Problem singing while fingerpicking

rreffner

rreffner

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I don't have a problem singing while strumming but do I ever have a time trying to sing while fingerpicking a memorized tune.

Am I the only one? Any solution beside endless 'practice.'
 
Aloha rreffner,
You have the answer already.....PRACTICE.
Took me awhile to sing lead while playing drums. Hard not to follow the syncopation of the drums,hehe.
Don't worry, it'll come over time..............................BO.......................
 
808boy said:
Aloha rreffner,
You have the answer already.....PRACTICE.
Took me awhile to sing lead while playing drums. Hard not to follow the syncopation of the drums,hehe.
Don't worry, it'll come over time..............................BO.......................
Click to expand...

:agree: Just a sign that you need more practice.
 
Aloha Phil,
You got it Bruddah, practice and then more practice. That was in the early 60's as a teenager....oh what memories. Music, surfing and muscle cars....great era..................................BO........................
 
Last edited:
Yeah, that sounds familiar. Don't worry about it. It took me a YEAR before I could strum and sing. Picknig and singing could take another year, but so what? How long will it take if you don't try?
I bet one day, when you're not bothered by it anymore, it'll just happen, and you'll smile and remember what your firends said here.
 
What's happening is that your brain is still focusing on the picking pattern and/or chord changes. With practice, your hand's muscle memory kicks in and you'll be able to just let your hands do their thing and your brain can focus on the singing. Practice right before going to bed. That way your subconscious goes over it while you sleep.
 
Bob Bledsoe said:
Practice right before going to bed. That way your subconscious goes over it while you sleep.
Click to expand...

There is something to this. Back in college, I'd work on my hardest math problems at night...in the morning I'd have the solution.

I've also learned not to over practice. Sometimes things that are nearly impossible become MUCH easier if I stop playing for a day and just take a break from it (easy to do as some days I just get too busy to play). But more than a day and it gets harder again =P
 
MikeR said:
There is something to this. Back in college, I'd work on my hardest math problems at night...in the morning I'd have the solution.

I've also learned not to over practice. Sometimes things that are nearly impossible become MUCH easier if I stop playing for a day and just take a break from it (easy to do as some days I just get too busy to play). But more than a day and it gets harder again =P
Click to expand...

Yup! I often have to memorize large pieces of text in 24-48 hours. This is how it's done. It works with any kind of memorizing... Stepping away from practice for a day works really well too. I don't know why that works but it must have to do with that subconscious part of our brains.
 
808boy said:
Aloha rreffner,
You have the answer already.....PRACTICE.
Took me awhile to sing lead while playing drums. Hard not to follow the syncopation of the drums,hehe.
Don't worry, it'll come over time..............................BO.......................
Click to expand...

Same here, each song brings a new rhytmic challenge, be patient with yourself. It will come.
Don
 
What they all said.

I suggest spending a larger chunk of time on just going through the picking part and the changes until it's more or less burned into your muscle memory before going back to layer on the vocal part. The less you have to concentrate on it the better.

I'll also go through the trickier bits very slowly note by note with both parts so I can find the relationship between the vocal melody and what my fingers are doing at the same time. (This word comes on that beat and this finger is hitting which string.) Sometimes just realizing something like the vocal bit I'm having trouble with begins on the half beat after the one is enough.

Also don't be afraid to switch up the fingerpicking to accommodate where you're having problems. The same pattern over and over no matter how nice can still get a bit tedious and you can use downstrokes and plucks and chunks, pauses etc... for emphasis and to help get the lyric across or just as an intentional way to get past the tricky bit. So long as you play it that way confidently somebody listening will be none the wiser. (I do a lot of three finger plucks to pick up beats I misplace.)
 
rreffner said:
I don't have a problem singing while strumming but do I ever have a time trying to sing while fingerpicking a memorized tune.

Am I the only one? Any solution beside endless 'practice.'
Click to expand...

I'd start off with easy songs that you know the rhythm and timing singing...what better than Nursery Rhymes....sounds lame but it works...believe me....google nursery rhymes and chords
 
There was a time when I couldn't strum and sing.:p Then, I couldn't follow a track, sing and strum. Now, I can pick and sing, but not nearly as accurately (well) as I can when I am not singing. It is true that practice fixes this.
 
I have been working with Ken Middleton's eBooks as my primary resource for fingerpicking. I have a number of the songs memorized, it's when I try to add voice. That's when it falls apart.

Thanks for all the tips and encouragement. I'll continue practice, a bit slower. Mahalo
 
I often find on a new piece my brain is working too hard on the picking to think about the singing. This is also true if there is complex strumming. I have my learning process broken down into three steps.

1. Learn the instrumental.. Well!
2. Play the instrumental parts while talking. This annoys my wife, but I find it helps me push the instrumental into the back of my brain and open a new area for vocals. I am basically doing one hard thing and one easy thing, rather than two hard things. Baby steps. Totally got that from Aldrine on UU+
3. Pick and sing. Keep practicing till it "clicks". You'll be stoked when it does
 
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