Bassist's Guide to Singing

[Barfly]

jive1 is my new hero.

I've been forced into singing recently. I love doing it but need basic pointers, just like I've found here! I'm auditioning for a new gig that has TONS OF HARMONIES and being able to add to that is just icing on the cake.

Well done!

Adding the harmonies and/or lead vocals has been part of my arsenal for 22 years, now.

Is it easy? For some songs, yes, it is. But having these tools has allowed me to become a valued commodity, and l mean that unconcededly.

Its actually a hinderence to my bassplaying - I don't know what it's like to just play the bass and NOT sing. I have always sang somewhere in the band and the freaky thing is, I have frontmanned bands just as vox and cannot find a band where i can only do that because it always comes back to the bassplaying aswell.

Singing and playing is a tough role. We are in the midst of putting together a Bryan Adams trib circa 2000 when he played (and quite well, IMO) bass and sang, and I am bass/bu vox in Link Removed.

LOL! Not a bad curse to have, actually.

 

[Chube]

Great instruction.

I've been lucky enough to have a good barritone voice and decent natural pitch. I've gotten a lot more comfortable over the last two years getting coordinated between the two actions (lead vocals and playing tasty bass lines) but, to me one of the more challenging things is when it comes time for the group to harmonize.

While it's now easy for me to play and pick out a vocal piece that goes with what I'm playing or if it goes against the bassline, I can figure it out OK if I'm singing lead... but if I'm NOT singing lead, and have to pick out a harmony that also goes against the tonal progression of what I'm playing, this still manages to throw me off pretty easily - mostly with harmony pitch - but sometimes in my bass line too! Because I find myself having to think too much about the vocals and that makes my brain hurt.

Any thoughts on this? By the way, "Jenny" by Tommy Tutone is a great song to play bass and sing on! Groovy line, and nice midrange vocals.

I know it's obvious but the only suggestion I can think of is:

learn your bass guitar and vocal parts separately, until you can perform them both without thinking.
Try to sing your harmony while playing playstation and play your pattern while watching tv.
Then you'll be able to perform them live automatically.
It's not an easy task (especially if you play jazz!) but I'm afraid there's no other way to do it.

 

[angeldawn]

as per your instructions, in all my years of being a professional lead singer, i became to comftable in my natural ability to sing and aquired a few bad habbits. in doing so i had throat surgery, only once so far but see number 2 around the corner. needless to say i have recently picked up my bass again after a 15year break and have decided i will have to resign to playing my bass and doing mostly back up vocals. i thank you all for this priceless vocal information, maybe it will help me get back on my feet and also help me to figure out how to play my bass and sing together,, which i must say i am having quit a hard time achieveing,,
thank you agian
i love this site
dawn

 

[Murf]

Great stuff guys (and especially jive1 for kicking this off)..its weird but if you can play and sing its amazing how much your value as a musician increases. I have a a very good vocal range and a powerful falsetto but I feel I dont have the timbre to be a lead vocalist however because of my range I'm an indemand backing vocalist.

I'm an accomplished bassist and have been making a living professionally as a bassist since I was 15 (I'm 32 now) but when I learned how to sing and play at the same time (4 years ago) I suddenly started getting so many calls I had to turn down gigs

Some tricks I've learned...

RELAX..yes its natural to tense up if you lack confidence in your singing ..dont, just go for it..what helped me enormously was by using a wireless "madonna" mike..you know the headset thingies..these are great because you dont have to physically "step up to the mike"...if your shy you can even turn away from the audience and just sing along.

POSTURE..If your hunched over your bass your constricting your lungs which in turn affects your ability to pitch/sustain notes properly..stand up straight.

Know your bass lines/parts inside out you need to know the bassline for the song BACKWARDS so you dont have to think about it when singing (eg its very easy to sing over the bassline to sweet home alabama...try doing it over Bill Withers "Lovely day").

