Singing while playing bass. (meant to post this in general instruction mb)

[Five or Six]

I'm one of the lucky ones, it's never been an issue. So, I guess I can't say how to fix it. But, if I'm playing something that is extremely busy or deserves concentration, I won't lead sing the song. I will do backups but that's it. I sing lead on roughly 20 songs a night. Somewhere years and years ago I read that bass players and drummers aren't supposed to sing.

 

[HolmeBass]

I find it exceptionally challenging.

I’ve read, in different articles, that Sting and Geddy Lee both commit the bass line to muscle memory before even attempting to integrate the vocals with it, which is a common theme in the advice above.

Might be something to that? It takes investment for sure. I do think some people find this easier than others, but even the very best say it takes a lot of work.

I was a lousy piano player because I had issues playing independent parts with my left and right hands. I was so relieved to take up tuba, and then bass, and focus on playing just one thing while listening to the ensemble to make sure I was integrating properly.

Now this singing thing keeps coming up and I am once again met with my limitations. Let me be honest: I have trouble singing well even if I am not playing an instrument, so for me the challenge is real. If I were to get serious about singing a year of vocal coaching would probably be in order.

 

[ardgedee]

EDIT: whoops, meant to post this in the general instruction forum, but you can't delete threads so it's here now lol

You can click the "Report" button under your post and write a message to the mods asking them to move it to the intended forum.

 

[Boundary Effect]

Long time keyboard player here that took up bass at middle age. I found I treated bass as a melody line, so it was different to also sing than it was to sing while playing keys. But not impossible. Decades ago I was a music major in college. One aspect of all the theory classes one had to take was a Music for Sight Singing (Ottman) component. This nasty book was full of exercises the harder of which would have one playing a melody/rhythm line on a piano while singing another melody/rhythm and patting one's thigh to a third rhythm. There would be weekly one-on-one sessions with a professor, reviewing exercises we were to have worked on, and a few he'd choose at random to sight read. Brutal. But a worthy exercise.

 

[ctmullins]

Practice.

A lot.

Very slowly at first.

A lot.

Then gradually faster.

Keep doing it until you no longer screw it up.

 

[Smooth_bass88]

It’s really quite simple. Practice practice practice! Just like anything else, start very slowly and be patient. But the key is to not do too much.

 

[c-ba55]

Mostly what people said here. But also sometimes think about it as one combined part and understand where the pieces fall vs. each other.

 

[Deleted member 394181]

Almost like letting your hands be on their own for a bit. You kind of have to forget about them, trust them to go where they need to. Already said, practice.

 

[LowendG]

I've done a lot of singing in the past whilst playing bass--lead and backup. Invariably for me, something has to give, so the kind of bass I play when singing (lead in particular) is usually gonna be simpler, and I won't be "in the zone" on the bass, feeling every nuance the way I do when just playing. Now, I prefer not to sing at all, and just be locked in the engine room with the drummer.
Even some of the most famous lead singing bassists do that live--Sting, McCartney, etc. And in the studio they're not typically tracking their bass and vox at the same time!

 

[soulstew]

The method is far less important than the amount of time you work at it. It is 90% practice and 10 percent any particular approach, in my experience. The simpler the bass part, the quicker it comes together, in my experience, but even singing a syncopated vocal over a walking bass line starts to feel more natural the more you practice it. It seems like it will never come together, and then it does. Hang in there!

 

[tothemax]

When I joined this band a year or so ago, we ended up integrating some songs I used to sing in my old band to give the vocalist in this band a break. The rub was except for Born to be wild (originally learned on bass) that I switched to guitar for the other songs in the old band. As the the bass player in this band I had to step up and transition over. Like everyone else has mentioned it's hard, on guitar you can strum through difficult vocals (and you get some coverage from the rhythm section).

Like also mentioned in earlier posts, first step is to have both the lyrics and bass parts down solid (muscle memory on the bass line).

The first song I had to migrate to bass was Margaritaville, not too difficult, but you can't lose the bass line (and I'd been doing for many years on guitar). My system was to dumb down the bass line while singing, basically root notes and simple transitions. Then play the full bass line on the intro and instrumental sections. the more comfortable you get, the more you can add without losing the vocals.

I don't read, so I would think that for those that do it would be a different set of skills. The bottom line is that the vocals have to be on target.

Cheers and good luck, everyone feels your pain here...

 

[SteveCS]

I don't read, so I would think that for those that do it would be a different set of skills.

Reading and being able to see how the melodies and rhythms fit together on one staff is a huge advantage...

 

[tothemax]

Reading and being able to see how the melodies and rhythms fit together on one staff is a huge advantage...

That said when we are playing live we do keep the music handy, for myself I feel having visible music stands takes away from the performance. I guess it's a boomer rock thing. I keep my music stand low and out of view, and do my best to work without it. But it nice to have a reference when you need it. Haven't made the jump to an iPad yet.

Cheers

 

[SteveCS]

That said when we are playing live we do keep the music handy, for myself I feel having visible music stands takes away from the performance. I guess it's a boomer rock thing. I keep my music stand low and out of view, and do my best to work without it. But it nice to have a reference when you need it. Haven't made the jump to an iPad yet.

Cheers

I didn't mean reading in performance, but in learning. I've not had a music stand on stage since I stopped choral singing and 'defected' to rock and roll back in 1979! That said, there is always a music stand open and 'loaded' in my music room at home.

 

[Wasnex]

I don't have that independence in my brain.

Can you walk and chew gum?

The reason to compare the timing of the bass line and vocals is to learn to put them together so singing and playing is one composite task; rather than two separate tasks. It takes a lot of effort to put the two parts together. However, it get's easier and easier as you learn more and more songs.

It's helpful to master each part before trying to combine them.

Also, I would suggest starting with songs that are easier.

The complete process might look something like this.
1. Master each part separately.
2. Write out both parts so you can see how they fit together.
3. Slow down and learn to do both parts at the same. You have probably heard the joke: How do you eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Use the same approach to learn to sing and play. You may have to repeatedly work on one measure or even just one beat.
4. Simplify as needed. This sometimes involves working out a compromise with other players and singers.
5. Practice till it becomes automatic. When possible, it's a good idea to be able to sing/play faster than performance tempo. It could take a couple of weeks....or longer.
6. Learn new songs.
7. Review the songs you have previously mastered to maintain proficiency.

 

[Joe Nerve]

I struggle with this. But I know too that the impossible becomes possible with SLOOOW practice, and allowing muscle memory to do its job. I've posted this before regarding the same topic. I really wanted to be able to do this song live, and it was virtually impossible. What looks easy in this video (which isn't live) actually took hours of practice (I should not that to some it comes much more easily). I had to play this at ridiculously slow tempose, and in some parts a bar or syllable at a time. I was determined. The point of my response... you can if you think you can . Go slow. Practice. Have patience.

 

[bikeplate]

Practice, practice, practice

 

[smo]

Playing with a pick helps me for some reason

 

[Jeff Hughes]

Brains can do more than one thing at a time.

Focus on the in and out of how the bassline and vocal respond rather than sync up.

For example, when a syllable ends, what note is played next. You may even want to record both separately and then annotate where each note is in relation to the words kind of like PVG sheet music.

So when you play and sing it, instead of relying on the audio part you can visualize the words and notes on the page.

 

[SteveCS]

...
Because right now if I try to sing (or talk) while playing, either the bass rhythm will change and become the singing rhythm, the singing rhythm will change to become the bass rhythm, or everything will just fall apart.
...

Just to keep things light, take a look at this: