does playing an instrument (not counting drums) make you a better singer?

[Killing Floor]

I think it’s great that by age 15 he already knows drums don’t count as an instrument!

 

[Ross W. Lovell]

i’m 15, so naturally i find myself singing in the shower because i have nothing else to do with my time in there. but lately i find that my learned ability to find the root note in any given song (on bass) has lent itself well to being able to “”””””sing”””””” in tune with myself and not be totally tone deaf. i’m only like… 30% tone deaf hence why i’m not a singer. do you think musicians can naturally battle tone-deafness in singing more easily than someone who doesn’t always try to find what notes go where at what time and when to return to the same notes?

and i mention “not drums” because drums aren’t melodic, hence no effort to find any notes and so the argument/question doesn’t really apply.

Yes, but not sure why you think knowing drums would not help?

 

[AGCurry]

I think it’s great that by age 15 he already knows drums don’t count as an instrument!

Some drummers are musicians. Some are just drummers. I've been blessed to play with some fine musicians who play drums.

 

[Basslice]

What's interesting is you don't regard the voice as an instrument which it is, demanding the same discipline and endurance. The better a singer can sight read, improvise, understand harmony - the better they play. Soloing instruments try to emulate the human voice so understanding voice helps you everywhere else. The more instruments you play the more you gather knowledge.

I'll play devil s advocate to this. Calling a voice an instrument is equivalent to calling the lips of a horn player or hands of an instrumentalist an instrument.

 

[OOD]

I’m in the drums also help camp.

 

[jmlee]

Doing anything that increases your musical senses (pitch, meter, timbre and so on) will make you a better singer. Case in point: the amazing Mel Tormé. [You need to roll the car windows up for this one, too, if you have rocker friends nearby—the jazzers will just admire your taste.]

Mel was an excellent drummer and you will never find a singer with better *meter*, more immaculate intonation, or vocal skills to sing like a jazz soloist, right down to trumpet shakes and so on. Here's a great example from his terrific 1960 "Swings Shubert Alley" album. If you don't know the album, it's all Broadway tunes done with Marty Paich's swinging dectet that had no piano or guitar player—but both a string bass and a rippin' tuba.

Listen to how amazingly he bounces off pitches and nails the rhythms. I used to take this album with me to audio stores when buying speakers etc. Whenever I played it, people would gather around and say "Who *is* that?" Yup, it's the Velvet Fog himself.

 

[aguacateojos]

Playing drums probably makes you better at everything, assuming you develop a strong sense of time and rhythm. I absolutely hate playing behind singers who have good pitch but no idea where the one is or how to count...

 

[Rip Van Dan]

i’m 15, so naturally i find myself singing in the shower because i have nothing else to do with my time in there. but lately i find that my learned ability to find the root note in any given song (on bass) has lent itself well to being able to “”””””sing”””””” in tune with myself and not be totally tone deaf. i’m only like… 30% tone deaf hence why i’m not a singer. do you think musicians can naturally battle tone-deafness in singing more easily than someone who doesn’t always try to find what notes go where at what time and when to return to the same notes?

and i mention “not drums” because drums aren’t melodic, hence no effort to find any notes and so the argument/question doesn’t really apply.

Yes and vice versa. Being able to sing helps you learn bass parts because you can sing the parts as you try to play them and immediately see where you are going wrong.

As far as playing an instrument while singing goes, especially as a bass player, that can be a tough nut to crack. Singing while playing rhythm guitar is far easier that laying down a syncopated bass line while attempting to sing lead. You really have to have both the vocals and the bass line down pat to pull it off well.

 

[Manticore]

Your voice is an instrument. It will help you learn other instruments.

 

[bon viesta]

Playing drums probably makes you better at everything, assuming you develop a strong sense of time and rhythm. I absolutely hate playing behind singers who have good pitch but no idea where the one is or how to count...

as a drummer, when i see a bass cover or guitar cover playing horribly out of time, OH MY GOD!!! irks me to no end, in my head i’m just like “uhh… can’t you just do it but in time?” and then i realize that these people who don’t spend years of their lives bashing on wood and plastic making rhythms don’t have it in a way that comes naturally to them. oh, what in the world would i do without time?? it’s a god given gift/learned ability.

 

[iiipopes]

Late to the party, but without reading all the above, short answer is yes. It helps with your breath support. It helps with sight singing and ear training as the player transfers technique and lessons learned. Because I played more than one band instrument, was able to sight read instrument parts and vocal parts, could reverse that and transcribe what I heard, I didn't have to go to listening lab in college.

 

[jeff62]

If that was true I’d be a great singer by now.

 

[nnnnnn]

i’m only like… 30% tone deaf

You're not at all tone deaf. Tone deaf people can't distinguish between different pitches and consequently can't recognise different melodies.

 

[Zoffy]

In my case, no connection between the two. Decent bass player, above decent drummer, can't sing a note if my life depended on it. I've tried to find songs in my key, except that "my key" doesn't exist. I never could sing well; just not one of my talents.

 

[BarfanyShart]

Playing an instrument has to at least improve your intonation and interval recognition. Even piano players have been known to have a sense of pitch.

 

[selowitch]

I like to think that when I play guitar and sing, there’s a symbiotic relationship in which each enhances the other. Whether that’s actually the case is up to the audience.

 

[40Hz]

Playing an instrument - including drums - should certainly should make you a better musician. Because it will provide ear training.

But a better singer? That doesn’t necessarily follow.

On the other hand, does being a singer tend to make you a better instrumentalist.

I think there’s enough evidence (even if it’s mostly anecdotal evidence) to show it does.

 

[Rjb1101]

i’m 15, so naturally i find myself singing in the shower because i have nothing else to do with my time in there. but lately i find that my learned ability to find the root note in any given song (on bass) has lent itself well to being able to “”””””sing”””””” in tune with myself and not be totally tone deaf. i’m only like… 30% tone deaf hence why i’m not a singer. do you think musicians can naturally battle tone-deafness in singing more easily than someone who doesn’t always try to find what notes go where at what time and when to return to the same notes?

and i mention “not drums” because drums aren’t melodic, hence no effort to find any notes and so the argument/question doesn’t really apply.

Yes, my wife is a trained singer (Her grandma was was a professional singer and instructor) and she had noticed that my singing has improved a bunch since I started playing bass. I’m still bad, just not as band. I’m also much more confident in my singing.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Hearing intervals will help. So will singing more. Consider joining vocal groups in church/school/community as well

 

[drumvsbass]

Yes. Including drums.