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What Are Your Reasons For Not Singing While Playing?
- Thread starter mrjim123
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- singing and playing
I don't agree that the bar is low for being a singer. I do agree that a lot of people think it is, which is part of why there are a lot of bands out there with poor vocals that nobody ever wants to go hear twice.
That said, as mentioned before, everyone starts somewhere and the goal should always be to improve. I'm in band with some singers that are so-so, though they strive to improve. One of those bandleaders/singers wants me to sing more leads so that he can step away from the mic more, and the other is too fragile to allow me to sing any song that shows off my range or skill.
I'm also in bands with some excellent singers, and I don't mind letting them do what they do. This guy is an amazing vocalist who really had a great night with us a few months back. Unfortunately this is an audience video and the camera setting was too dark to capture anything useful, visually. You can sort of see me a little. But listen to this VOICE. I had to put this up on YouTube in spite of the video just because he's singing so well.
There's something muffling the camera mic for about the first 20 seconds but it clears up after that.
That voice, and the harmonies that we also do (which are quiet but present in the first song here), along with our song selection are the reasons this band does so well. Between these two songs you can hear us bantering with the audience as tips were being tossed in the jar. We tripled our pay in tips that night. That's the way I like it.
That said, as mentioned before, everyone starts somewhere and the goal should always be to improve. I'm in band with some singers that are so-so, though they strive to improve. One of those bandleaders/singers wants me to sing more leads so that he can step away from the mic more, and the other is too fragile to allow me to sing any song that shows off my range or skill.
I'm also in bands with some excellent singers, and I don't mind letting them do what they do. This guy is an amazing vocalist who really had a great night with us a few months back. Unfortunately this is an audience video and the camera setting was too dark to capture anything useful, visually. You can sort of see me a little. But listen to this VOICE. I had to put this up on YouTube in spite of the video just because he's singing so well.
There's something muffling the camera mic for about the first 20 seconds but it clears up after that.
That voice, and the harmonies that we also do (which are quiet but present in the first song here), along with our song selection are the reasons this band does so well. Between these two songs you can hear us bantering with the audience as tips were being tossed in the jar. We tripled our pay in tips that night. That's the way I like it.
I have standards.
Any band that would accept me as a singer isn't good enough for me to play with.
Any band that would accept me as a singer isn't good enough for me to play with.
I love to sing. I wouldn’t want to be the lead vocalist but am happy to do 5%-20% of the leads. One or two songs a set is my speed. I also do duets, backups and harmonies. Gives me a reason to be up front, it’s easier to interact with the crowd as a vocalist, and I find it rewarding to put my spin on lyrics. Bass lines are bass lines and less interpretive than vocals, IMO. Wait, I was supposed to give the reasons NOT to sing? It dramatically increases the learning curve for new songs, I have a bad memory and it really sucks to forget lyrics on stage, and it can expose you emotionally if the song cuts deep. I stick to material my voice can handle and I can pull off while playing bass. Gotta know your limitations but push them at the same time.
!
I don’t want to sing and I don’t care about singing pretty much at all.
been singing & playing bass &/or guitar for 57 years this November and I was a singer before I played bass. after a while doing them both simply became second nature. there have been a few songs over the years that were difficult, but I just played the bass parts till I nailed it and the added in the vocal, figuring out where they meshed. of course it's easier now that I mostly do my own tunes or arrangements.
I love to listen to singing bass players like Mark King and Geddy. inspirational...
I love to listen to singing bass players like Mark King and Geddy. inspirational...
While I can sing harmony with good singers if pressed, otherwise, my voice simply sucks as a frontman.
I have been cursed with the “can’t sing while I play bass” syndrome. I have been working on doing as much singing (backups) as I can and need to. I feel it makes me a better player and bandmate. I can sing while playing guitar but with bass it’s much tougher.
This past weekend was the first gig with my new classic rock band. I have not played classic rock in close to 15 years. I had a blast and sang more at this gig than I have ever in any band. It’s my main priority to be a better singer while playing bass.
