Singing + Playing = Disaster

specialmike

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Does anyone have trouble singing and playing at the same time?

More specifically, does anyone have the problem where you can achieve one action at a time, but when you combine the two, they both become totally anti-harmonious.

For example, you can sing fine.. You can play well. But bring the two together and just...:stop:

Any tips on how I can go about improving my off key singing whilst I play my ukulele? Greatly appreciated.

:shaka:
 
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I will give you my standard answer -- Practice. Maybe concentrate on learning how to play the song well, and then start in with the singing. It is not a natural thing to do -- both at once, that is. With patience it'll come. Good luck :D
 
Try humming while you play to start with, then you can always add word when you feel like it..
 
I have the same problem, it's getting better and better now. The only thing that help me is practice!
Been playing for soon 5 months and I can only play and sing a few song at the same time, it takes much more practice for me to learn to do both at the same time.
 
Some of just know we should never sing, of course that would mean that we can't sing fine with out the Uke anyways....
 
Practice, practice, practice.

Start slow. Try singing while vamping on a single chord. Once you get good at that, try singing over a chord progression of two chords, and so on. Eventually it will come to you.
 
This is why woodwind and brass instruments were created.
 
Any tips on how I can go about improving my off key singing whilst I play my ukulele?
Change the key you're playing in to match your singing. (Capos are your friends.)
 
Try humming while you play to start with, then you can always add word when you feel like it..

I totally Agree with mobben... I will hum along till I get the strumming down.. Practice, Practice, Practice. then eventually it will all come together...

After that, try recording yourself.. That Im still struggling with... :D

But the best suggestion is Practice. I practice the chord progression of a song till I dont have to look anymore. Till then, I wont even attempt to sing along. just hum so I wont get bored :)
 
indeed, tons of practice will get you used to the song. like what mobben said, humming helps. i do it and at the same time, i notice (every now and then) what words my strumming should be at (ex. a down strum at the end of the first line of the chorus). they serve as "bookmarks" so i know my strumming is consistent.
 
You mean you and I are not the only ones with this problem? What a relief! I started taking guitar lessons when I was about 8 years old. I love to sing, I love to play, but when I try to do both at once I fail miserably. In fact, it was just about a month ago that I was able to sing and play a song at the same time! Wow, it only took 33 years! Someone once told me that I should try singing and playing at the same time right from the get-go of learning the song, and that seemed to work in this case. I can now pull off a few more, it's kind of like something finally clicked, but I attribute it to daily practice, something I never really did when I was just a guitar player. I am finding that slow songs are easier for me, Or songs that I can play fast I just slow down a bit when I want to sing along.
 
Rather than humming, I tackle the song from the opposite direction. I'll often sing the song through a couple of times only doing a single down strum at the chord changes.

It's really just a similar way of approaching the problem: I'm trying get a feel for where the chord changes occur during the song. I can read them but I need to really "feel" it out before I can keep them in sync. This method seems to work well for me but I may try humming next time to see if I pick it up quicker.
 
Something that I found helps me (a little...I'm still a looooonng way off) is to play and sing with my iPod playing. That way I have something to match my pitch to. I'm still struggling, but it helps me a little.

-KP
 
Try humming while you play to start with, then you can always add word when you feel like it..

This is the best advice I have read. Humming gets the tune in your head while you strum without having to think about the words. Once you get the melody and playing together and are comfortable with it adding the words is a sinch!
 
Does anyone have trouble singing and playing at the same time?

:shaka:
It's practice. Sometime when I play, I'll have play harmonica around my neck, alternate singing and also have a band of bells around my ankle for percussion. It takes practice. I found out if I put the bells on my right ankle and I pick a solo I can't keep my foot on beat with the bells. I kind of end up like a dog who scratches the air when you scratch his ear. If I move the Bells to my left Ankle It is much easier to keep time wihile picking a solo with the right hand.
 
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