Playing AND singing ... or not in my case...

agroupuk

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Hey all.

Ok to start at the beggining......

I play Bass Guitar (not well, I am still learning) and bass players nearly always dont sing. Mainly because you are in the same 'section' as the drums. Its pretty hard to sing and keep a strict tempo. Most dont for this reason.

Anyway..

I am learning to play a Uke right now as well as bass (though not together - that would be awsome lol) and have been practicing the Foo Fighter's 'Times Like These'
I know the song and can strum it pretty well but the moment I open my mouth.... well a song should come out but what seems to come out is off key and out of tempo and I think its possible that all the timing in my hands is also leaking out of my mouth at the same time.

How do people learn to sing and play at the same time?

Do you learn the song till you can do it in your sleep first THEN try singing over it or do you start putting the singing and strumming together at the same time as you learn the tune?

Any help apreciated. (and btw I can usually sing, I was church and school soloist until puberty took away my young angelic voice and replaced it with gravel)

Cheers

Edd
 
Well the way I did it with Guitar and the same should apply for Uke, is I just constantly play a song over and over until I don't need to pay attention to what I'm doing for it to come out the same. Then just add the vocals. It's pretty easy!
 
The best way to start getting the hang of singing and strumming is to make it so the strumming is 2nd nature. Once you can do the strumming without thinking you can start start humming the song along with playing or add in words in places you feel comfortable.
 
You're right except for Sting and Paul McCartney, bass players usually don't sing.

Something that might help, pull up a song you're learning on youtube and play and sing along with it. The music/singing on youtube will act as a metronome, keeping your voice and strumming in time. Good luck!
 
hey the bass player for dragonforce is a backup singer too lol.

he does the screaming sometimes lol.

anyway the key to singing and playing is just playing over and over and over again.

practice the same song repeatedly until you can play it without thinking.

THEN start singing.
 
From my guitar experience, it comes with time. I remember practicing, and one day I was just able to sing and play at the same time.

Pretty much goes along with what nikolo was saying. Once you get to the point where your hands can just play the song without thinking, you're good.

Good luck man! :D
 
I didn't think singing and playing would be a problem. I can pat my head and rub my stomach. I can walk and chew gum. I can act and sing, and once upon a time I could march and play.

But I can't frakking strum and sing! It's one, or the other, not both! I know the remedy is practice, but if there's any barrier that I may not ever cross, this is it. Thank goodness for garageband.
 
much like everyone said, it's pretty much just practice and time. there's usually two approaches:

1) get really comfortable w/the strum so it's second nature, then add the vocals.
2) learn both at the same time

i'm trying to tackle fingerpicking/singing now. and it seems like a whole 'nother beast. :happysad:
 
New to the forum and in the same boat on this issue. Glad to know it's a shared problem and can be overcome with practice :D
 
Try singing it in your head while you're playing. And when you're humming/singing aloud, play the first note before you start to sing, so you're in the right key. That usually works for me. Good luck!
 
I'm still not great at this, but I've been working at it.

One thing that I've found has helped is playing my Eleuke unplugged while hanging out with my roommates. Play songs you know pretty well, and see if you can keep the chord progression and strumming pattern while having a conversation. Once you can do this with a given song, it's easier to play and just concentrate on the singing.
 
This is tough for me, too. I am lyrically challenged! I can learn the chords, some fills, and a bit of fingerpicking in a song fairly easily. And I can learn the vocal melody (I sing la-di-da a lot). But the words...I struggle with them!!!

Even songs I thought I knew the words to have been a challenge when we decided to learn them. Right now I'm working on several songs that most people would consider classics. I've got everything down except the words. Arrgh!
 
Try singing it in your head while you're playing. And when you're humming/singing aloud, play the first note before you start to sing, so you're in the right key.

Fabulous advice!

And hey! Hawaii at heart... I'm in Seattle too. Feel free to PM me if you like to get together and ingest assorted potables, strum a lot, and laugh even more. I'm always up for that.
 
What I like to do is just sing the song and think of the ukulele as just another instrument that embellishes the singing, so the strum on the uke is more free and just works to complement the singing rather than the other way around...especially since I doubt my singing would be considered "embellishment" since I sound like a dying ox. :p
 
Usually I start out by mumbling a few of the lyrics here and there as I focus on getting the strumming pattern down until it's second nature. Then perfecting it comes pretty easily.

I used to be just like you, but now playing an instrument just isn't fun for me if I don't get to sing along with it :)
 
first you have to learn the song decently well, if you are having timing issues, use the lyrics as your beat. Most songs, esp rock, are 4 beats one chord, 4 beats another chord, etc and 4 beats=one or two line. if ny of that didnt make sence let me know and ill try to reword it lol.

I play Bass Guitar (not well, I am still learning) and bass players nearly always dont sing. Mainly because you are in the same 'section' as the drums. Its pretty hard to sing and keep a strict tempo. Most dont for this reason.

dont tell lemmy that

Lemmy_Kilmister_10_02_11.jpg
 
I agree with the suggestion to look it up on youtube (or itunes even) and find something that you can play along with. One thing that's been helping me with more complex strumming is to just hold the neck with my left hand and the strings muted, and to try strumming along without worrying about fretting the right notes. That's just too many things to think about! Once you can do that while singing, then you can start fingering the notes.
 
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