Well, I played bass for church 2 weeks ago. Ended up being able to sing with most of the songs. But, I know the vocal lines really well. And I generally sing a lower harmony part anyway.
JB
JB
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Singing and Playing...AT ONCE?
- Thread starter RufusSPatches
- Start date
Try learning to play and sing something simple to begin with. Blues w/a simple walking line and country are 2 genres that can be easier for learning to play and sing at the same time.
And persistence is key. I struggled with this for many years. Since I started out as a singer, then learned guitar and finally came to bass I naturally assumed I'd sing and play bass. But it really took me a few years before I felt comfortable with it.
And persistence is key. I struggled with this for many years. Since I started out as a singer, then learned guitar and finally came to bass I naturally assumed I'd sing and play bass. But it really took me a few years before I felt comfortable with it.
Lots of good advice here, but I will throw in my $0.02
Separate the singing and the playing, because they are indeed two separate animals.
Once you have the playing down, and you have the performance down (i use the word performance rather than singing because if you are fronting.. it's more than just hitting the right notes) you can start to bring the two together. Perhaps slowly at first, then bring them up to speed as your brain figures out how to walk and chew gum. Each song that you get down, this process becomes easier. Oh, and record yourself.
Separate the singing and the playing, because they are indeed two separate animals.
Once you have the playing down, and you have the performance down (i use the word performance rather than singing because if you are fronting.. it's more than just hitting the right notes) you can start to bring the two together. Perhaps slowly at first, then bring them up to speed as your brain figures out how to walk and chew gum. Each song that you get down, this process becomes easier. Oh, and record yourself.
If you begin to sing when you first engage any instrument you have a decided edge over someone who doesn't start when they first begin. The Bass player is the background and lean on guy in the band the Bass is either in the middle of tempo or ahead or slightly behind thats when trying to vocalize can get tricky. Any other instrument has it easy compared to the Bassist, his discipline is obvious when vocalizing is added even if its just backgrounds with short defined lines. There can be NO wavering from the groove the bassists puts down because of a vocal part were other instrumentalists can "fudge" their parts. Even drummers can get away with this, I know I'm a vocalists who sings lead and plays drums for over 40 years and my comfort level on the Bass is very different and its not just the amount of time spent on both the responsibility of the bassists is greater than anyone else in my view.
I gig with a great bassists out of Ohio for the last 10 years who can sing lead and backgrounds and he and I hook up very well, or there would be NO reason to work together. Respect is a must and knowledge of what your brothers can and can't do insures tightness in music and friendship. Doc
I gig with a great bassists out of Ohio for the last 10 years who can sing lead and backgrounds and he and I hook up very well, or there would be NO reason to work together. Respect is a must and knowledge of what your brothers can and can't do insures tightness in music and friendship. Doc
I sing and play bass a lot in my cover band. Just start with easy country songs where the bass is on the 1 and 3, and than slowly increase the complexity. the hardest songs I find to be the ones with 16th note syncopation, I still have a hard time nailing the bassline to ew&f's "september."
+1 to everything in this thread, especially "practice and keep practicing."
I've just started singing backup with my band, and even then only on a few songs. All of them are songs I know very well (both bass and vocals), and none involve any fancy playing.
The most difficult part of the whole thing is that I'm wearing earplugs and can't even hear myself singing. Always remember to project...
I've just started singing backup with my band, and even then only on a few songs. All of them are songs I know very well (both bass and vocals), and none involve any fancy playing.
The most difficult part of the whole thing is that I'm wearing earplugs and can't even hear myself singing. Always remember to project...
Some excellent advice in here so far.
I find myself in an interesting situation these days.
I've been singing & playing guitar for 20 + years. I don't have to think about playing guitar, switching effects & singing at the same time except in the rarest of circumstances & I've been singing lead in most situations. I can play drums & sing no problem. Bass I've been playing seriously for the last ten years but mostly as a session player so no vocals involved until........
