how singing helps!

[varunkapahi]

very often i found myself if in cover band situations where the bass parts were way too simple and it got boring repeating them over and over again so i started over playing and what not. just recently i started singing a little bit along with playing and its really helping me keep my bass parts simple and effective without having to think about the bass lines themselves too much but instead am thinking more about the music as a whole.
i really hate it when some one puts in everything in one song or tries too much and singing is really helping me with it. besides it adds cool vocal harmonies or double ups!

[BryanM]

I've found the same thing. In my previous band I was told that I overplayed a bit, extending chords too far and getting in the way of the keyboard and such. I'm sharing lead vocal duties in my new band with the rhythm guitarist and it's helped me realize that simple can really be all you need, and I can still get a bit technical occasionally.