You could name almost any Police or Talking Heads hit.
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Tough songs to sing and play
- Thread starter spydr
- Start date
Any of them will be hard if you're not practiced at it. For those who do it often, it's just a matter of practicing until you have it down, and for me that means getting the bass parts to a point where you can play them without much thought.
Some songs are harder than others, if the bass parts and vocal parts are syncopated in such a way that they're not lining up together rhythmically, it takes a bit more work. But I can't think of any one song that has given me more trouble than others to the point where it stuck in my memory.
Some songs are harder than others, if the bass parts and vocal parts are syncopated in such a way that they're not lining up together rhythmically, it takes a bit more work. But I can't think of any one song that has given me more trouble than others to the point where it stuck in my memory.
Sultans of Swing. Vocals are way different rhythmically from the bass part. Got the bass part down first then just kept working the vocals.
- Mar 19, 2013
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- If only I were that good....
Definitely Boys are Back in Town
second place goes to One of These Nights…specifically Randy's register
second place goes to One of These Nights…specifically Randy's register
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The Thrill is Gone - BB King has proven to be impossible for me. I can't seem to find the space for his vocal timing in the bass line. Pride and Joy - SRV was the first song I could sing while playing, and it was a "hey, I'm singing and playing at the same time" moment. I've found that if I hum the melody of a song while I'm playing, then add the words later, it works. It has to be spontaneous for me, and not overthink it.
I am the lead singer, front man and music director of 3 projects while playing bass. So I call the keys, assert the tempos, hand off solos, listen to everybody in the band and fill the gaps, all the while reading the audience and planning the next songs 2 or 3 ahead of where we are. What makes me able to do that is when a play I have to have my part down so darn cold it can operate on auto pilot. So when we learn new stuff I put in lots of "gym time" prepping for the new song rehearsal by drilling until I can play the song with my eyes closed and not referencing the frets. I don't cut corners on rhythm and put in 3 hours of rehearsal prep on my own for every 1 hour of band rehearsal. It works for me and because of that commitment I can attract great players into my projects. But I haven't met many players as willing to work that hard. But there are still tough songs to vocally phrase correctly while laying down a professional quality bass line!
I enjoy singing, as long as I have a decent monitor*. You gotta get the bass line in your bones; then you can start figuring out how to sing. Rather than count, I look for cues in the lyrics. I'll also sing cues to myself: stuff like "and one and two" happens a lot (so I'm counting anyway...). Then I have to remember to not sing them in actual performance.
*This is why I like having a regular sound person: If I can't hear myself clearly, I know I'm going to go flat!
*This is why I like having a regular sound person: If I can't hear myself clearly, I know I'm going to go flat!
I can do pretty much anything if I practice it enough. But it's all super hard at first. It's weird, I don't even have to try to sing and play guitar at the same time. It's 100% natural. Playing bass and singing, I have to sit down and repeatedly work it out. I might go over a song 10 or more times before it starts to click. It's a lot of work.
I recently joined a new band where I'm expected to do a lot of singing while I play bass. That's actually cool, cause it (fronting a band on bass) is something I've wanted to do for a really long time that just hasn't worked out. But it's a lot of work. I learn stuff fast. I never work hard at it. A sub gig where I have to learn 30 songs in three days on guitar or bass? No problem. I can do that in my sleep. It takes me about as long as it takes to listen to all of them once or twice. Even if I have to sing a bunch of them. If I'm playing guitar.
Learning 30 songs to sing and play bass on? Has turned into a weeks-long project. It's an exercise in patience and discipline for sure.
I recently joined a new band where I'm expected to do a lot of singing while I play bass. That's actually cool, cause it (fronting a band on bass) is something I've wanted to do for a really long time that just hasn't worked out. But it's a lot of work. I learn stuff fast. I never work hard at it. A sub gig where I have to learn 30 songs in three days on guitar or bass? No problem. I can do that in my sleep. It takes me about as long as it takes to listen to all of them once or twice. Even if I have to sing a bunch of them. If I'm playing guitar.
Learning 30 songs to sing and play bass on? Has turned into a weeks-long project. It's an exercise in patience and discipline for sure.
To me this is the key. I started singing lead when I was 15 years old and had been playing drums in a band for about a year. I learned to go on autopilot with the drums and focus on the singing. In my early 30's (40 years ago) I began playing bass and the technique carried over. Incidentally, one reason I switched to bass was because for years as a drummer I had to play with the 3rd worse guitar player in the band. The conversation generally went like: Joe, you're best guitar player so you play lead. Jack, you're the second best so you play rhythm. Harold, you really suck on that thing so you play bass. It was years before I played with someone who was a true bass player.
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In the past I sang almost half of the songs on the set list while playing bass. But they were blues songs or at least heavily blues based. There were two songs that I switched to guitar in order to sing. One was I'm Not Your Stepping Stone. The other was She's The One (World Party). In the band I'm with now, playing pop songs, I don't sing any songs. But I do sing back up while playing fretless which is a struggle to me sometimes
I'm struggling with Dead Mans Party, But its pretty close. I tried Footloose but we had to learn it quickly for a gig so I gave up and gave it to someone else to sing.
I am confident that I'll be the only one who says "Material Girl" by Madonna. I played it in a cover band in high school.
If you have the stomach, listen to enough of it to hear the male chorus behind her sing "Li-ving. In a material-world" over and over. That vocal and the bassline are contrapuntal and are a wicked bitch to play and sing together.
I'm not sure the other kids at the skating rink noticed.
If you have the stomach, listen to enough of it to hear the male chorus behind her sing "Li-ving. In a material-world" over and over. That vocal and the bassline are contrapuntal and are a wicked bitch to play and sing together.
I'm not sure the other kids at the skating rink noticed.
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I used to find Come Together by the Beatles difficult to play and sing at the same time because of sliding up, but with practice and determination I was able to do it. It isn't that tricky to play but at the time plaing and singing it was tough.
After that I didn't shy away from singing on songs that that were involved. I've since learned to play and sing more complicated songs but none seemed as difficult as that did at the time.
After that I didn't shy away from singing on songs that that were involved. I've since learned to play and sing more complicated songs but none seemed as difficult as that did at the time.
Beginnings by Chicago is one that I think I'm playing OK while singing and then realize I'm not in time with anyone else. Or, I can just play it and not sing it and everything's fine. So, when that song comes up, I'll pickup an Electric/Acoustic or just swap instruments with the guitar player and I'll play guitar and sing it because playing guitar and singing it is a no-brainer. I've done that for many, many years.
Another one that I just can't seem to get right yet is "Come As You Are" by Nirvana. I just have to put in the time to make that bass line second nature and I'm not there yet.
You Really Got Me—Kinks…. Like patting your head and rubbing your stomach for me
