Enjoy the benefits of a premium membership!
Upgrade Account
-
TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
Join free Log in
Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.
Why can't I sing and play at the same time???
- Thread starter TMBTC
- Start date
First time you sang and played guitar I bet it did not flow either.
It will come it's just going to take time it's that ole P word.
What helps me - I sing the song with the vocalist, under my breath - helps with the groove. Give it a try.
Keep trying.
It will come it's just going to take time it's that ole P word.
What helps me - I sing the song with the vocalist, under my breath - helps with the groove. Give it a try.
Keep trying.
Sometimes you have to take each line and go slowly to see where the beat vs syllable falls and kind of sound it out so to speak. Also make sure you can play the bass part without thinking then do the vocal.
Go slow you will get it. Using this method I have been able to work out parts that i thought were going to be impossible.
Go slow you will get it. Using this method I have been able to work out parts that i thought were going to be impossible.
Because basslines have tendencies to go 'across the beat' it's much harder to syncopate the lines, cross rhythms are the tricky bit, slow practise to reinforce where the beat is IMO, hours of fun.
+1
What I do is play the bassline again and again and again and again, and after a lot of time playing it, you don't have to think ''what'll be the next note?'', so you'll be able to sing.
whats funny is Im exactly the same way. I cant play bass and sing either (yet) but I can play the drums and sing. Im just starting trying to play bass and sing at the same time so I have alot of work to do.
I also play drums, guitar and keyboards, but bass is by far hardest to play and sing at the same time.
People think it'd be the drums because it requires several limbs but they aren't always moving independently and it's a repetitive motion. The bass plays constantly moving patterns that are counter rhythmic to the melody which makes it far more difficult.
There are only two options -- simplify the bass part or put more practice into a particularly difficult song.
And there you have it.
People think it'd be the drums because it requires several limbs but they aren't always moving independently and it's a repetitive motion. The bass plays constantly moving patterns that are counter rhythmic to the melody which makes it far more difficult.
There are only two options -- simplify the bass part or put more practice into a particularly difficult song.
And there you have it.
I practice the vocals in the car after learning the bass part so it's second nature. But like everyone said, practice is the key.
What works for me is what drgasturias and MrDOS said. I have to practice the bass part so many times that eventually I can play it perfectly even while thinking about something totally different. I'm not talking about 10 times or 20 times. I'm talking about SEVERAL HUNDRED times, over the course of several days -- hard, often dreary work over many, many hours in a stuffy room at the expense of doing something I'd rather be doing on a nice warm sunny day, such as riding my horse or my Harley. Only after having reached that point will I even think about learning a vocal part.
Lots of great suggestions so far. Take it apart slowly, see how it works, put it back together. One way: strip the bass line down to just roots on the downbeat or the primary changes, and sing over that, add the rest of the bassline in as you get the feel for the major landmarks. Singing lead while playing fretless is your goal.....
Pick one or two songs that have a repetative bassline that doesn't really have anything to do with the vocals. I remember one tune I worked on was "We Gotta Get Outta This Place" by the Animals. (I'm old!) Practice singing and playing and eventually your playing and singing sort of take on seperate entities. I remember spending many hours trying to get the coordination to do both, and now it seems like second nature.
It's difficult, especially when one is playing syncopated lines. When you are playing guitar you are probably strumming on the beat and that makes things a lot easier. I'll bet you have less trouble singing over one-note eighth-note bass lines than you do playing more melodic dotted sixteenths. And it's not only a question of syncopation - singing over a bass line that is melodically "counter" to your vocal part can mess with your head. I think the key is to have the bass line down cold to the point where you don't have to focus on it (and can focus more on your singing). The key for me is slow repetition. Some stuff seems impossible at first but, after practicing at very slow speeds and building up it's amazing what can change. Good luck!
edmidlifecrisis
Registered mediocre bass player
Great thread. I can't sing and play ANYTHING at the same time. Even singing while strumming a guitar is difficult. Yes, if were easy everyone could do it. My wife plays piano and sings with ease, she's been doing that since she was little.
A wise pro guitarist once told me that there's a genetic component to this, she pointed to B.B. King as an example- he NEVER sings and plays at the same time. Watch him.
I like to think that's the case with me, genetics. But it also might be because I haven't put enough effort into it, and the suggestions in this thread are great. THANKS FROM ME TOO!!
PS How the hell does SHE do this? It seems impossible to me?
A wise pro guitarist once told me that there's a genetic component to this, she pointed to B.B. King as an example- he NEVER sings and plays at the same time. Watch him.
I like to think that's the case with me, genetics. But it also might be because I haven't put enough effort into it, and the suggestions in this thread are great. THANKS FROM ME TOO!!
PS How the hell does SHE do this? It seems impossible to me?
