & voice.
play to a metronome or drum machine, speak or whisper the words in rhythm. Without the melody I can concentrate on the rhythm until the brain can do both at once independently. I do this for a few minutes ea day & it can lead to moments when they are both free & independentl as if there are 2 people playing together each being able to do phrasing or rubato w o being locked into each other

[Mike Fleming]

Practicing slow and simple stuff over and over again is your best bet. I know that sounds obvious, and I still remember how hard it was for me to learn it once. But really it's true, just like everything else on the guitar, you have to take small parts, start them off slow, and work through them over and over until they are totally nailed. Start with the simplest and shortest things as possible, like just strumming chords while singing and making the changes every time, then trying to accent certain beats with your strum, and working until you get it down cold, then introducing something a little more complicated, getting it down cold, etc. It has to become completely natural or it will never work. Once you start getting somewhere, sit around singing songs with the acoustic as much as possible. It will soon all come together and you won't even see it as doing two separate things anymore, just like learning both hands on the piano, or like atkins-picking.

Good luck,

Mike

[mge80]

I once heard Eric Clapton talking about this very thing. He said it's one thing to be able to play the guitar very well...but it's a whole new game when you step up to sing.

[padavis]

I have been thinking about this as well. Im pretty convinced I need to just stop worrying and just learn a few easy songs... Willie Nelson tries to sing I think I could haha. Does anyone else agree that if Willie Nelson can be loved and sing the way he does anyone can? Maybe not write the songs he has but still... anyone with me on that?

It is really just an independence thing, most drummers can move all four limbs independent of the others and some sing on top of that. You just got to keep practicing til your brain gets it and says "ok, process both things at once"

Originally Posted by padavis

I Does anyone else agree that if Willie Nelson can be loved and sing the way he does anyone can? Maybe not write the songs he has but still... anyone with me on that?

No I love willies singing, his phrasing is beautiful to my ears......

[KRosser]

Originally Posted by padavis

I have been thinking about this as well. Im pretty convinced I need to just stop worrying and just learn a few easy songs... Willie Nelson tries to sing I think I could haha. Does anyone else agree that if Willie Nelson can be loved and sing the way he does anyone can? Maybe not write the songs he has but still... anyone with me on that?

Willie Nelson = one of the finest singers in popular music, for my taste.

I think his guitar playing rules in a big way as well.

[Tim Bowen]

Originally Posted by Mike Fleming

Practicing slow and simple stuff over and over again is your best bet. I know that sounds obvious, and I still remember how hard it was for me to learn it once. But really it's true, just like everything else on the guitar, you have to take small parts, start them off slow, and work through them over and over until they are totally nailed. Start with the simplest and shortest things as possible, like just strumming chords while singing and making the changes every time, then trying to accent certain beats with your strum, and working until you get it down cold, then introducing something a little more complicated, getting it down cold, etc. It has to become completely natural or it will never work. Once you start getting somewhere, sit around singing songs with the acoustic as much as possible. It will soon all come together and you won't even see it as doing two separate things anymore, just like learning both hands on the piano, or like atkins-picking.

Good luck,

Mike

That's it. The Travis/Atkins/rockabilly/piano analogy is right on. Playing bass and singing simultaneously has definitely been the biggest hurdle for me. In this case, no amount of metronome work got it together for me on the bandstand. I simply had to continue to just keep going for it, and ignore the clash between the left and right brains. I figured that singing and playing Scruggs-type banjo rolls simultaneously would be extremely difficult, but it isn't. Thinking about any of this stuff too much is the kiss of death. Do the metronome stuff, but just keep going for it live.

[Noah]

I'm the lead singer and the lead guitarist in my band. I started out just playing lead guitar and transitioned to singing. I think you've got to be confident in your playing and your singing to do both effectively at the same time.

Start off playing simple songs where the timing of the vocal melody matches the chord changes. That should be simple enough for most guitarists.

BTW, I love Willie Nelson. He is a true one of a kind.

[clothwiring]

Originally Posted by Noah

Start off playing simple songs where the timing of the vocal melody matches the chord changes. That should be simple enough for most guitarists.

That would be my advice...I always refer to doing a song like Free Falling by Petty.

[KRosser]

FWIW, Albert Lee told me recently that the reason Eric usually hires a second guitarist is that he's not so confident about singing and playing at the same time, and cited "Layla" as a particular example of something that Eric has a hard time doing.

[KRosser]

Originally Posted by Framus

In my experience musicians who DON'T sing have two strikes against them right out of the gate.

It's impressive to be a smoking guitar wizard but musicians who both sing and play will all have the same attitude towards you.

Well, it's not like those are your only options. There's plenty of work out there for musicians who play the guitar that aren't interested in being "smoking guitar wizards" or singer/players.

I used to sing when I started out but I gravitated towards making a living playing the guitar, and that's only because no one hired me as a singer. Singers, composers and arrangers hired me as the guitar player. I don't sing well enough to hang with the same level of cats that I can as a guitar player.

[scottl]

My 2c, take it for what its worth.

Aside from being one of the least talented singers, I mean dead cat screech with no tone control, I also can't sing and play. I can hardly talk and play.

It is not something that can be practiced for some. It is just the way the brain is wired. I have always been able to achieve what I wanted through practice. Except singing and being able to talk while I play. It seems the same part of my brain is doing the playing that would be involved in speech. Just the way it is. Fortunately, that may be the reason why I sound the way I sound when I play, for better or worse.

We are wired a certain way. That is why we all excel at different things. It is misleading to say that you can do anything you set your mind to. That is big bullshit. Look at sports as a corrolary activity. Most can't bowl a 300, regardless of practice. How about a 4 minute mile? How about being able to do a triple salkow on the ice? We all are wired a certain way since infancy. Once hardwired, we excel in some areas and not others.

No matter what I do, I can't sing. Period. Been there, tried it, barely passed solfege at Berklee (dead cat screech but the pitch wasn't too bad). In reaction to that, I sought to be the best guitarist I could be.

Oh, I never had the reaction Ken quoted from Framus in his above post.

Sorry to be the devils advocate Witek, keep at it but maybe it isn't in the cards. Or maybe it is... It is possible that it is insurmountable.

[KRosser]

Originally Posted by scottl

We are wired a certain way. That is why we all excel at different things.

Word....

If we all excelled at the same things what a boring world this would be...