Singing over complicated basslines

[David Sutkin]

sorry to be so predictable and pedestrian, but i just can't/won't resist the impulse to plop the name STEVE HARRIS into this context.....that is to say, what about the bassist who has perfected the "sing-along" even if off mic?

It actually took me a minute to understand your post but after digging into the recesses of my brain, you're right! Steve Harris is constantly singing along with Dickenson when they play live, nice one!

 

[Tommyc]

I can't even sing over a simple quarter note root bassline .... I'm in total awe of bassists who can sing and play at the same time like this, and on a fretless too!



How many hours of practice went into being able to pull this off?!

Read her bio. She's a genius. Taught herself violin starting at five, left the orchestra at the ripe old age of 15 she joined as a small child. When she left she was concertmaster. Plays any number of instruments. Sight reads flawlessly. Speaks 3 languages. etc. Not saying geniuses don't have to work but the results are usually fairly stunning.

 

[Jeff K]

Well, you're not alone. For all of the Geddy Lee's; McCartney's; Sting's; and Esperanza's out there, there are 10 or 20 times that many bassists who CAN'T play and sing at the same time. At least not sing LEAD.

I think it would help if you started singing while playing at the same time you STARTED playing bass. Then you'd get used to it and your brain would just think, "This is normal". Habit and muscle memory are very important, unless you're some kind of prodigy.

I've gotten better over the years, but I'm still not comfortable with it. So with the exception of the occasional background vocals, I generally stick to playing only, and leave the vocals to others. Of course with my average-at-best vocals, that might not be a bad thing...

 

[klejst]

That's talent. She sang and played the bass...I was just about to say something along the lines of "ha the singer is such a glory hog that they have to sing over the bass players moment in the spotlight" until I noticed that.

 

[gumbynotpokey]

It actually took me a minute to understand your post but after digging into the recesses of my brain, you're right! Steve Harris is constantly singing along with Dickenson when they play live, nice one!

He really is. From a player's standpoint, you can totally tell the guy just loves to play live in a band context. (Duh on my part!). It totally comes across by his constant singing along. What fun he has! Even on some of their stuff I don't particularly get into (but much of it I do) I regardless always love a player that is INTO IT. A bassist like him who is constantly singing along, with a foot propped on the floor wedge? AWESOME VIBE!

 

[David Sutkin]

Esperanza just finished an album that was a totally improvised session .... the session was streamed as well.

I just found this clip on YT and it's nothing short of music MAGIC!

 

[Skybone]

The best way to achieve being able to sing & play at the same time is to record the song "properly".

In other words, record the music separately (i.e. your basslines), then overdub the vocal.

In one of my old bands, I was "singing" and playing guitar, but I'd either always fluff the guitar riff or forget the words, because I was concentrating on the other part too much. When it came to recording a demo, we did the music first and then overdubbed the vocal. I found that I could concentrate on the guitar part during the recording, then the vocal part while overdubbing. Amazingly, subsequent rehearsals, I found that both parts had sunk in and I could do both for the songs we'd recorded. There was still a certain amount of fluffing, but that's why you rehearse.

If you know anyone with a multi track recorder / computer interface, you can set something up in the rehearsal room quite easily, or you could record the rehearsals on a portable recorder, and then overdub the vocal on a home DAW.

Worth a try.

 

[bass12]

I know that, for myself, part of the key is to have the vocals and bass part become one thing. There are times that I've been thrown a bit having to only play (and not sing) a part I've been used to playing and singing simultaneously. Some of the barriers to effectively singing and playing simultaneously are strictly psychological and I think those particular barriers often strengthen with age. With patience and perseverance you'll be surprised by what you can achieve. You might not become Richard Bona or Esperanza but you'll be able to get the job done.

 

[superheavyfunk]

What's odd is that I can sing and play rhythm guitar, the strumming doesn't mess up my timing but fingering a bass part does. The brain is a mystery drool

I can play both the guitar and the drums while singing but struggle to even do backing vocals whole playing the bass. I find it incredibly difficult for some reason.

