Hi I'm Nikki!!

Hi all,
I front an up and coming rock and roll band in NYC and promised my guitar player that I would learn to play well enough to back him up when he is singing. I am also trying to figure out how to sing and play the guitar at the same time.

Any one else out there going for it big time!!!!!

Much love,
Nikki

I'm glad to hear you're going for it! Why not? I'm kind of torn because I've been obsessed with playing lead guitar and shredding, yet I like to sing and I have a pretty decent voice. But I don't want to be stuck behind a microphone only playing rhythm here and there.

So my indecisiveness is getting in the way lol.

But anyway, learning to sing while playing rhythm is actually a bit harder than it seems. The trick seems to be to really get down the song on guitar to the point where you don't have to think about it, THEN you can worry about singing along to it. And you have to know exactly what words goes to which chord change. Interestingly enough, it seems like the easiest songs to practice this with is worship songs (like in church). I don't go to church anymore, but I remember some of the songs they used to play which were pretty easy. Did you just start learning guitar?

That is a really good point about knowing a song so well that you don't have to think about it. Interesting how you see it as stuck behind a mic playing rhythm and I see it as stuck behind the guitar while trying to entertain. Such different perspectives! I am an intermediate player who has been playing here and there. Seems like I get somewhere and then am not able to play for a while and have to start over. I realize that I am not starting over completely but it feels like it. Have you been playing out a lot? What part of the country do you live in?
Nikki

Yeah, it feels like you're starting over because your hand strength/dexterity has probably gone down a bit, I'm guessing. I've never actually had to take a break yet thank God. I don't have much experience playing in front of people as of yet. I finally found a drummer that I've been jamming with once in a while, but he doesn't seem as dedicated as me. I'm from California but I live in Georgia right now because i had to move here with my parents a few years ago.

What kind of music do you like to play?

How are you finding your musicians? Are there any jams that you can sit in on? Usually they are all about the blues but you could probably get that in a minute.
How is Georgia working out for you? It is hard when your family moves and you get no say in it, I am sure it needed to happen but still hard.
I have two teenagers at home so it made playing the guitar consistently hard.

My neighbor is the one I'm currently playing with, but I met another drummer at Guitar Center. I'm sure there are probably some websites or forums to find local musicians, but I haven't looked into that yet. But I'd rather be back in California. I like the music scene there and know a few more musicians.

I know New York has a killer music scene as well. But you're right about the blues, it seems like the most natural thing for most people to play when first jamming together. If I ever end up doing anything I would like to either play soft rock (like Chili Peppers, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Radiohead type stuff) or metal.

Anyway you'll probably end up loving this site. I know I do. The most valuable thing to me is that you can ask the instructors questions and they'll usually get back to you within a day or two. Good luck!