Singing and playing

[UglyBassPlayer4]

Hey JMJ,
I was wondering if you sing while playing. If so what kind of exercises you do to work on it. I've been playing for fifteen years and can also sing but when I try to do both it all turns to shite! Please help.

[jmjbassplayer]

It can be very hard.

What I do is simply slow it waaaaaay down in practice. It's the best way.

I'll even time-stretch the original audio in ProTools or Logic so it's still in key, even if it sounds bad and full of artifacts. It's a great way to learn. Once you have that new, slowed down file (in fact, I do several tempo versions), it's just a matter of time and persistence.

Best,
JMJ

[Rocktonix]

I was just looking for a topic on singing. I've found it really difficult to go from singing while playing guitar to singing while playing bass.

I told the guys when I joined the band that I'd play bass and do some backups when I could but I've found it hard to do on some of the songs we cover. I sing lead ona few of the songs that have a little simpler bass lines, ZZ top and stuff. Ramblin man in particular is harder to play and sing harmony, some van morrison stuff, really didn't John Cougar kill Wild Night for everyone anyway?

[JimmyM]

It can be a real "rub your head, pat your belly" kind of thing sometimes. For some reason, even though I don't have the greatest voice, singing and playing comes natural to me, but occasionally I'll have trouble. Ultimately, you need to listen to Justin. Slow it down and practice slowly and GRADUALLY build speed as you get confident with it. It's really the only way to do it.

[Chickencha]

Good advice so far. I've still got a long way to go in both singing and bass playing, but there was a time when I felt like I could never do both at once. It does definitely get easier as you do it more.

The advice in this thread is good, but I'd add some.

1) Start with something easy. Some song with a straight eighth-note-on-the-root bass line and an easy to sing melody is good. Or maybe something that's not so straight, but where the vocals and bass line up pretty well. (Cream's Sunshine of Your Love is a good example.)

2) Make sure that you can competently sing and play bass separately on a song before you try to do both at once. Once you're more experienced you can try to learn both parts at the same time, but for now keep it simple.

3) I think a big part of it is just forcing yourself to do it. Take on a song or two with your band to sing lead on, if they'll let you. The risk of humiliation can be a huge motivating factor. Even if you get frustrated, you know that you have to do it. This will also cause you to assess your abilities more critically and honestly. When you're singing backups you can sometimes kind of fake it and get by, but when you're singing lead you're in the spotlight and everyone will know if you're not getting the job done.

[JmJ]

I don't like to chime in on Justin's threads. I am not pretending him I just share his initials. My real name would raise even more eyebrows. Imagine being the bass player equivalent of a singer named Elvis & you could guess my first name. Back to topic. All these ideas are great. What also works for me is to listen to / hear both parts, Bass & Vox, for rhythmic & melodic similarities / variations. Awkward to describe but it helps me a bit. If you can practice playing at home while singing into a microphone it will make it more familiar when you step up to a mic on stage. We need more singing bass players, get to work!

[jmjbassplayer]

Good call - practice WHILE SINGING INTO A MIC. Very important. Gotta get the stance together, which influences everything.

[Ash512]

^The Wretched's chorus is kind of difficult to sing and play at the same time. Unusual kind of riff in the first place.

I'm in that weird position right now of having to play a ******** of guitar parts while singing because our lead guitarist decided to leave our band and we've decided to go on as a four piece, so I'm learning his parts. We have pretty complex leads here and there... What I usually do is play the riff in a loop for like half-an-hour until I don't even have to think about it and it becomes an automatism. Then when I can play without thinking about it, it's not too long until I can sing at the same time.

[jmjbassplayer]

The Wretched was tough in the beginning, now easy. But yeah, Ash: that's an effective strategy you've got going, for sure.

[Sonicfrog]

What everyone said. Practice slowly, and work on the parts that give you the most trouble. Also, if you have the luxury, try to learn to play and sing songs that you already know. In almost all of my bands, I have brought in "Highway to Hell". It's almost become a trademark. People absolutely get down to the thing. And it's easy to sing / play because the bass doesn't play for much of the song.

As a guy who sings and plays pretty well, I offer a couple of tips.

1. Make sure the rest of the band understands that what you are learning to do isn't easy. If they give you a hard time, ask them to name all the singer / bass players they can. Odds are they will run out of names after the fifth or sixth one. There's a reason not too many bass players can do it well, and why we admire McCartney, Geddy, Sting and Jack Bruce so damned much.

2. As you're learning, don't be too hard on yourself if it takes some time to get it right. My older brother went to see Bruce Springsteen in San Diego on the "Born In The USA" tour. Steen messed up the lyrics to THAT SONG, On Stage. He laughed it off and had the audience join in. The moral of the story: If Springsteen can forget the words to his own song - the title song of the album and tour - and laugh about it, well, you can cut yourself a bit of a break too. I guess what I'm saying is - relax. It will come to you in good time.


Now I think I need to start a thread on what is the easiest and hardest song to sing and play at the same time.

[JohnMCA72]

YMMV, of course, but here's what worked very well for me.

I started singing backup. To be able to do that, even, I figured that one or the other (singing OR playing bass) had to become "automatic". That is, I would have to be able to do one or the other without actually thinking about it. Being new to singing, I chose to learn to play my bass parts on "autopilot".

Two factors became important, to be able to do it. First, I had to "scale back" on the technical difficulty just a bit. Second, and probably most important, was that I had to learn to play everything without looking at my hands. I didn't quite realize it at the time, but that ended up being the key to everything I did, to become quite good (if I do say so myself) in a lot of different ways.

With practice, I got so that I could play more complex and difficult parts "blind" (i.e. without looking), and got to where I could sing lead as well as backup. Eventually, I got to the point where I could improvise both vocally and on the bass, then do both simultaneously.

I practice playing everything without watching my hands, and make it a point to never "cheat". After all, the frets & strings don't move, so why should I have to look? As a female friend put it so well, discussing why some women seem to have to use their mirrors to put on makeup while driving: "See this face? I've had this face for 30 years (at the time)! I know where everything is!"

When I learn something new, I try to learn my bass parts very basically first, to the point where I can go "autopilot" & start rehearsals with the band. Then, I add vocals, again very basically. As I learn both parts, I'll start improvising and embellishing both as I get comfortable. After enough practice to achieve a certain comfort level on my part, I'll be able to easily toss embellishments out at will, both vocally and instrumentally. For my purposes, that's about as good as it gets.

JM