A 5 piece cover band in which I play guitar, sing a lot of harmony, & lead on maybe 7 or 8 songs started also playing as a trio 4-5 months ago to.
This is an effort to still make money at rooms not looking to spend enough for the 5 piece. The catch is, I play bass in the trio, not guitar. The trio is gigging about 6 times a month now.
All of a sudden songs that I absolutely own & can rock the crap out of in my sleep were a whole different animal. It doesn't help matters that my vocal style is very behind the beat where the song allows it.
My process for sorting this out is similar in some ways to what a few others here have expressed.
1st, I learn the bass part so well I can do it 6 beers in with out thinking about, or looking @ the instrument. Same goes for the lyrics & melody.
Then I do not think about the notes or pitches of either part at all.
Only the rhythm. My foot & the drums are the metronome & the bass & vocal are two rhythmic bouncing balls like in a cartoon & I visualize how they move in relation to one another.. Mind is completely blank other than that. Eyes closed. No thought, just feel. Again, because it's important, think only about the rhythm.
How do the 2 parts fall across the beat in a given measure? Feel where they line up, where they syncopate etc. Figure out where the trouble spots are & specifically work on those slowly until you really do understand where they land because you can't get there until where you're going.
Then, give it a break. Come back later & give muscle memory a chance to do it's thing.
Some bits will be hard, some easy & some damn near impossible. One of hardest ones for me was the easiest damn bass line.
Doing the rap parts in "Billionaire" where the rap vocal rhythm constantly evolves while just playing 1 ee 2 ee 3 ee 4 ee. on bass.
Reggae feels messed me up big time because as a guitarist while singing, I've been playing only on the up beats my entire life & now I have to do the exact opposite.
Fun stuff. I'm working on Disco Inferno right now.
I find myself in an interesting situation these days.
I've been singing & playing guitar for 20 + years. I don't have to think about playing guitar, switching effects & singing at the same time except in the rarest of circumstances & I've been singing lead in most situations. I can play drums & sing no problem. Bass I've been playing seriously for the last ten years but mostly as a session player so no vocals involved until........
A 5 piece cover band in which I play guitar, sing a lot of harmony, & lead on maybe 7 or 8 songs started also playing as a trio 4-5 months ago to.
This is an effort to still make money at rooms not looking to spend enough for the 5 piece. The catch is, I play bass in the trio, not guitar. The trio is gigging about 6 times a month now.
All of a sudden songs that I absolutely own & can rock the crap out of in my sleep were a whole different animal. It doesn't help matters that my vocal style is very behind the beat where the song allows it.
My process for sorting this out is similar in some ways to what a few others here have expressed.
1st, I learn the bass part so well I can do it 6 beers in with out thinking about, or looking @ the instrument. Same goes for the lyrics & melody.
Then I do not think about the notes or pitches of either part at all.
Only the rhythm. My foot & the drums are the metronome & the bass & vocal are two rhythmic bouncing balls like in a cartoon & I visualize how they move in relation to one another.. Mind is completely blank other than that. Eyes closed. No thought, just feel. Again, because it's important, think only about the rhythm.
How do the 2 parts fall across the beat in a given measure? Feel where they line up, where they syncopate etc. Figure out where the trouble spots are & specifically work on those slowly until you really do understand where they land because you can't get there until where you're going.
Then, give it a break. Come back later & give muscle memory a chance to do it's thing.
Some bits will be hard, some easy & some damn near impossible. One of hardest ones for me was the easiest damn bass line.
Doing the rap parts in "Billionaire" where the rap vocal rhythm constantly evolves while just playing 1 ee 2 ee 3 ee 4 ee. on bass.
Reggae feels messed me up big time because as a guitarist while singing, I've been playing only on the up beats my entire life & now I have to do the exact opposite.
Fun stuff. I'm working on Disco Inferno right now.