 

[Thumb n Fingers]

Fortunately, I do not have this problem. I can't sing to save my life. Anyone who asks me to quickly regrets it. Works out for me. I can just walk (get it? ) while others chew the bubble gum.

P.S. Love Esperenza. What a crazy good talent!

 

[inanimate_carb]

Mark King of Level 42 can play very complicated bass parts and sing lead vocals over them that seem to have absolutely nothing to do with each other.

In interviews, he always mentioned that practice was the only way to get it all to work, and he did say it got easier over time.

 

[el_Bajo_Verde]

I came in ready to post an Esparanza video!

Less buying basses, more practicing bass!

Less Talkbass, more Practicebass!

Read her bio. She's a genius. Taught herself violin starting at five, left the orchestra at the ripe old age of 15 she joined as a small child. When she left she was concertmaster. Plays any number of instruments. Sight reads flawlessly. Speaks 3 languages. etc. Not saying geniuses don't have to work but the results are usually fairly stunning.

We are ALL just as capable, it's just about how much free time we have and how much we WANT to be that talented.

 

[Tommyc]

I came in ready to post an Esparanza video!

Less buying basses, more practicing bass!

Less Talkbass, more Practicebass!



We are ALL just as capable, it's just about how much free time we have and how much we WANT to be that talented.

OK sure anybody can be Mozart if their old man was Leopold. Except that Leopold only ever had two students who ever showed that kind of talent. I don't know why talent has become such a dirty word. Work has become exalted as a kind of godliness that is morally superior to having a gift. There are things that work cannot overcome and that is not a failure or a vice. Everybody has gifts and proclivities, some of which we don't even know about because we've never been directed to those areas. You will never be able to discern as a human, newspaper sized print from a mile away because you weren't born with the eyes of an eagle.

 

[SteveCS]

Generally it's not a problem, but I've got a syncopation bogeyman right now - backing vocals and bass in the chorus of Annie Lennox's 'Walking On Broken Glass'. Over two measures, only 2 accented syllables in the vocal align with the accents in the bass part. It's the ultimate 'playing the rests' exercise. Arrggh...

 

[baileyboy]

I can't even sing over a simple quarter note root bassline .... I'm in total awe of bassists who can sing and play at the same time like this, and on a fretless too!



How many hours of practice went into being able to pull this off?!

I'm in the same boat you are. I have never been able to sing and play simultaneously. Even singing while playing quarter notes throws me off.

 

[David Sutkin]

OK sure anybody can be Mozart if their old man was Leopold. Except that Leopold only ever had two students who ever showed that kind of talent. I don't know why talent has become such a dirty word. Work has become exalted as a kind of godliness that is morally superior to having a gift. There are things that work cannot overcome and that is not a failure or a vice. Everybody has gifts and proclivities, some of which we don't even know about because we've never been directed to those areas. You will never be able to discern as a human, newspaper sized print from a mile away because you weren't born with the eyes of an eagle.

Have you read "Outliers" by Malcolm Gladwell?

 

[jamro217]

Fortunately, my singing voice is an annoying, high pitched nasally whine. This frees me up to concentrate on the bass.

 

[gumbynotpokey]

hi geddy!

 

[Roxbororob]

Esperanza just finished an album that was a totally improvised session .... the session was streamed as well.

I just found this clip on YT and it's nothing short of music MAGIC!

Magical yes... stunning!

I came in ready to post an Esparanza video!

Less buying basses, more practicing bass!

Less Talkbass, more Practicebass!



We are ALL just as capable, it's just about how much free time we have and how much we WANT to be that talented.

Wise words, lets all go practice some more! Log off...

 

[David Sutkin]

The only thing I can think of is when a drummer is singing all smooth and melodic. I can think of so many times when a drummer is singing "percussively," because he is singing how he's playing.

Like Levon!