Be Confident yes its hard if your naturally shy but if you know your parts theres no reason..SING OUT!.. if your not confident it will come across in your singing and your pitch will suffer as well...if your not a naturally self confident person...ACT!!..assume another persona.

simplify If your having trouble singing and playing a particular bassline.....simplify the bassline...trust me the audience wont know.

use your bass to "get" your note when singing harmonies you might get landed with some crazy inverted chord where..for example... you have to sing the 5th BELOW the root...eg Queen Hammer to fall...where the harmony (roughly) is....main vocal ("you dont waste no time at all"...etc) 3rd above and 5th below the main vocal...when approaching the harmony line incorporate your first (vocal) note into the bassline as a passing tone...it'll give you a good reference point.

Hope this helps


cheers
Murf

 

[Johnny Mac]

It should go without saying but keep in mind that yelling and screaming are also big no-no's. There is no right way or even better way to do it. If you are in a screaming band you're really doing serious damage to your voice. The big name acts that do it all have big record companies behind them that are willing to get them surgery every so often to remove the vocal nodules from their vocal cords. You probably don't have that luxury. They also tend to become more melodic in their singing (if they can) after they realize the damage they are doing.

Most screamers who damage their vocal chords by screaming do so by screaming from the throat and not the diaphragm. Marky Shadows from Avenged Sevenfold popped blood vessels by screaming incorrectly.

On the other hand, Byron Davis of God Forbid learned how to scream properly. There's actually a DVD called The Zen of Screaming that teaches how to do it properly; Byron Davis appeared on the DVD, and he learned how to scream properly on the DVD. You can hear the difference, too; listen to songs from Gone Forever, and then listen to songs from Constitution Of Treason; his voice is a lot less throaty on CoT, and since the change, he hasn't lost his voice since.

 

[jobu3]

On the other hand, Byron Davis of God Forbid learned how to scream properly. There's actually a DVD called The Zen of Screaming that teaches how to do it properly; Byron Davis appeared on the DVD, and he learned how to scream properly on the DVD. You can hear the difference, too; listen to songs from Gone Forever, and then listen to songs from Constitution Of Treason; his voice is a lot less throaty on CoT, and since the change, he hasn't lost his voice since.

I'll be honest here... I'm not familiar with the music you listed.

I'll say it again because it is worth repeating: There is no proper or safe way to scream. Good diaphragmmatic control/respiratory support or not, it's not good for your voice.

Call me old fashioned, but I tend to stick on the side of years and years of scientific and medical research especially when compared to someone who simply released a DVD. I'll be googling it shortly, but this like releasing a DVD that says you can constantly send a clipped signal from a high-wattage amp to a 1X10 speaker without ever damaging it.

 

[Mr. Pitiful]

As a lead singer and bass player, I would like to add that you need to "pick" your songs carefully. There are just some songs that arent going to work. A song with off time bass parts, or stops in wierd places, probably isnt going to make your singing easy.
Try to play in a small area of your neck. I like to play from the 5th fret on down using lots of open notes. That way if you should get lost, you can easilly find your way back, or at least fake it.
Also, learn your bass lines to the point where they are natural and you dont have to even think about them. That makes your singing MUCH easier.
Now the hard part. Once you have all of this down, ENTERTAIN the crowd. I dont care how great you can play or sing, NOBODY wants to see someone just stand there. You dont have to break into an MC Hammer impersination, but at least move a little. Make some type of facial expression, or at least eye contact with a smile.
If you screw up big time, most people arent real music savy. They will know SOMETHING is off, but they wont know its you unless you panick. Just give a dirty look to the guitar player and they will assume its him/her.

Mr. Pitiful

 

[new_west]

wow.. great article. I've been in a band for a few months now, covering Beatles, Cream and the Who and I'm the lead singer.. actually been singing in choral groups at school for many many years, picked up the bass only about 4 months ago and its an nice combination.. Beatles songs with Paul Mccartney on lead or Cream with Jack Bruce are perfect to sing while playing bass as they work well with the rhythm..

