Vocals and Bass

[Stedkey]

I've done vocals in the past while playing acoustic guitar, no issues. Now, I am starting to do some vocals while playing bass and find it harder than I expected.

Any thoughts on why it would be harder with bass than with acoustic?

 

[flannel cat]

I think it might have to do with the old grey jelly trying to compute notes and individual note placement with vocals versus strumming chords and singing away....my own grey jelly is having a hard time finding the right words to explain...
its tough but it gets easier with time..At least in my experiance it has, but in the same breath its work and I still have crappy moments..
I play acoustic guitar and sing pretty easy, but when switching to bass and singing at the start it was a humbling and frustrating time,,but were getting there....good luck and dont give up..

 

[AceOfBassFace]

Don't worry - it's hard for everyone, not just you. You gotta slow the parts wayyy down, and learn how they work together. Then gradually speed things up. It can be done, I just find it to be a painful process. Satisfying though once you can pull it off.

 

[CallMeAl]

Right there with you. I figure with guitar, the muting is more dominant with the picking hand, and with bass it’s more coordination between hands? Or something like that.

I play bass with fingers primarily but it does seem easier if I use a pick. The suggestion to really slow it down and see how the parts interact is on point.

keep at it, it’ll get easier!

 

[bwildt]

One problem is that sometimes the vocal rhythm and the bass rhythm don't always match up. This makes you try to split your attention, which usually doesn't work very well.

Hints to make it work? Start slow and work at it. The best situation is when you know either the vocal or bass part so well that you can go on automatic pilot and not think about it. You can then keep your attention on only one thing.

 

[pcake]

i played acoustic guitar and sang for years - no problem. when i started playing bass, it wasn't that easy. i find i need to learn the bass part and the singing separately till i know both perfectly, and then it's easier to do both together.

 

[BAG]

I'm not a vocalist by any definition of the word however in some rare instances I will add a backing vocal to a chorus when playing bass. I find it a lot harder than when strumming a guitar.

In my current band I play bass and also play kick and snare with my feet (or, now I've gone with digital kick pedals I can also use other sounds on the snare pedal like cowbell, tambourine, side stick etc). On all but the most basic of songs if I even think of adding a vocal I'll more often than not screw up either the drums or the bass line.

 

[crazyBassClown]

Any thoughts on why it would be harder with bass than with acoustic?

Because bass often plays a second different melody, even if simpler.

Singing while playing bass of steady 1/4, 8ths or 16ths root notes is usually not hard.
Try playing a different melody on guitar while singing and see how easy you find that.

 

[mikewalker]

It's often syncopation, and counterpoint... not the same as strumming a guitar rhythm pattern on autopilot, and 'singing over it'.

My first ten years: playing bass and singing was very difficult. I eventually moved into a period of mostly playing rhythm guitar and singing: Easy-peasy!! Migrated to playing lead guitar and singing, and after a decade of that, I finally got the hang of the 'playing bass and singing' thing.
I know quite a few people who picked it up IMMEDIATELY, no problems... I definitely wasn't one of them!

 

[Wasnex]

I've done vocals in the past while playing acoustic guitar, no issues. Now, I am starting to do some vocals while playing bass and find it harder than I expected.

Any thoughts on why it would be harder with bass than with acoustic?

I think there are two problems.
1. Bass often has syncopations that change and go across the vocal line.
2. Bass requires more after touch. By "after touch" I mean the way you shape and control the note after you pluck it.

 

[Chickenwheels]

It just takes lots of time and practice.
Anyway, just because, here’s the bassist from The Four Seasons playing the tricky fill in “Oh What a Night” while singing the lead! 1.30:

 

[themickster]

I've done vocals in the past while playing acoustic guitar, no issues. Now, I am starting to do some vocals while playing bass and find it harder than I expected.

Any thoughts on why it would be harder with bass than with acoustic?

