Split Brain or Spilt Brains

I have been working with guitar tricks for over a year now and I am pleased with the site and the progress I am making. Currently though, I am struggling in trying to strum a ryhthm while singing the melody. Whenever I focus on singing the melody, my strumming rhythm goes off track and tries to follow the melody ... I cannot seem to split the two tracks in my brain. It seems like the strumming rhythm should go on autopilot ... no thinking required; that way I can focus on the lyrics and singing? Does anyone have any suggestions to help make this happen ?

To sing and play guitar well, the rhythum has to run accurately and the guitar has to run on auto pilot. You have to be able to concentrate on the vocal, if you want to pull off singing and playing. However if your rhythum isn't rock steady, the whole thing will come off the rails. If you singing goes flat because you are trying to get back on top of the beat the whole thing comes off the rails. If your audience is paying attention and this happens... you will quickly loose them. You get the idea...

The best advice I have seen suggests that breaking the two skills appart in the beginning is the most direct way to mastering this problem. Get the guitar part down pat, so you can play without thinking about it. As you practice, use a metronome to hold a solid beat through out the song. Get to where you don't have to think about the rythum because your muscle memory has that firmly in control. This is a skill that is going to really stretch your ablity to rely on muscle memory and this is a big step to becoming a much better performer.

You can also practice singing on it's own, so you get to start developing the sound of your voice. It may be useful to record just the guitar part, and practice your singing to that. During these singing sessions put the guitar down and listen to your voice as you sing. The voice is the most complicated and most versitle part of this task.

Finally...practice putting the two together. Let your muscle memory play the guitar parts and focus totally on singing. Think "How is my vocal pitch accuracy, how is my tonal color affecting the song, and (most important) how am I conecting with the feelings expressed in the lyrics.

If you really want to explore what your voice can do, try recording your performance of singing and playing together and get ready for a strong head wind. Recording is merciless in its accuracy. This is where you really see how well the "rubber meets the road". However, in my opinion, it is the most direct route to competent vocalizing.

Lastly keep in mind that what you are learning, can be VERY DIFFICULT AND IT WILL NOT BET RUSHED!!!!! Keep focused, keep practicing, and keep you eye on the prize. This will take time! You have to get comfortable with this fact. To become proficent at singing and playing is a complicated and demanding skill. But in the end it is a worthy goal. Just don't get depressed about the speed at which you approach that goal. That is up to your inherent tallent and tenacity. Those atrubutes are best supported by not placing ridgid expectations on your self. Since you are still here, you have most likely developed some of this attitude in the last year of practice. Now you are working toward a MUCH BIGGER skill set. Be patient, practice persistance, and remember the goal is to enjoy your experience. With that set of tools under your belt... there is a world of possiblity waiting for you.

There is a good amount of info on singing and playing, that has been written over the last year on this web site. If you use the search function for "singing and playing" (or similar search topics), there is a lot of discussion about this.

To sing and play is a wonderful experience! But it is also a highly cultivated skill requiring complete focus, accurate muscle memory, and a lot of practice. If you think guitar is challanging... get ready for the added skill of singing to make the playing field vastly more complicated. Be patient, persistant, and practice, practice, practice... YOU CAN DO THIS AND YOU WILL LOVE IT!

Hey Jim, this is a totally normal problem and is hard for everyone until they get the hang of it.[br] [br]I recommend starting out by taking a very simple example (something like Mary Had A Little Lamb) and strumming whole notes on a single chord while just saying the words in rhythm. Nursery rhymes are good for this because the lyrics and rhythms are usually easy and memorable.

Then, change the strumming rhythm to half notes. Then, quarter, then 8ths. You can even do this anywhere by clapping your hands or tapping your fingers on your desk instead of strumming. Eventually you’ll be able to do it even on off beats and on more complex rhythms (mixtures of quarters and eighths) and chord changes.[br] [br]Since you can practice this anywhere, work on keeping one solid quarter note rhythm while singing (or talking the words in rhythm) along to any song you can think of, or any song that's playing in the background. If you’ve got your guitar handy you can even mute the strings with your left hand and just strum the muted strings with your right. You can add in chord changes later. Just break it down to basic steps one at a time.[br] [br]The SLOWER you can go doing all of this, the better. You’ll feel the rhythms lining up on certain beats. Just keep it VERY SIMPLE, one step at a time. Don’t try to jump into the deep end.[br] [br]Important: it’s not really about thinking about two rhythms at once. It’s more about training your subconscious to keep going while you shift your attention between two different things. Your singing will go on autopilot while you focus on the strum and vice versa. Eventually both will go on autopilot. It’s the same for drummers with all 4 limbs. Unless you are superhuman no one thinks of that many rhythms consciously at once. It’s “muscle memory” although that term is a bit misleading. It’s like driving or walking or anything else you learn to do without thinking about it consciously.[br] [br]Over time you will do so many variations of combined rhythms that it’ll just click and you won’t even know how you’re doing it. :)[br] [br]It’s a fun ability and you’ll get there if you just do it one very SIMPLE step at a time![br] [br]One last thing: there is a GREAT tutorial on singing and strumming on the 30 Day Singer site (owned by GuitarTricks) taught by Camille Van Niekerk. She breaks all of this system down into totally doable steps for anyone. http://www.30daysinger.com[br] [br]Keep at it! Keep it simple and you’ll get it!

-Carl.

Thanks a ton to both snojones and Carl for the great advice. It is really helpful to know that this is a skill that requires hard work and persistance. I was worried that my brain was just not wired for this skill. Now I realize that I'm the one that controls the wiring and with enough practice I'll get there some day.

Originally Posted by: Jim Payne

Thanks a ton to both snojones and Carl for the great advice. It is really helpful to know that this is a skill that requires hard work and persistance. I was worried that my brain was just not wired for this skill. Now I realize that I'm the one that controls the wiring and with enough practice I'll get there some day.

Jeff Berlin (famous jazz bassist) once used the analogy that learning and practicing is taking tiny little microscopic steps. On a daily basis, you might not even be able to see that you're moving. But after a week, a month, a year, you are across the room and out the front door.

My own progress feels just like this. I tell my wife that I never feel like I get any better, but my old stuff just gets worse. :)

-Carl.

I have to say that watching people play and sing all my life, I never really understood how difficult this is! It looks as easy as walking and talking at the same time. I have much more respect for all people who are able to do this.

I love the Jeff Berlin quote! That is a great analogy for practicing music. I will remember that one.

Ditto to Daves comment about listening to artists play live for years and most of us had no idea how difficult it is to do. They make it look so easy, then when you talk with them after the performance and praise their work, most of them act as if it's no big deal.They are so humble about it. If I ever get to a point where I can play and sing in front of people and someone says something like, "Man that sounded great", I hope I say something like - "You should have heard me 5 years ago", or " Hey, I'm just as surprised as you and everbody else is about this!"

I love the Jeff Berlin quote too. I'm thinking about renting a small apartment to practice in, so it won't take so long to get across the room and out the door. LOL!