playing guitar and sing..how?!


Moniek
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Moniek
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03/11/2005 4:05 pm
I wanted to try to sing and play guitar at the same time, but i cant, i try to move my feet, but thats also not working :( Can somebody give me some hinds and songs that are easy to play and sing? :rolleyes:
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# 1
Jolly McJollyson
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Jolly McJollyson
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03/11/2005 6:17 pm
Free Fallin' by Tom Petty. Easy one to play and sing.
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HDJ
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HDJ
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03/11/2005 6:45 pm
It's just something that takes time and pracitice. There are a lot of songs I can't play and sing at the same time, for example, Master Of Puppets by Metallica. Hendrix was alway's easy for me to sing and play, probably b/c he played what he was singing, the guitar part kind of harmonized what he was singing. Anyway, it just takes time.....
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PRSplaya
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PRSplaya
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03/11/2005 7:43 pm
Here's two fairly easy song's to play and sing to: "Every Rose Has it's Thorn" - Poison, and "Knocking on Heaven's Door" - by many
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# 4
Raskolnikov
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Raskolnikov
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03/12/2005 1:16 am
It's funny (though by no means the rule with me); I can sing* while some fairly complicated basslines and not sing over some fairly simple stuff.

I think you'll find that guitar parts that come naturally to you will be easy to sing over. Give it time and keep trying it, you'll get it eventually.



*Bear in mind, I am a terrible singer, but my mouth makes noises while I'm playing.
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# 5
kingdavid
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kingdavid
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03/12/2005 4:58 pm
Stop trying.
It only works when you stop trying.
I'm serious.
Do this, play a simple three chord progression. Like G, C, D. Chords you absolutely don't have to think about playing in that order. You just strum. The ones that are most natural to you to play. Then sing some stupid crap over the melody that comes to your head. It's important to sing stupid crap so that you enjoy it, and also coz it helps ease your anxiety about your Sing & Play combo performance. Once you do this, you'll get a feel for what it's like to play AND sing, once this feeling is absorbed into your system, you'll find it a lot easier to sing and play whatever songs you want.
About the stop trying bit;
If you can, remember how it was when you first started playing fingerpicking? You are picking some arpeggio, and are using your thumb to pick the bassline, and the other fingers to pick the other strings. That PIMA thing. Now, if you wanted the thumb to pick the bass string ON THE START OF THE NEW MEASURE, at first it was hard, but when you stop thinking about it, that's when you get to do it. That's my point.
# 6
Repeattwice
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Repeattwice
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03/13/2005 3:18 am
Its all an issue of muscle memory....once the fingers know what they are doing you will be able to sing a completely different song while playing another. I know it may sound stupid, but treat your fingers like 4 small children, you have to show them over and over again how to do it correctly.
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Dante7978
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Dante7978
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03/14/2005 12:26 am
Originally Posted by: RepeattwiceIts all an issue of muscle memory....once the fingers know what they are doing you will be able to sing a completely different song while playing another. I know it may sound stupid, but treat your fingers like 4 small children, you have to show them over and over again how to do it correctly.


Good advice. All you're doing is playing whatever rhythm your playing so much, that you can play it without even thinking about it. Then singing to it is quite easy.
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Patsai
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Patsai
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03/14/2005 4:09 am
Most guitarists I see who sing an play their guitar often don't look at their instrument when doing so, so they've gotten some practice in finger memory. Although I'm still a beginner, I take it's probably a safe bet to learn to play guitar in the dark so as not to cheat or make a mistake at looking at your guitar when playing/practicing.
# 9
Repeattwice
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Repeattwice
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03/14/2005 5:40 am
Originally Posted by: Patsai I take it's probably a safe bet to learn to play guitar in the dark so as not to cheat or make a mistake at looking at your guitar when playing/practicing.


No No!!!! Look at your fingers a lot. Because by looking at what you are doing plus feeling what you are doing and then also hearing what you are doing, that is 3 types of info processing in you head all at once and your memorization will be reached sooner. Trying to do that stuff in the dark will only frustrate you futher. You are most likely doin just fine, remember repitition and relaxing. One more quick tip, when you are tired you will process and retain more information....you will not play play as well but the next day more info from the night before will still be at your finger tips. My instructor is writing a book on that aspect right now.
# 10
Patsai
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Patsai
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03/14/2005 4:14 pm
I see, I'm really not that experienced with the guitar yet nor have I been practicing a lot (I was about to give up on it until recent events turned my decision around).
# 11
kingdavid
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kingdavid
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03/14/2005 4:16 pm
Originally Posted by: Raskolnikov...I can sing*...
...*Bear in mind, I am a terrible singer, but my mouth makes noises while I'm playing.

:)
It's always nice to clarify these things.
I feel the same way about my singing. Actually, it's not just what I feel, that's what it is. Pathetic. So I'm taking voice lessons starting this Thursday. From a lady who did her voice training in Berklee. She sings in an Afro Jazz band in Nairobi called The Four Winds. I'm told she's awesome. I hope some of it rubs off on me. But she's expensive. Approximately US$ 10 per lesson. Not a lot by "western" standards, but that's my pay check for two days. What? You're shocked by that. Well, a bedsitter in my home town of Thika (about 40KM north of Nairobi) a decent two or three bedroom apartment goes for about US$ 60 per month, and a kilo of beef sells for about US$ 2.00. A 400gm loaf of bread is about 40 cents. A 500ml bottle of coke is slightly less than 50 cents.
# 12
Blooma
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Blooma
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03/15/2005 9:55 pm
All great advice.

I found playing "easy" songs (knocking on heavens door is a good example - only 3 cords!) and one you know the word to helps. Any song will do where you don't have to think what your playing and just sing.
# 13
kingdavid
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kingdavid
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03/16/2005 4:40 pm
I forgot this:
Make sure you can sing the song really well. Learn it, sing along to the record, so you don't have to make an effort to sing, you just sing. I think to play and sing, something has to come naturally, so that your thinking brain is only left with one aspect to really deal with.
# 14
FtballRocker24
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FtballRocker24
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03/21/2005 8:21 pm
I've been playing Stairway to heaven over and over again, and it seems now that as much as you play a song, the easier it gets to sing and play. I'm no singer, and being that i've only been playing for a year, i can see that it shouldnt be that hard after a long time of playing the same song.

And to capitalize on another's quote, Purple Haze is very easy to sing and play, it's a good starter
# 15

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