I was in a band for several years in which I played bass and did most of the vocals. In other bands, I have chosen not to sing, mostly because I'm not interested in it very much. I can't explain why I lost interest in singing, although one thing is I just don't think my voice sounds as good as it used to. My point, though, is that when I do try to sing and play now, it is far more difficult. So I'd say constantly practicing at singing and playing could be a key factor in being good at it.
I'm a bass player+lead vocalist/backup vocalist depending on the gig.
+1 to everything that's been said here. It took a bit of self-awareness for me to sort out my problems with singing and playing bass. I started with harmonies (which is probably harder than starting with singing lead vocals). Here's how I do it (which is pretty much what others have already said)...
I work on the bass part first until I can play it kind of mechanically without thinking about it. I noticed along time ago was that I was "singing" the bass part in my head like a melody while I was playing. Having made that observation, I understood why I couldn't sing a vocal part that was counter-melodic and often counter rhythmic to the other part I was already "singing" (the bass part). So I developed a habit/technique where I make a conscious effort to learn the bass part well enough to not have to sing it like a melody in my head in order to play it. In the mean-time, I practice the vocal part separately. When I put the two parts together I pay close attention to the placement of notes in time for both parts. It's sort of like I imagine the two parts on one staff together, at least rhythmically, if that makes any sense. Or maybe it's more like reading piano music where you have right hand and left hand things happening simultaneously. My point is that the key to doing this is knowing exactly where the notes for each part land (in time) as I count out the beats of a bar. That sounds absurdly rudimentary and understated, I know.
Now that I've been doing this for a very long time, I don't actually have to think about it any longer, but that's a basic description of what worked for me when I taught myself how to do it, and that's one way that I've used to teach students to do it. This method sometimes reveals the need to practice different rhythms, both vocally and while playing bass, and also to think more analytically about rhythms. This kind of thing is always harder for me to describe in writing than it is to just show someone in person. And then... practice.
+1 to everything that's been said here. It took a bit of self-awareness for me to sort out my problems with singing and playing bass. I started with harmonies (which is probably harder than starting with singing lead vocals). Here's how I do it (which is pretty much what others have already said)...
I work on the bass part first until I can play it kind of mechanically without thinking about it. I noticed along time ago was that I was "singing" the bass part in my head like a melody while I was playing. Having made that observation, I understood why I couldn't sing a vocal part that was counter-melodic and often counter rhythmic to the other part I was already "singing" (the bass part). So I developed a habit/technique where I make a conscious effort to learn the bass part well enough to not have to sing it like a melody in my head in order to play it. In the mean-time, I practice the vocal part separately. When I put the two parts together I pay close attention to the placement of notes in time for both parts. It's sort of like I imagine the two parts on one staff together, at least rhythmically, if that makes any sense. Or maybe it's more like reading piano music where you have right hand and left hand things happening simultaneously. My point is that the key to doing this is knowing exactly where the notes for each part land (in time) as I count out the beats of a bar. That sounds absurdly rudimentary and understated, I know.
Now that I've been doing this for a very long time, I don't actually have to think about it any longer, but that's a basic description of what worked for me when I taught myself how to do it, and that's one way that I've used to teach students to do it. This method sometimes reveals the need to practice different rhythms, both vocally and while playing bass, and also to think more analytically about rhythms. This kind of thing is always harder for me to describe in writing than it is to just show someone in person. And then... practice.
Interesting question. I am now the lead singer of a roots rock, R&R band. I've been playing for 23 years now and mostly done backing vocals - and I thought that was hard. I also have no idea how piano players - good piano players - play two handed with bass on one hand and melody on the other.
Now that I am the lead, all I can say is that I just do it. I simplify lines where I can and really groove in between when I am singing. I think the most important thing is that I don't think about what I am doing - I just do it. Practice helps, but to be honest, even when we are learning a new song, I just learn the basic chord structure of the song and just play along with the beat. I think I have a bigger problem memorizing the words than singing and playing. Then again, I am not a Monster Chop bass player.
I think if I thought about what I was doing I would trip all over myself. Just Do It.
Now that I am the lead, all I can say is that I just do it. I simplify lines where I can and really groove in between when I am singing. I think the most important thing is that I don't think about what I am doing - I just do it. Practice helps, but to be honest, even when we are learning a new song, I just learn the basic chord structure of the song and just play along with the beat. I think I have a bigger problem memorizing the words than singing and playing. Then again, I am not a Monster Chop bass player.
I think if I thought about what I was doing I would trip all over myself. Just Do It.
I play bass and sing on a few songs, some of them with different syncopation on bass and vocal lines. What helps me is to go through a verse of the song over and over until I can feel the underlying clock stream in 8th notes or 16th's while I am doing it. Bass note falls on this stroke, vocal line on this one, etc. Once I have one verse down, the rest follows more easily.