We all have had that. I found the knack is not to listen too much to the bass and to know the words and the bassline well. I can now sing over complex basslines. It came suddenly for me.

 

[BlueTalon]

One problem is that sometimes the vocal rhythm and the bass rhythm don't always match up. This makes you try to split your attention, which usually doesn't work very well.

I do a lot of backup vocals in my current band, and I have sang lead on several songs previously. One of the songs we did was Low Rider. That's is an easy bass line, and an easy vocal line. But I tried for four solid hours one night to try to sing and play that song successfully, and I just couldn't make it happen. I ended up altering the bass line a bit, which actually made it more complicated, but it enabled my brain to process playing and singing at the same time.

 

[hrodbert696]

It's a matter of cadence. When you're strumming an acoustic, you're hitting a whole chord at a stroke and singing as you need over it. When you're playing bass, you're effectively playing one melody with your hands while trying to sing a different melody with different rhythm with your voice.

Two suggestions to practice doing it; one, start by singing over very simple bass lines, just pumping roots or country music root-fifth patterns. Then move gradually to singing over more complex bass parts.

Two, practice both parts separately until you can do them each in your sleep. Then, pay attention to where both lines hit together (e.g. on the "one" or wherever). Use those moments of unity as anchors to hold the parts together. Muscle memory should take over the bass playing and free up your voice to fill the melodies between the anchor points.

 

[Ekulati]

It's hard because you're now trying to do two independent things. Like playing piano, the two hands are totally independent.

What I do is to get my bass part down COLD to where it's complete muscle memory. Then you can "focus" mentally on your vocal, which if you're singing lead, needs to have some variety and not be exactly the same every time.

You practice that enough and eventually you can go back to your bass line and slightly vary it so it's less mechanical. But that may be a couple years, don't rush it.

 

[jamro217]

There are times when having one of the most unpleasant singing voices in the cosmos is a blessing. Trying to sing while playing the bass tops that list.

 

[Lostgallifreyan]

I do a lot of backup vocals in my current band, and I have sang lead on several songs previously. One of the songs we did was Low Rider. That's is an easy bass line, and an easy vocal line. But I tried for four solid hours one night to try to sing and play that song successfully, and I just couldn't make it happen. I ended up altering the bass line a bit, which actually made it more complicated, but it enabled my brain to process playing and singing at the same time.

I suspect JJ Burnel uses a similar method. In some truly simple lines there are moments, often barely audible, where filtering the audio reveals some small elaboration that makes it interesting, and he may well use these as anchor points in the structure to avoid a simple line becoming boring to the point where the brain switches off. These elaborations often seem to be deliberately buried where they may not be obvious, but they drive the tune strongly when they happen.

I'm not used to singing, though I can do it. Sometimes I whistle a tune while playing a bassline, and because I'm not at all used to this either, I do it with a unison line for both parts. I will emphasise the phrasing of the whistled part so that works well with the sound of the bass (trust me, for sea songs, this can really work). Once I trust my own sound, then maybe I can experiment a bit more. I mention this as a way in for anyone who has not yet tried doing anything while playing the bass. Just getting used to the feel of the different variants of one melodic line can help a lot. It also helps with embedding the song structure in memory because different parts of you are contributing directly to rendering it.

 

[Lostgallifreyan]

Bass requires more after touch. By "after touch" I mean the way you shape and control the note after you pluck it.

How do you do that? I've considered it, but if I bend much the roundwound coils separate and might ring too much, tuning drifts, etc.. Vibrato is just plain tough to do, so for me, after the attack, there's only legato fretting, then timing and speed of release, and sometimes slides. Maybe some damping at attack time but I find even that very difficult to control. Is there something else I could try?

 

[Stewie]

I try and try. It’s not that I can’t do both at the same time, it’s just that I am an awful singer.

 

[buldog5151bass]

Rhythm guitar tends to follow the pace and feel of the song. Bass - not necessarily.