If you could choose: Fingerpicking or singing?

Fingerpicker or Singer?

  • Fingerpick like Jake

    Votes: 38 45.2%

  • Sing like a Virtuoso

    Votes: 46 54.8%
  • Total voters
    84
dkcrown

dkcrown

Well-known member
UU+
Joined
Dec 1, 2009
Messages
2,670
Reaction score
4
Location
Orleans,MA
I have been playing the ukulele for about three and a half years now, and I consider myself an average fingerpicker and singer. However when I first started, I could do neither. I had never sang at any point of my life and my voice was awful. But through constant practice(just like with the uke,)I now consider my voice serviceable and will sing in front of others. It is something that I thought that I would never have the confidence to do.

I really wish that I were blessed with a great voice. I watch ukulele videos and hear people with beautiful voices and I am envious. But I also watch videos of incredibly talented people that don't sing at all and play beautiful melodies fingerpicking on their ukes.

So my question is this. If you could choose, would you rather be able to play like Jake, or have a stunning vocal voice?

I would choose the great voice.
 
Last edited:
I would choose fingerpicking.......to hear the "voice" of the instrument.
 
After singing for forty some years, I don't know if there's anything I'd choose over it.
 
I've never really tried to sing so I don't even know if I can. I'm a bit shy though so I would imagine singing to be an issue with that. I suppose I'd pick fingerpicking.

dkcrown said:
I have been playing the ukulele for about three and a half years now, and I consider myself an average fingerpicker and singer. However when I first started, I could do neither. I had never sang at any point of my life and my voice was awful. But through constant practice(just like with the uke,)I now consider my voice serviceable and will sing in front of others. It is something that I thought that I would never have the confidence to do.

I really wish that I were blessed with a great voice. I watch ukulele videos and hear people with beautiful voices and I am envious. But I also watch videos of incredibly talented people that don't sing at all and play beautiful melodies fingerpicking on their ukes.

So my question is this. If you could choose, would you rather be able to play like Jake, or have a stunning vocal voice?

I would choose the great voice.
Click to expand...
 
Singers lose their chops as they grow older but there are a lot of excellent older (guitar) pickers out there so I picked picking. I think you'd be able to affectively use that skill longer.

[Why do posts at this site often repeat the last word of a line as demonstrated above? It doesn't even appear as part of the edit function if I wanted to try and correct it.]
 
Last edited:
Good question. Doubt I will accomplish either, but I'd choose a great voice. I am a better player than a singer, and I don't play that well.:D
 
drbekken said:
I'd choose both.
Click to expand...

Ditto. I am stuck in the same place I was w/guitar for years. I can sing, harmonize & accompany myself through chord changes. But... fingerpicking eludes me. For years I've "heard" lead licks in my head; can guess where the next note is in a recorded run, but my fingers & mind just won't make that leap. Fingerpicking... elusive.
 
Although it would make me insanely happy to suddenly go from mangling Twinkle Twinkle to crushing Bohemian Rhapsody like Jake, I have to choose singing.

I love to sing, but I struggle to carry a tune. In spite of that, I can't stop myself from constantly breaking into song. My husband tolerates it fondly, and sometimes he can even figure out what song I'm shooting for.

Imagine, going to a birthday party and singing Happy Birthday without thinking about it!
 
You *really* don't want to hear me sing.
 
Dearly wish I could song...I hear the music in my head but it just won't come out of my mouth...so I'll stick to trying to become a good fingerstyle player.
 
Finger picking. If I could go back 50+ years I would choose singing...
 
Glad to hear you've come a long way, Dana.

Luckily, we don't have to choose. We can even do both at once. (Although it's easier to concentrate on one at a time, especially as we learn.)

But for argument's sake, I pick singing. Our voices are the first instrument we are given, and the only ones we'll be able to play everyday throughout our lives. Might as well enjoy them, yeah?
 
I don't like my voice, so i never sang much until I got a uke. It took a year to sing my 1st song while I played. I started finger picking almost right away, and I enjoy that more.
 
I wish I could sing. Despite taking lessons and having a mom who's a professional singer, I just can't get the hang of it. Also, I have crippling anxiety which doesn't help either. I'm a fingerpicker pretty much by default, but if I could sing I'd be all set.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

BiosphereDecay
Low G Planning on a Low G Concert. Help me choose?
Replies
12
Views
418
mlolya
mlolya
B
Help me choose a timber combination
Replies
6
Views
295
sequoia
sequoia
badhabits
How to choose a new ukulele
Replies
2
Views
235
oldjazznut
oldjazznut
UkingViking
  • Poll
Which mic to choose for video?
Replies
1
Views
217
jtsteam
jtsteam
EDW
Why choose a banjo over a ukulele?
Replies
10
Views
675
socal16
socal16
Top Bottom