singing bassist

[eric atkinson]

Hey guys looks like i will need to work more on the backing vocals in my band situation! Here is my deal, i have played bass for 20 years had 4 cds played hundreds of gigs all over the place and all this time i have tried to do as very little singing as possible! Its not because i cant sing actully several times my band has asked me to do all the singing! But for some reason i think i have been scared of doing both! So i need to punch through this and need some pointers or practice habbits for this?? We have always played very tough songs because we do mainly jazz funk jam stuff and i never really tried to sing backing vocals because i was soo buisy feeling the grooves in. But now for money reasons and the fact that my local music scene sucks so bad for anything jazz, we are also gonna do a cover band gig to get some cash build up so it leaves me more time to sing backing vocals. So any help will be loved!

[whamonkey]

Eric,
Don't get discouraged...."Sting" himself to this day has to practice the parts slowly over and over until he can do it. I personally struggle with singing and playing as well, but with patience it can be done. Guitar? No problem....Bass? Whole different animal. Patience and practice is the only way, unless your name is Geddy.......

[Jace The Bass]

I'm not noticeable for singing lead vocals but sure can do backing vocals
If you wan't to do backing vocals get use to hearing thirds , fifths , and seveths
ie: Practice singing songs ( shower, in the car ,whatever ) but harmonize using each the third then the fifth then seventh
The more you do the better you become at hearing these
but when you get that down you have to also work on vocal technique ie ( make sure your voice blends in with the others by not singing to softly or vice versa and mic technique not too close or not too far )

Good luck and may that voice lead you in the right direction

[eric atkinson]

thanks for the tips guys! I have a few months to work on this stuff! just feel bad for others around me till then!lol

[B-NoteCowboy]

I got into a project last year where I went from little to no vocals to sining lead on about a third of the songs and backup on all the rest.

Totally shocked me out of my comfort zone and it turned out to be a great thing. I think I'm a much better musician as a result.

Anyway... what helps me is to just master the bassline first instead of trying to get them both down at once. I personally think bass is the toughest instrument to sing and play but just like anything its a matter of practice.

I struggle a lot with any vocals that don't follow what the bassline is doing. That uses a part of my brain I may have killed off.

[eric atkinson]

Hey b-note if ya get up to the joplin area let me know i will come see ya! Buy ya drink or somthing!

Yeah i think i will try to learn a few songs that r bass-vocal songs like police and give them a try!

[BassManJim]

This is how I do it too. You have to have the line down so cold you could play it in your sleep.

Then, when I practice the vocal, I start out just playing one note from the bassline on the upbeat of each measure, then add notes as I get the melody together.

It helps me if I can recognize where the melody notes belong in relation to the bassline.

Eventually it all comes together. It also helps if you have a drum machine too