Can any of us sing (and play at the same time)?

Kneehimiah · #1 08-02-2006, 10:12 AM

I sing but have long backed out of it. Well, I've grown more comfortable with the idea. Except that singing and playing at the same time is not easy. Sure there are many electric bass players that do it, but what we do with our hands is more complicated. How do some of you handle this?

Kneehimiah
www.ramonpooser.com

Aaron Saunders · #2 08-02-2006, 10:23 AM

Play as simply as possible. Play time. Two feel, on the beat to start off with.

I don't sing on the gig, or even in rehearsals (or even in front of people for that matter) but at home I'm always singing melodies to tunes I'm working on or just particular favourites (right now I'm really digging Embraceable You) both for the enjoyment of it and also for ear training. I compulsively sing along with the radio when I'm alone in the car and with music in my room.

That said, what I found is an indespensible part of being able to sing a melody is when you're playing the tune with other people, especially in a "loose" kind of situation where there's no arrangement or usual solo order or anything. Because when you can sing it on your own, you can hear it the entire time you're playing. I can't tell you how many times I've saved myself from being lost in "East of the Sun" or our very bad chart of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" by hearing the melody during the solo choruses.

Gufenov · #3 08-02-2006, 10:47 AM

All the time. After a while, I got to where I feel uncomfortable if I DON'T have my bass in my hands while I sing. For me, the key was to practice playing to a point where I don't have to constantly think through the next chord change. The playing becomes almost automatic while you sing. When someone else solos, I focus on my playing to reinforce the memory before my turn to sing again.

I'd also recommend the KISS method. Try to get too fancy, and you'll start concentrating on your fingering, and then forget the words!

TroyK · #4 08-02-2006, 12:01 PM

Tommy Smoothers and Kristen Korb both do it. Actually the two are similar in many ways, now that I think about it.

Marcus Johnson · #5 08-02-2006, 01:27 PM

I don't know if any of us can, but I'll say this.... some of us definitely can't.

Ed Fuqua · #6 08-02-2006, 01:43 PM

Check out Jim Ferguson, he seems to have worked it out OK.

dvmweb · #7 08-02-2006, 04:43 PM

I do, pretty regularly. Did it with EB and now (4 years) on URB. Not too hard after you practice a bit.

Walt MI/USA

Kneehimiah · #8 08-06-2006, 03:09 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Aaron Saunders

Play as simply as possible. Play time. Two feel, on the beat to start off with.

I don't sing on the gig, or even in rehearsals (or even in front of people for that matter) but at home I'm always singing melodies to tunes I'm working on or just particular favourites (right now I'm really digging Embraceable You) both for the enjoyment of it and also for ear training. I compulsively sing along with the radio when I'm alone in the car and with music in my room.

That said, what I found is an indespensible part of being able to sing a melody is when you're playing the tune with other people, especially in a "loose" kind of situation where there's no arrangement or usual solo order or anything. Because when you can sing it on your own, you can hear it the entire time you're playing. I can't tell you how many times I've saved myself from being lost in "East of the Sun" or our very bad chart of "I Can't Give You Anything But Love" by hearing the melody during the solo choruses.

You hit around a few things that I would have gotten around to in my initial statement but didn't want to. For one thing, I think that everybody can sing. We've just brainwashed ourselves into thinking that because some people sing 'better' that it isn't worth it for us to try at all. The next thing is that Ray Brown said in a workshop years ago that he often hummed the melody of a tune to himself to keep up with the changes. If horn players did this they might leave us alone, daggone $@@#$*#s that they might be.

Kneehimiah
www.ramonpooser.com

Kneehimiah · #9 08-06-2006, 03:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by dvmweb

I do, pretty regularly. Did it with EB and now (4 years) on URB. Not too hard after you practice a bit.

Walt MI/USA

I saw Jermaine Jackson (of the Jackson 5, yes) on the Arsenio Hall show years ago. He sang "Let's Get Serious", a song written by Stevie Wonder. The bass part on this song is ridiculous, but Jermaine sang and played this bass line at the same time. I know, it's electric bass, but wow...

Kneehimiah
www.ramonpooser.com

Kneehimiah · #10 08-06-2006, 03:15 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

I don't know if any of us can, but I'll say this.... some of us definitely can't.

I just work hard not to resemble this remark.

Kneehimiah
www.ramonpooser.com

arto alho · #11 08-07-2006, 12:56 PM

Well. In some genres ( meaning bluegrass, mainly ) you just HAVE to sing, otherwise you really are not a member of the band. If all the others in the band can play their own parts while singing their own stems, a mute bass player may look plain stupid or unmusical, depending on who´s judging...
But let´s give our own BG people here a chance to give their 2 cents.

R2

Gufenov · #12 08-07-2006, 05:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Marcus Johnson

I don't know if any of us can, but I'll say this.... some of us definitely can't.

So, you HAVE been to my website...

Marcus Johnson · #13 08-07-2006, 08:08 PM

Nahhh, just looking into the old Deep Dark Truthful Mirror.

Actually, in pop bands, playing slab, I can do alright with some background vocals if I know where they're going. So maybe I could pull it off on the real bass if I practiced for a couple hundred years.

mcnaire2004 · #14 08-07-2006, 08:49 PM

I can't sing while I play. I always endup holding my breath for most of the piece then breathing with the notes especialy the ones theat require a large gap to be crossed.

Aaron Saunders · #15 08-07-2006, 09:34 PM

Jeez man, that'll kill ya! I used to do that, but relaxing and breathing in a regular manner really helps calm nerves.

Johnny L · #16 08-07-2006, 09:47 PM

Most of my own public performing requires I sing and play at the same time, either leading or harmonizing with others.

It's not something that comes naturally to me. I have to work out the rhythms slowly and then I can speed up.

Kneehimiah · #17 08-08-2006, 09:14 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Johnny L

Most of my own public performing requires I sing and play at the same time, either leading or harmonizing with others.

It's not something that comes naturally to me. I have to work out the rhythms slowly and then I can speed up.

How about something like "Have You Met Miss Jones?" LOL

No really, I am joking...I would never...

Kneehimiah
www.ramonpooser.com

LeslieD · #18 08-08-2006, 10:45 AM

I recall trying to sing the chorus for "Whiskey Before Breakfast" while playing the bass. My band was nice and didn't say anything...but the chorus was syncopated and it always screwed up my rhythm when I sang it... After that, I was careful to only sing the chorus or backup parts when it didn't adversely affect my playing.

Zachmozach · #19 08-08-2006, 11:11 AM

Check out Kristen Korb. She did a little recording with Ray Brown as a vocalist, and she can sing and play at the same time very well. Did a clinic at my school with Todd Johnson a year or two ago and she sang beautifully and played pretty well too. http://www.kristinkorb.com/ Best part is she can sing and keep good time at the same time.

TroyK · #20 08-08-2006, 11:49 AM

That guy in the Applebee's commercial is pretty good too.