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Sing Everything You Play
- Thread starter EADG mx
- Start date
I was a recording engineer for a couple years in a big studio and surprised how most drummer can't tune their own drums. Drummers who knew how to tune their drums for recording got a lot work. In fact with studio players a lot of the people who worked a lot weren't the big name players. Recording requires skills most young players aren't even aware of in sound, technique, understanding of all styles, taste, and reading, good ears, and creativity.
If you can't sing what you play, then try playing simple things that you know, out of time, and sing each note after you play it. Matching pitches is a prerequisite to singing, so start there.
Drummers have it easy, they don't need to know the key changes
Of the best drummers I've played with, the majority can play through a chord progression on bass, guitar, or keyboard. I have always been impressed by the overall musicianship of good drummers (despite the jokes).
To answer the OP, I used to think I was a "tone deaf" singer, but over time I've gotten a lot better by screaming along to the radio in the car. Also, I find sometimes it is easier to stay on pitch whistling rather than singing. If I can whistle a song in tune, it then becomes much, much easier to learn it on the bass.
To answer the OP - singing is important because it frees you from playing "shapes" on the fretboard. If you just trust your fingers, you'll only play the notes your fingers know. If you can sing a bassline before you play it, you're being more musical and it opens up opportunities to make music that you can intuit, but can't conceive of from a technical point of view.
Whenever I'm stuck writing a song, or someone I know is stuck writing a song, I take the instrument away momentarily and have them SING the next part. Then we bring the instruments back and match the chords to what they're singing. The same goes for your bassline within a song, and so on.
Whenever I'm stuck writing a song, or someone I know is stuck writing a song, I take the instrument away momentarily and have them SING the next part. Then we bring the instruments back and match the chords to what they're singing. The same goes for your bassline within a song, and so on.
So you don't see why connecting what you play on bass with the most basic and oldest expression of musical sense matters?
Or do you just not agree with the assumption that instruments should immitate the human voice?
No, I don't, which is why I made this thread. If I want my bass playing to improve I'll practice bass, if I want my singing to improve I'll practice singing.
Other than the fact that it can restrain you to make you play more musically, I still don't see any reason to connect the two.
edit: I'm talking about singing as you play, not before you play. There's a difference of course
OH. You're playing 90 notes per second with the BPM cranked up to 180 and you're not interested in playing musically. Yeah, this thread is done.
Yeah, that doesn't make any sense...
And there are no automated drum tuners, AFAIK. Even the devices that help really only measure tension... which, except on amazingly perfect drums and heads (i.e. <1% of the market) will not give equal pitch on all the tension rods. Drummers need to develop their ears same as everyone else.
However... singing lines is a great thing. Even the fastest line, if slowed down, should be singable. Or, if it isn't... well... hopefully it sounds awesome fast.
All I know is that even Necrophagist is singable if slowed down a bit... most grindcore, not so much, but hey... it's grindcore, aint it?
^_^
And there are no automated drum tuners, AFAIK. Even the devices that help really only measure tension... which, except on amazingly perfect drums and heads (i.e. <1% of the market) will not give equal pitch on all the tension rods. Drummers need to develop their ears same as everyone else.
However... singing lines is a great thing. Even the fastest line, if slowed down, should be singable. Or, if it isn't... well... hopefully it sounds awesome fast.
All I know is that even Necrophagist is singable if slowed down a bit... most grindcore, not so much, but hey... it's grindcore, aint it?
^_^
What if you really can't hold a note (like me)?
I know (in my head) what notes I want to hear, but I'm damned if I can get my body to produce them. That's why I play an instrument in the first place
I always skip past that "sing it" advice, when I see it in books - it's too depressing.
Hum it, anyone can hum in pitch.
As tempos increase you sing shapes of lines and not all the notes. Singing, growling, or moaning along with a song is the equivalent to moving to the groove. It help you relate to the music.
My teacher made an interesting point about this today.
There actually isn't supposed to be any difference between these two except that if you sing while you play it's in real time.
What he told me was that singing what you play is one thing, and it won't really do much for your playing. But playing what you sing is something different. If you let what you sing lead your fingers instead of the other way around, you express yourself much more freely. It's not easy to do, but it definitely made a difference in my playing even after just 20 minutes. This is definitely something I'm going to be working on a lot from now on.
Well, EADG mx, singing as you play would be to check if you are playing what you are singing...if they are the same, then you know your fingers are playing the right thing.
Singing a tune, then playing it would be to check if you can REMEMBER what your bass sounds like in order to reproduce what you just sang, be it a christmas tune or some bassline you want to turn into a song.
