singing and playing

when I first tried it I had a hard time doing both together,

then I would play the uke, and the words in my head, leading to humming or whistling while playing, got it down after a short while.
 
Guting said:
when I first tried it I had a hard time doing both together,

then I would play the uke, and the words in my head, leading to humming or whistling while playing, got it down after a short while.
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alrite thanks man, i will try that out
 
Jam on

Jus keep practicing. I had the same problem. As long as you keep playing the song and singing the words in your head. then try singing them out loud. also try playing with a simple strum. Its easier to sing to a simpler beat. Jus keep practicing.
 
Vibe said:
Jus keep practicing. I had the same problem. As long as you keep playing the song and singing the words in your head. then try singing them out loud. also try playing with a simple strum. Its easier to sing to a simpler beat. Jus keep practicing.
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same here. but what i do is i play the song through, then play and sing at the same time. hopefully i get better at it too, singing that is haha.
 
yea, i still have a big problem with that.. i can't sing and play cuz when i start thinking, my minds focuses on pitches and lyrics, and i forget about the strum and everything.. kinda like playing the piano with the left and right hand... which i'm bad at. but for some reason i can play drumset just fine. lol
 
Terrell said:
yea, i still have a big problem with that.. i can't sing and play cuz when i start thinking, my minds focuses on pitches and lyrics, and i forget about the strum and everything.. kinda like playing the piano with the left and right hand... which i'm bad at. but for some reason i can play drumset just fine. lol
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same problem i have. haha
 
The easiest way is to completely memorize the strumming for the song so that you can do it without thinking. Then memorize the melody and lyrics for the song. Then try it out at the same time. Start slow if you have to. If you keep working at it, doing them both will become second nature and you don't even have to think about your strumming while you sing.

When I first started out, I tried to play along with all the songs on cd, and try singing at the same time. Playing along to the recordings makes it a little easier I think. The more songs you learn to play and sing the easier it becomes to learn even MORE songs.. faster too.
 
davoomac said:
The easiest way is to completely memorize the strumming for the song so that you can do it without thinking. Then memorize the melody and lyrics for the song. Then try it out at the same time. Start slow if you have to. If you keep working at it, doing them both will become second nature and you don't even have to think about your strumming while you sing.
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thats the best way to do it. thats how i did when i first started. i realized like, like terrel said, that i would focus on the song and not the strum so i practiced the strum so that it was natural. When you can day dream while your strumming and snap out of it and not remember playing the parts of the song before your ready lol.

I remember only being able to play and sing songs with the down up strum because all the songs i was learning had that strum. then i did hawaiian suppa man which was dduud which was hard for me, but i practiced and now pretty much can play and sing most songs by just looking at the chords so long i know how the words go.
 
sweet dude imma try that kuhz i cant sing and play for poo hahahah
 
Thats the problem that I have.
I can start out doing the strumming, but once I open my mouth to get ready to sing, I forget what my right hand is doing and it goes to the simple up down strum. :p

I need to practice more.
Thanks for the tips everyone.

Aloha
Acabo'oe:cool:
 
You have to really know the song in which you are playing. You should be able to strum, pick, or w/e it in your sleep. then it should be qute easy to sing.
 
ya so I used some of these tips and im going to sing and play infront of my school on thurs so i hope for the best lol
 
My advise would be the opposite of what I've been reading. For someone who simply cannot do both together (sing and play), here is the order I recommend.

1. I would learn the melody and lyrics of the song. Write the lyrics down or print them out.

2. Learn the basic chords and write the chord changes on the lyric sheet at the exact word where the chords will be changing.

3. Stroke down only once for each chord change while you sing the melody.

4. Keep practicing this technquie until you feel you are comfortable to add a second strum on the down beat of each 4 bar measure after that.

5. Continue to add to your strumming pattern from there.

I have been playing and learning new songs my whole life (I'm old as dirt). I still use a variation of the method on difficult passages. It takes the thought off the instrument and allows you to form a song structure quickly without getting discouraged and dropping the song.

Good luck, it's simply another skill that needs to be mastered. You can do it! Good luck, e.lo....
 
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E-lo has some good advice here. That method works great.

Thats the method I used when I first started out a long time ago. Though, I guess I forgot that I had used that :eek:

ukeboypat: good luck man! hope you do well :D
 
if it is really difficult to keep singing and strumming intact. try not singing it at all, like usually it gets hard to focus on the lyrics, pitch of voice, strumming, and fingering. So just humm it and see where you change chords during the song. Then once you know the dynamics of the song, try busting out the lyrics.
 
So this is basically my first post. HA! My boyfriend told me to join the forum to get tips & this is what I'm currently struggling with.

I'm basically more of a singer & I really stink at doing two things at the same time. So ever since I started learning the Ukulele I just kept getting frustrated that I couldn't do both!

So yeah, thanks everyone for the tips! HOPEFULLY.... they will help someone like me :eek:
 
don't worry, it's gonna take some time...
just learn how to play the song correctly and start singing bits and pieces...
i usually start with the chorus before anything else.
 
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