 

[Gene Leone]

Thanks for the information. Like you singing is something I have to work on, I want to expand my music abilities and learn too. I really appreciate this article.
Gene

 

[Bassbarbie]

Thankyou Big Joe and jive1 for such informative posts.
I was just searching to see if anyone had used these teach yourself vocals type books. I was looking for warm up exercises in particular.

I sing mainly backing vocals but am lead vocalist on about 5 or 6 songs at most gigs. My voice always seems smoother and richer after a hot cup of tea in my front room (I do practice through a mic at home), so I was surprised to hear tea is not good! I had contemplated taking a flask with me to gigs - very rock n' roll heh?

Bearing in mind we play almost always in smoky atmospheres, it seems we're onto a loser. This will change when smoking in public places is banned

 

[JohnnyMan]

Yes I concur with Bassbarbie. Thank you very much jive1 and Big Joe. Your posts have been very helpful. I have a lot to take home and work on thanks to your posts.

I am an up and coming vocalist who has been playing bass guitar for years. I have found that playing the bass and singing has been one of the most difficult things I have had to do as a musician (besides lugging around my bass amp combo ). I find that I can easily play an acoustic or electric guitar and sing simultaneously but if I attempt to play the bass and sing the very same song, I find it extremely difficult if not next to impossible. I end up screwing up the bass part while I’m concentrating on singing. I must practice more but my hat is off to musicians like Geddy Lee and Jack Bruce who play amazing bass lines and sing at the same time.

Threads like this help make this web site as excellent as it is.

 

[bassbully43]

Can i ask a crazy question that i have not seen? why is it so hard to sing and play Bass Vs sing and play guitar. I used to sing and play guitar with little problem but with bass Cant do it it freeze up and mess up every time. My band keeps pushing for me to try to sing back ups so the pressure of that does not help. I feel its due to the fact that bass is a rythmic instrament and due to the stops and tempo changes and note patterns it makes singing tuff....i cant really explain it here. so why is it so hard ....i could get a good rythem strumming chords and sing along....not so with the bass.

 

[joninjapan]

Lots of great advice in this sticky... the more you practice the more comfortable you'll be with playing and singing, and you'll be able to play more complex lines... soon it becomes very natural.... ok, at least for me.

about the mic... know your mic! I mostly come face to face with the SM58 Shure (world standard) I like to sing right on top of it (lower lip touching ), and let the soundman figure out the level. Other mics require a bit of testing beforehand.

the sooner you start trying to sing the sooner you'll be able to, providing you have a good voice

Now I can't imagine "just" playing...

 

[Winemule]

"Singing And Playing Bass At The Same Time" Great stuff! Thank you. Thank you. I suppose it should seem obvious, but it was not obvious to me. I'm working on the plucking hand bit.

 

[Demon]

Ye, if i join a band ill def try atleast some backing vocals^^

 

[beaglesandbass]

good post jive

 

[ERIC31]

Great advice all around!

Recently over the last month or so I've been working on singing and playing at the same time....my teacher on this? Sting. I've been working through the Police CD Regatta De Blanc....Message in the Bottle, Walking on the Moon, Bring On The Night....it's working very well. Now when I try other songs it seems much easier than before. It's great. I'll keep working on this before I bring it to the group I'm in. I want to make sure I'm fully rehearsed beforehand!

 

[ric1312]

I'd like to add the the diphragm breathing. (sorry can't spell) I've been to many vocal coaches and done the whole book on the belly, and making your belly big thing. Guess what neither one really works that well, if at all, to learn breathing for singing.

the abdominal muscles expanding out are a secondary reaction, they are layered over what you are trying utilize.

When you say expand your abdomen or suck it in, the majority of people, myself included use the abdominal muscles instead of the diaphram. What happens is it looks right, but you still aren't getting proper breath support.

One vocal coach pointed out something too me. the diaphramatic muscle has more surface area connection to the chest/rib cage at the lower /BACK RIBS and sides of the ribcage. So, why does everyone obsess over the front?