I guess, looking back at your original question, it is not the most important to sing at the same time as playing, (if your fingers know where the notes are for sure) BUT if you want to play something you just sang, something your fingers DON'T know...then, you'll need to sing to yourself at the same time your fingers search for the notes...
So really, the question is: Is it important to prove to your audience you can sing and play the notes at the same time?
Imagine a cute girl came to you at open mic night and wanted to sing a song on stage, but she needed you to play the song with her. Even if you don't know the song, if she sang it to you, you should be able to make it out from her singing. Then your ear would be trained to your fingers and vice-versa.
Talking about drummers being in tune...what about singers who don't know what key they're in? It's up to you to figure out what key they're in and follow accordingly.
I asked my teacher about solfege last night. He said I need to be able to sing what I play, but not necessarily using solfege. I just would really like to know what my bass sounds like, so I can make use of the notes when I need them, so when a fun bassline pops out of my head I can pick it out on my fretboard, and then write it down.
...then I'd be a musician....
....then I might have to quit my day job........
........omg music is going to ruin my life! GAH!!! 
I mean, CHANGE my life in a way I never dreamed it would...I feel the quarter-life crisis coming on!
Singing a tune, then playing it would be to check if you can REMEMBER what your bass sounds like in order to reproduce what you just sang, be it a christmas tune or some bassline you want to turn into a song.
I guess, looking back at your original question, it is not the most important to sing at the same time as playing, (if your fingers know where the notes are for sure) BUT if you want to play something you just sang, something your fingers DON'T know...then, you'll need to sing to yourself at the same time your fingers search for the notes...
So really, the question is: Is it important to prove to your audience you can sing and play the notes at the same time?
Imagine a cute girl came to you at open mic night and wanted to sing a song on stage, but she needed you to play the song with her. Even if you don't know the song, if she sang it to you, you should be able to make it out from her singing. Then your ear would be trained to your fingers and vice-versa.
Talking about drummers being in tune...what about singers who don't know what key they're in? It's up to you to figure out what key they're in and follow accordingly.
I asked my teacher about solfege last night. He said I need to be able to sing what I play, but not necessarily using solfege. I just would really like to know what my bass sounds like, so I can make use of the notes when I need them, so when a fun bassline pops out of my head I can pick it out on my fretboard, and then write it down.
...then I'd be a musician....
....then I might have to quit my day job................omg music is going to ruin my life! GAH!!! I mean, CHANGE my life in a way I never dreamed it would...I feel the quarter-life crisis coming on!
I would reverse that and say that playing what you sing while you play it is to check that you're playing with your ears & not with your fingers. E.g. your note choices are based on what you're hearing & not familiar fretboard patterns.
My problem with trying to play what I'm singing (sing a melody then go find it) is after more than 3 tries to find the note, I lose the note I was originally singing. I can't seem to track more than 3 notes at a time...
And I'll be durned if I can hear someone sing a melody and then go find it on the bass. Working on it.... cause my guitar player or singer will often sing me the line first and see if I can find it. Would be nice to not have to have them pick it out for me... (I'm referring to times when I'm doubling what they're doing). And I want to get to a point where I can mirror the vocals with the bass in order to do a solo......
I don't feel *too* bad though, even musicians that've been playing for 30+ years still have to go poking around if I sing them something to play
. They just get more notes right faster !
And I'll be durned if I can hear someone sing a melody and then go find it on the bass
. Working on it.... cause my guitar player or singer will often sing me the line first and see if I can find it. Would be nice to not have to have them pick it out for me... (I'm referring to times when I'm doubling what they're doing). And I want to get to a point where I can mirror the vocals with the bass in order to do a solo......I don't feel *too* bad though, even musicians that've been playing for 30+ years still have to go poking around if I sing them something to play
. They just get more notes right faster !There's a difference. I can sing while I play, and while doing so, go along with my fingers and sing what my fingers lead me into. This is no better than letting the fingers do the work instead of your musical voice working.
However, if you react in the opposite way: by following your voice (original idea in your head) with your fingers, you're doing yourself the bigger favor.
Either of these can happen while singing and playing in unison. The latter of the two is more effective for your playing what you hear in your head.
We could be saying the same thing, I guess I just wanted to go into detail.
I also think if you can whistle well, and prefer to do it, it works in the same way as singing. Naturally, I can whistle higher than I can sing, and instead of sounding terrible trying to reach the pitches, I'll whistle them. Just as effective.
But incorporating singing/knowing how things sound will make all the difference in the world in being able to figure things out/being more musical. Period.
