Singing While Playing

[Domespeed]

I only do backing vocals, but a lot of it
Sometimes even the simplest vocal lines combined with an equally simple bassline require serious practice.
Like, the vocals start between the third and fourth bass note; then there is bass note a sixteenth after a sung word and so on…

 

[RichardW]

I sing both lead and harmony. For some reason, closing my eyes while I sing makes it easier to sing and play at the same time. My theory is that it eliminates visual distractions. The other trick I use is to identify where certain words and notes align in the song. Helps to keep me on track.

Finally--simplify your bass lines when you're singing. Save the fancy fingers for the instrumental bits of the song. Your audience will never know the difference.

 

[Dirk Diggler]

Learn your bass part cold, have the bass part in auto pilot as already mentioned, then you can concentrate on your vocals.

And yes much like getting to Carnegie Hall, practice, practice, practice.
If it were easy, everyone would be doing it. And if you're successful, you are a very valuable band member.
Good luck!

 

[Iristone]

Something needs to go on autopilot-- either singing or playing. Despite what people think, humans can't multitask.

Jack Bruce said that he had to autopilot the bassline for Politician in order to sing. I think it's either autopilot one of them, or work hard enough so that it becomes one task to "sing and play simultaneously", similar to a singing rhythm guitarist.

 

[scuzzy]

i got nothing to help, but I'm always amazed at the ones that do it well while still playing finger-style.

 

[Lo-E]

Yeah, it’s hard. I find it much harder than singing and playing guitar and much harder to sing lead lines than harmony lines.

Repetition is the only “secret” and simplifying the bass part helps a lot.

In an interview, years ago, Geddy Lee was asked how he so easily sang and played difficult parts. He laughed. “Easily? Nobody sees how much I have to practice those parts before they reach the stage.”

 

[bikeplate]

Repetition

 

[dreamadream99]

I don’t have any problem singing and playing now. I can just do it, even when the lines don’t correspond. But that’s only because I’ve been doing it for 40 years. When I first started out it was hard. It was hard to do two things at once, and Harder still the further diverse the two things were.

So how did I get from there to here? The same way everyone has been telling you. Learn to play the bass part until you know it. Then learn the singing part until you know it, then try them together in slow motion. Over and over if you have to, gradually increasing to tempo.

But don’t overlook the good news here. It isn’t always that hard. It does get easier the more you do it, until eventually you can just do it.

 

[Basvarken]

like you said in the OP: practice, practice, practice.

 

[Tim Skaggs]

There as some people who can play complex bass lines and sing at the same time. I’m not one of them. I think it’s genetics for those that can. For the rest of us, it’s practice until you can, and be aware there will probably (likely) be some parts you can’t play and sing at the same time.

I can’t add much to the tips already offered, but I will say a couple of the things I’ve stumbled into doing is playing a passage and holding a note somewhere in or at the end of the passage to allow me to sing whatever, then continue playing after getting through the phrase. As I hold one note, I prepare to play the next note when I get to a specific word in the lyric phrase.

As you practice, you will likely notice places you can hold a note, and also places you can play the next note on a specific word in a lyric phrase.

In other words, you can help keep your playing timing and singing cadence when you can find places they rest and places they cross paths. As I said, you will find these moments as you practice & when you do, you can repeat them until they become comfortable and automatic.

 

[Bass Butcher]

Yeah I can strum and sing. You are right not even close to the same thing

As a solo singer/guitar player, the guitar is there primarily to provide me with something in tune to sing off of. A cliche we used for many band lead singers who also played acoustic guitar was 'he plays with his wrist' because all they would do is strum the basic chord progression with no fills. Playing solo I can get a good audience response with very little invested in the instrumentalist side of it. A vocalist can get away with that because the audience focus is primarily on the vocals, especially if they have backing musicians to take care of the rest. Doing that on bass would be like playing just the root notes for 12 bar blues instead of walking between changes (what Roman S said).
Playing bass and singing locks you into that same format to a certain extent because your primary focus is probably going to be on your vocals and making your bass conform to that, rather than milking tonal and timing nuances (or playing fills off of backing vocalists if you have them). Your brain can only be in so many places at the same time, lol

 

[basshawk21]

For the most part it has come naturally for me, but there are still certain songs I have difficulty with. Even some songs that bass players sing can be hard to do while other songs sung by non-bass players come naturally to me. But as most advise, learn one piece at a time until it becomes automatic, then learn the other piece.

 

[srosenthal13]

For some reason, closing my eyes while I sing makes it easier to sing and play at the same time. My theory is that it eliminates visual distractions.

I took voice lessons from a teacher who also happened to be a drummer. This was something he definitely recommended. It will also help to focus on nailing pitch.

 

[Hurricane Jimmie]

So Anyway, no advice on how to get started other than to just do it. Maybe pick out a popular dance song where you can play a repetitive triad. And don't be too hard on yourself as you find your rhythm and voice.

Many years ago, I started to sing a few songs at each gig. My value as a bandmate definitely went up. No one would want to hear me sing all night, but most BLs I've worked for appreciate someone who can at least sing a couple of songs each set.
I'm now in a trio where we take turns singing, and it's working out well for us.

Good Luck to you.

