Playing and Singing

Hello,

I'm in a punk rock band with 2 other guys who play drums and bass. I play the guitar and sing but i find it hard to come up with a original riff to sing with. So if you have any suggestion please help me out.

When it comes to creativity its important to gain a strng level of confidence, just keep singing along to your favorite songs as you strum the chords in a rather simple progression, (sooner or later everything should come into focus.) During your warm up sessions, start out with something very simple, try singing along with the notes you are playing, also try singing any pitch that comes to you and playing it back on guitar. Which will help you develop a good sense of what you like, and what you're comfortable with.

-Joseph, :).

I find it close to impossible to walk and chew gum at the same time. You can imagine the grief singing and playing guitar at the same time are for me. I play guitar and only sing back up vox in my band and it's taken me close to a year to train myself to be coordinated enough to just be able to do that. The only thing that will help is practice and time. Eventually you'll get to a point where you are comfortable enough to do it.

Any more tips...I dont have a problem singing and playing most of the time...but the first thing is most of the songs
I like to play are a not easy to play when the singing and the guitar are of center in timeing.2nd thing is I cant control my vox when I am playing...**** it is like I get to be 13 every time I play!!!!LOL!!!!

something i found that was really important early on in playing and singing, is Foot Tapping. If you are coordinated enough to tap the time out with your foot when you play something, just transfer the foot tapping to keeping time on guitar, and sing over that. after a while, you naturally evolve into playing more syncopated rythms, until it's complex. If all else fails, do what i did, play bass and sing in a band for a while (regardless of your level of guitar playing, being a bassist will give you a completely different perspective and teach team playing and how to be a musician, rather than a guitarist-theres a big difference)

Isn't it funny how most singers sing because they Have To?

Atomic

I was actually a singer before I was a guitarist. I have been singing in various things since I was 9, musicals and choirs and stuff (I have a hard time living it down but it is true). I only started learning guitar only just before I turned 16. I wish I had found guitar earlier though, as I love it so much, but I am only just catching up with people who have been learning for longe. I love to play and sing, and though I love playing lead guitar, seeing as I haven't been playing for as long but I study my theory, I am quite a good rhythm guitarist (which I think is underrated, I don't just play powerchords) and so singing is easier for me. I'd hate to on;y do one of the two, and I don't know which I would give up if I couldn't do both.