I have played rhythm guitar, drums, and bass when singing. I can attest that playing bass while singing is by far more difficult for me than drumming or guitar. The new band I am in requires me to sing background vocals and possibly lead. I definitely need to work on this. I have started practicing at home and singing. It will get more comfortable for me the more I practice.
And now something totally different: How about driving a car while talking and listening music? It's just a matter of being able to do one of those things subconsciously. It has taken me quite some time, but now I'm able to play a song I know from my head and watch television simultaneously. 
This thread is just *loaded* with great advice. I've been singing and playing guitar for years (I won't say "well", but "easily"). When I started focusing on bass (a few years ago), I was amazed at how hard it was to sing & play the same songs. I thought it was just because I needed to clock in a few thousand more hours on bass to develop the muscle memory and intuition that I had built up in 30 years of playing guitar. But now, I think it's more than that -- singing and playing bass is harder than singing & playing guitar (for folk/rock/country/blues genres, at least...). This thread helps explain why and has such great advice on different strategies for dealing with it. Not just practice, practice, practice -- which is true -- but practice in certain specific ways. Fantastic. Thank you all.
Practice. I can do both at the same time, depends on the line (vocal or bass). It wasn't too bad for me to get there but I think coming from piano helped as I was already trained to follow two different lines at the same time, just in the pianos case it was with my hands.
Ken
Ken
Practice the bass line first. Know it till u hate it.
Do it without looking at your bass.
Start adding vocals bit by bit. Learn all the words by heart.
Never let the bass line falter while your learning vocals.
Practice with a click or drummer.
You must remove your visual cues of playing bass while singing.
You can't be looking at the neck, looking at the paper, checking
the wine list! To do this properly you must HEAR BOTH LINES.
It's like a record your listening to and YOU control the lines!
Stop seeing it and hear it.
Rub your tummy and pat your head then sing a song at the same time. Then pat your tummy and rub your head and sing without screwing up! That's what it takes to play bass and sing! Plus hours of wood shedding.
Do it without looking at your bass.
Start adding vocals bit by bit. Learn all the words by heart.
Never let the bass line falter while your learning vocals.
Practice with a click or drummer.
You must remove your visual cues of playing bass while singing.
You can't be looking at the neck, looking at the paper, checking
the wine list! To do this properly you must HEAR BOTH LINES.
It's like a record your listening to and YOU control the lines!
Stop seeing it and hear it.
Rub your tummy and pat your head then sing a song at the same time. Then pat your tummy and rub your head and sing without screwing up! That's what it takes to play bass and sing! Plus hours of wood shedding.
I often sing while playing guitar and while playing bass. I can vouch for three pieces of advice in this thread.
- For anything other than straight ahead root lines, Have the bassline down cold before you even consider trying to sing along with it.
- When you start singing along with playing, slow it down, way down. Work for complete accuracy (pitch and timing) before you start increasing the tempo.
- For whatever reason, using a pick does seem to make it easier to coordinate singing with playing.
i was in a ska band playing bass for a long time, and we didn't have a "vocalist" when we started out, So there were really only two options me and the guitarist, As the drummer wasn't gonna sing and the other three guys were playing horns. i actually lucked out as I kind of had a nack for singing and playing, and the ska bass parts were fairly involved so as time progressed I just got more and more comfortable with it.
Knowing your part cold is part of it.
Another thing I often do is interleave my thinking about the bass and vocal line. Sometimes the beats line up, sometimes they don't. I end up thinking of my part as both of them mashed together.
I also practice in front of a mirror. This makes me focus on what I look like, which is important because if you frown or slouch while you are singing you have to work 10x as hard at it! It was also a very quick cure for staring at the fretboard.
Another thing I often do is interleave my thinking about the bass and vocal line. Sometimes the beats line up, sometimes they don't. I end up thinking of my part as both of them mashed together.
I also practice in front of a mirror. This makes me focus on what I look like, which is important because if you frown or slouch while you are singing you have to work 10x as hard at it! It was also a very quick cure for staring at the fretboard.