 

[LHbassist]

I've tried, and was never able to do more than a few backup parts. I once asked my late friend Doug Lubahn, how he did both so well, simultaneously. He said "You have to do it right from the beginning" Made perfect sense, to begin by doing both tasks as part of the skill set.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

This is really hard to do. If you can do this, hats off to you! I have been practicing since buying a bass (never tried in 30 yrs on guitar). I have been trying by playing some of the Police songs since Sting plays and sings at the same time. Anyone who can do this got any tips or is it just practice, practice, practice?

Can’t help you. I can sing pretty well. I can play pretty well. Can’t do both. I can’t play drums, keyboards or typing with both hands. I can’t dance and play at the same time either. Well truth be told, I can’t dance period.

So,

 

[DCErik]

I managed to get through Next to You and So Lonely a handful of times during high school, but never really tried singing while playing beyond that. But my resolution for this year is to make backup vox happen while playing for my R.E.M. cover band. I had (I thought) Radio Free Yurp, Begin the Begin, Can't Get There from Here, and Rockville good to go in the bedroom on Monday night, but on stage on Tuesday it all fell apart. The first couple went ok, but then on the chorus of Rockville I totally forgot how to play bass as soon as I opened my mouth. Baby steps (and don't take it live until it's *really* solid in rehearsal)!

 

[Wfrance3]

I read a book a long time ago that was called "Why You Still Suck at Bass" or it might have been guitar...
It wasn't a very thick book. The gist was that as you get better thru practice, more things become automatic. Like for example someone could wake me out of a dead sleep and and say "quick, name 2 places you can play G on a bass". I'm completely hardwired to know that 3rd Fret E and open G will satisfy the question. The more things you have that are just that automatic are the more things you can put on autopilot so you can just concentrate on singing. - It's kind of a hand in hand thing. The more you sing, the more you put your singing skill on autopilot...
So, yea, practice....

 

[dave64o]

The short answer is that there is no quick, easy method. Like almost everything else in life, you have to put in the effort and simply work on it. And you specifically mentioned Police songs. It’s amazing how simple they can be to play and to sing. But how he puts those two simple parts together because a serious challenge. Police songs are not easy! That being said …

I’m not the lead singer in my band, but I do lead vocals on one or two songs per set and I do backing vocals as well, so I do have to sing and play a lot at a typical show. Most of the things I do to help me get there have already been mentioned, but here are my thoughts on ways to help make progress.

• Already said, but there is no substitute for practicing. Both the vocal and the bass component need to be something you can almost do on autopilot before you can get comfortable integrating them.
• I have a mic set up in my practice area in the basement. It’s not usually connected to a powered speaker, but sometimes is. Regardless, I not only have to practice the vocal parts, I have to practice being AT THE MIC at the right time. So, once I’m getting close on a given song, I start practicing it standing because that’s how I play gigs and it helps me immensely to also practice going to the mic when I have to do vocals. Sounds silly, but I find this to be extremely effective.
• Vocals are almost always more important than the music. So, if you have to cut corners on something to be ready to do a song at a gig, simplify the bassline. Then, over time, work on playing the bass line more like you want to. It will get easier.
• If a song just isn’t working, ask the band to postpone doing it for a while until you get more comfortable. I’ve had keys players and guitar players in my bands who also play bass and every single one of them has said they can’t imagine how I can sing and play bass at the same time. They’ve all said they have a much easier time singer while playing keys or guitar than bass. So hopefully your band will accommodate you to some extent.
• Record yourself while you practice. This is a very humbling experience, both solo and especially with the band. But it’s objective evidence of what’s working well and what’s not so that you can focus on what needs work.
• Simply practice singing, especially songs that aren’t in your band’s playlist or in the genre your band plays. The more you practice singing as its own craft, the easier it will be to “find your voice”. And finding your voice is a key part of it.
• Be persistent. Any band member who sings is an asset, and I think that’s even more true for bass players, so never stop working on it. Most bassists get put in the back, but I’m on the front line with our lead singer, effectively one of the faces of the band.
• Join a basement jam session on the side. I actually play in two jam sessions, one of which will never get out of the basement and one that actually might. I sing in both of them and that gives me more opportunities to practice playing and singing in a band context - and it also gives me a wider variety of songs to try. This is a concrete way to put into practice the “practice” and the “be persistent” bullet points I made.

There are probalby lots more ideas, but these are things I thought of off the rop of my head that I do and find very helpful.

 

[nutdog]

It's difficult. Learning to do difficult things takes work and tenacity. The more you do it the easier it gets. But it can be done.

I couldn't sing and play bass at the same time for 15 or so years. I could sing and play rhythm guitar with no problem and I'm not really a great guitar player. Then we needed to do some songs for a gig and no one else in the group could sing them or play bass on them in the desired way. So I had to do both and it was like learning to walk again. 20 or so years later I'm singing lead and harmony on all kinds of stuff. Some of it's still hard but I work on it until I get it. Your talent, desire and work ethic will dictate your rate of progress.

Start with easy songs you are already familiar with. Learn one. Then learn another. If you have trouble with certain parts isolate the bass notes and word matchups. Sometimes I just know I need to hit a certain note between two words. Remember all the old cliches, 'if at first you don't succeed...'