This is how he had me do breathing for singing, and it is the first time it made my voice project and become dramatically louder and take tension off my throat.

1. Breath in like a wide yawn, the adams apple drops and it open the throat. Breath goes in naturally. Don't puff out the abdomen like a fat budda belly it actually tightens up your throat. Just let it expand naturally. don't expand your upper chest it really shouldn't move much.

2. as you breath in concetrate on expanding your lower back ribs.

3. As you breath out/ sing out concentrate on squeezeing with the lower back ribs almost as if you are pushing your ribs forword through to your front. this is where very high pitched singers get awesome power. You will notice as you do this that the front part of your abdomen sucks in as your diaphragm goes up and supports your voice.

Now it not only looks like it should, but actually does what it's supposed to.

All without you thinking about it or flexing your abdominal muscles. That's another thing DO NOT FLEX your six pack it will hinder the diaphram.

Another thing he taught me was that laughing can teach you proper breathing and help get you started. Do a quick laugh, it shoots your voice right out of you because your diaphragm is pushing it out. You should also notice you feel it, guess where, your lower back ribs.

After using this breathing techniqe for singing my voice was marketable louder and projected with no throat pain.

Word of warning though if you have never sang using the right breathing, the first couple of times after a 2 hour set you abdomen can feel like you just did a whole mess of crunches because of the secondary reaction of the abdominal muscles.

but, at least your throat won't hurt.

Of course after that you have to know how to sing on pitch and focus your resonance for tone shaping. Whole nother story though............

 

[jobu3]

I'd like to add the the diphragm breathing. (sorry can't spell) I've been to many vocal coaches and done the whole book on the belly, and making your belly big thing. Guess what neither one really works that well, if at all, to learn breathing for singing.

the abdominal muscles expanding out are a secondary reaction, they are layered over what you are trying utilize.

When you say expand your abdomen or suck it in, the majority of people, myself included use the abdominal muscles instead of the diaphram. What happens is it looks right, but you still aren't getting proper breath support.

One vocal coach pointed out something too me. the diaphramatic muscle has more surface area connection to the chest/rib cage at the lower /BACK RIBS and sides of the ribcage. So, why does everyone obsess over the front?

This is how he had me do breathing for singing, and it is the first time it made my voice project and become dramatically louder and take tension off my throat.

1. Breath in like a wide yawn, the adams apple drops and it open the throat. Breath goes in naturally. Don't puff out the abdomen like a fat budda belly it actually tightens up your throat. Just let it expand naturally. don't expand your upper chest it really shouldn't move much.

2. as you breath in concetrate on expanding your lower back ribs.

3. As you breath out/ sing out concentrate on squeezeing with the lower back ribs almost as if you are pushing your ribs forword through to your front. this is where very high pitched singers get awesome power. You will notice as you do this that the front part of your abdomen sucks in as your diaphragm goes up and supports your voice.

Now it not only looks like it should, but actually does what it's supposed to.

All without you thinking about it or flexing your abdominal muscles. That's another thing DO NOT FLEX your six pack it will hinder the diaphram.

Another thing he taught me was that laughing can teach you proper breathing and help get you started. Do a quick laugh, it shoots your voice right out of you because your diaphragm is pushing it out. You should also notice you feel it, guess where, your lower back ribs.

After using this breathing techniqe for singing my voice was marketable louder and projected with no throat pain.

Word of warning though if you have never sang using the right breathing, the first couple of times after a 2 hour set you abdomen can feel like you just did a whole mess of crunches because of the secondary reaction of the abdominal muscles.

but, at least your throat won't hurt.

Of course after that you have to know how to sing on pitch and focus your resonance for tone shaping. Whole nother story though............

No. Simply dropping the adams apple and "opening your throat" do not constitute inhalation. There has to be expansion of the lungs via musculature of some sort (diaphragm or accessory muscles expanding the chest cavity which is attached to the lungs): Think of how the plunger in a syringe sucks up liquid or even better how a billows for a fire place works.

