Singing & Playing Bass

[lustersilk]

I've always had a nightmare of a time singing and playing bass. Up until a year ago I never participated in backups. The problem is, I have a really good voice and sing in other groups.

One of my current groups refused outright my lack of backups and forced the issue. I'm now able to do a decent job on a handful of songs and it's really got me excited. I'd like to sing lead and play bass on a few eventually.

My question - are there any techniques or tricks from my fellow TB'ers that can ease this process along or is it just a practice thing like everything else.

Thank you in advance.

 

[lowfreq33]

It's just practice. Obviously certain songs will be easier than others. But if you're anything like me it'll probably sort of just click into place one day. Now I sing lead and play bass all the time, and it's sort of second nature. Hang in there, it gets easier.

 

[Slowgypsy]

One simple trick that's served me well is...

First... I learn my bass part, as in I could play it in my sleep.

Second... I practice singing the part, without playing bass. Just learn the lyrics, melody, sort of burn it into my head.

Seems like an obvious thing... but... learning and practicing your bass part and vocal part separately can make the whole process a bit smoother.

Works for me, anyway....

 

[EastCoastThump]

There's a discussion in the consolidated stickies under band management: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f67/bassists-guide-singing-173764/

 

[miltslackford]

There's a discussion in the consolidated stickies under band management: http://www.talkbass.com/forum/f67/bassists-guide-singing-173764/

I don't think that's a very good guide - it is more of a general guide to singing rather than a bassist's. The hard part is playing and singing at the same time. He doesn't get onto that until the last paragraph and he doesn't have a very well laid out approach for getting it down or any insight into why it's difficult. It's basically an independence thing. I think it should start out that way since there are tonnes of general singing guides all over the place.

 

[MalcolmAmos]

Rhythm guitar just sings and strums. We have to sing and play individual notes, that are not necessarily melody notes. Singing melody and playing rhythm at the same time is hard.

I sing backup when I'm playing rhythm guitar, but have not been able to do it on the bass. Course the bass and I have been together less than 3 years.

Keep trying.

 

[johnpbass]

I once read that Chris Squire's approach to singing and playing at the same time was that he learned the bass part cold first, then concentrated on learning the vocal part.

I've always used that approach and, same as Slowgypsy said earlier, practice the vocal part separately until I burn it into my head.

 

[mambo4]

The hard part is playing and singing at the same time.

It's a polyrhytmic issue:
Playign Rhythm A while singing Rhythm B.

Here's how:
Put the bass down.
Clap the exact Bass rhythm (rhythm A)
once you Clap rhythm A accurately and with confidence,
Clap it while singing rhythm B.
The trouble spots you need to work on should become immediately apparent.

Only pick up your bass after you can do this with full confidence while clapping and singing. Otherwise you're at the mercy of mental overload defaulting to habit.

 

[Biggbass]

I sing and play bass regularly. Not sure how I do it but I manage to separate the playing from the singing in my tiny musician's brain. I only sing lead on a couple of songs but I sing back up on a bunch of songs. If you can just let your hands go to autopilot and you know the lyrics well it's not too hard to do.

 

[mambo4]

Before you can let your hands "go on autopilot", you need to identify and practice the specific bars where the complexity of executing 2 simultaneous rhythms cause your hands to have "autopilot malfunction"

 

[ksandvik]

It's one of those tricks when your brain is multi-switching really, really fast and it becomes automatic. All based on lots and lots of practice and experience.

 

[BassNeo]

I like this idea..

It's a polyrhytmic issue:
Playign Rhythm A while singing Rhythm B.

Here's how:
Put the bass down.
Clap the exact Bass rhythm (rhythm A)
once you Clap rhythm A accurately and with confidence,
Clap it while singing rhythm B.
The trouble spots you need to work on should become immediately apparent.

Only pick up your bass after you can do this with full confidence while clapping and singing. Otherwise you're at the mercy of mental overload defaulting to habit.

I've been playing and singing lead for years and I too have taught myself by learning the bass line first. I also have my set list on my ipod and play it as much as humanly possible so I memorize progressions, cues and inflections.

The real key is LISTEN to the song first. Too often you can get excited with playing and you miss little nuances to the music that give you really good cues. Once you know the song inside out, play it until you can do it in your sleep, as previously mentioned.

As the saying goes; Amateurs play it until they get it right. Professionals practice 'till they can't get it wrong.

 

[lustersilk]

It's a polyrhytmic issue:
Playign Rhythm A while singing Rhythm B.

Here's how:
Put the bass down.
Clap the exact Bass rhythm (rhythm A)
once you Clap rhythm A accurately and with confidence,
Clap it while singing rhythm B.
The trouble spots you need to work on should become immediately apparent.

Only pick up your bass after you can do this with full confidence while clapping and singing. Otherwise you're at the mercy of mental overload defaulting to habit.

Thanks everyone. I appreciate the responses from all of you. This suggestion above sounds like a total winner. I'll put this into motion and report back in a week to let you know how I'm progressing. I'll start with something simple. Thanks again.

 

[grizzly228]

I learned the bass part first; then became really familiar with song (phrasing, lyrics, etc.) until I could do either one, but not both, by muscle memory. Then I started playing along with a recording of the song and singing at the same time, assuming these are recorded songs and not all-originals. Problem areas will become obvious, but for me I found this worked well. Once your fingers get accustomed to doing their thing without paying attention to your vocals, it will click.

I also learned how to sing WHILE learning bass so I think I found it easier in some ways since I didn't really know any other way. But it did stunt my growth at both originally. Now I prefer to just play bass with occassional back-ups. As a musician friend once told me, "Bassists should be felt, not heard." HAHA

 

[So Low Bass]

The less shifting the better. Looking at guys like Geddy and Sir Paul, they play a great deal across the fingerboard vs. shifting up and down. You need four fingers to do it correctly.