This past weekend was the first gig with my new classic rock band. I have not played classic rock in close to 15 years. I had a blast and sang more at this gig than I have ever in any band. It’s my main priority to be a better singer while playing bass.
The bar is low probably caused some knee jerk reaction. What I was trying to say is if you put the work in, most anyone can be a competent singer and connect with audiences in a way that far exceeds the payout for the bajiliions of hours it takes to be Steve Vai, and there aren't but about 3 total spots in any given generation for virtuoso instrumentalist, who are pretty much only followed by a few hundred nerdy middle aged males.
I'm not a good singer by any stretch of the imagination (though I am capable of carrying a tune and am not tone deaf) and singing while playing bass completely throws me off because a vocal melody differs from the bass line.
In my old punk band I sometimes did call 'n response screams with our lead vocalist (and even screamed verses on some songs), but when I did I kept my bass lines very simple and legato so I could do both. Hardcore punk is perhaps the only genre where I'm okay with doing some vocals given the "anything goes/ throw caution to the wind" nature of the genre. I don't have to be "good" I just have to be "real."
EDIT: And you don't need to be the singer to be the frontperson. When it comes to Fall Out Boy, people say that Patrick Stump is the singer but bassist Pete Wentz is the frontman.
In my old punk band I sometimes did call 'n response screams with our lead vocalist (and even screamed verses on some songs), but when I did I kept my bass lines very simple and legato so I could do both. Hardcore punk is perhaps the only genre where I'm okay with doing some vocals given the "anything goes/ throw caution to the wind" nature of the genre. I don't have to be "good" I just have to be "real."
EDIT: And you don't need to be the singer to be the frontperson. When it comes to Fall Out Boy, people say that Patrick Stump is the singer but bassist Pete Wentz is the frontman.
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I suck at it, I don't want to and it drives me nuts that my guitarist lives in some alternative universe where he insists that he has heard me sing and that I'm good at it. No matter how much I tell him that its not me and I dont care to. Plus I find it too much of a challenge to do both. I am a pretty busy player especially being a 3 piece but he keeps insisting. I got to the point that I will do some backups. When he hears how bad it sounds he just tells me to try harder and he knows I can do it! He also hates having someone on stage thats not playing an instrument. We played in a different band a few years before and the singer had an amazing voice and went perfect with what we were doing, but he would crap on her because she didn't play an instrument. He's a good guy and a friend but sometimes I just want to smack him with a reality stick!
This is a great topic. I don’t mind doing some backup vocals, but I’ve never really been a great singer, so when it comes to more complicated vocal parts and harmonies I usually have to simplify my bass playing to do both. I really dislike having to default to root notes just to sing, so I prefer not to sing and stay focused on solid lines and upbeat entertainment on stage. However, at the moment, my band is only a 3 piece and I’ve been pushed into doing vocals for a while until we lock in another guitarist with vocal abilities.
To sum it up…
1. I’m not a great vocalist. I can’t hold my own, but prefer not to sing.
2. I’d rather play solid bass lines than reverting to root notes in order to sing.
To sum it up…
1. I’m not a great vocalist. I can’t hold my own, but prefer not to sing.
2. I’d rather play solid bass lines than reverting to root notes in order to sing.
I find it difficult to play rhythm whilst singing melody.
I can do the occasional backing oo's, ah's and lalala's but even they can interfere with my playing.
I can do the occasional backing oo's, ah's and lalala's but even they can interfere with my playing.
I sing quite well. When the bassline is too rhythmic from the harmony that I'm singing (I sing backups)....its a difficult task. If can sing if I'm playing quarter / half / or whole notes on the bass. I have slowly been getting better.
It's a sidebar to the topic, at best. I disagree with the implication that singing well is easy, or more easily attained than working at a different sort of instrument, but that's ok. I do think a lot of non-singers have not got a clue what it takes to do it well, and that's part of why so many in this thread are saying they don't do it well. Everyone concentrates in music on being good at something, and not all of us are singers, and that's ok.