The part about moving the diaphragm in the back because "there is more attachment" is absolutely wrong. You have more muscles in the front of your legs and arms than the back of them but you can't bend your knee or elbow so your foot or hand come up and forward instead of up in the back because it is not meant to move in that direction. Same thing with the diaphragm in this case. The area in the back where the diaphragm starts is meant to anchor it and be the hinge for motion rather than be the main point of movement. The diaphragm moves like the rounded handle on top of a bucket and it moves in that manner down and away from the front of the ribcage and is anchored in the back.

Utilizing the muscles associated with the ribs is not diaphragmatic breathing. It is using accessory muscles. Should your rib cage expand and contact with inhalation/exhalation? Of course. Working on this can help with added volume for your lungs and therefore more intensity (volume) and longer duration secondary to more air. But it cannot be confused with breathing from the diaphragm.

The fact that you weren't able to isolate your diaphragm form you abdominal muscles means either you weren't trained correctly (this would be my guess considering the info your voice coach gave you) or you didn't put enough time into it. It doesn't mean that it doesn't work. It takes a lot of time, practice and patience to develop any new skill. It can take even longer if you have to go back and correct bad habits. Voice is no exception. Get back to isolating your diaphragm from your abs. It will only help now that you have a more flexible rib cage.

The bit on laughing is partly true. If it is a true "belly laugh" (hence the term) it comes from the diaphragm. If it is a volitional laugh, there is a good chance that you are only using accessory muscles, especially if you are using those muscles more than you do your diaphragm to speak and to sing. Forcing a laugh without proper breath support can also be abusive to the vocal cords.

Want to get a good feel for where your diaphragm is? Pay attention the next time you get the hiccups. All they are is spasm of the diaphragm.

 

[ric1312]

"No. Simply dropping the adams apple and "opening your throat" do not constitute inhalation. There has to be expansion of the lungs via musculature of some sort (diaphragm or accessory muscles expanding the chest cavity which is attached to the lungs): Think of how the plunger in a syringe sucks up liquid or even better how a billows for a fire place works. "

You read the post wrong. I did not try to imply that the larynx dropping and opening of the throat caused inhalation. thats silly anyone can do those without even breathing. What I was saying is that you should do those as you breath in to set up a nice open path for exhalation and singing out.

While you may not agree with what I say about the diaphragm, it's simply true, pick up an anatomy book. There is more surface area attached to the rib cage on the sides and back than just in the front.

Of course that's not the real point. I've found it's easier mentally for most singers, simply to start by doing a nice breath in and squeezing a little at the back ribs. It instantly engages the diaphragm properly. As opposed to the budda belly, book on the floor, syringe thing, which usually leads to excessive abdominal muscle involvement.

The abdominal muscles should follow and be a secondary reaction, they shouldn't be used to try to somehow induce the diaphram to work.

It also may be that getting what I am trying to say from what I wrote. the Back thing works, I can sing very powerfully with no tension at all in my throat.

As I said if you try the back thing you will notice that your diaphram and abdominal wall sucks in, like it is supposed to, but you weren't thinking about using your abdominals.

Yes, I've been all through plunger and the syringe metaphors, they cause most people to push with the abdominal muscles in the front and then cramp everything up.

And you are not moving the diaphram from the back, you are concentrating there first, then it moves as it should. Instead of sucking in abdominal muscles and getting clenched.

I've found what happens with the usual approach, is that most people suck in the abdominal muscles clench them and then the diaphram moves hardly at all, because what they've now just done is make the same muscular movements you make when you are lifting heavy and clenching the abdomen to prevent a hernia.

I'm not trying to say that the diaphram works any differtnly with this approach. what I'm saying is, is this is a better way to actually learn to using support.

What is it about people that when something is different but works they take it as an affront?

Just because you were taught a certain way, does not mean there isn't a better way todo it quicker.