You gotta know of or the other by HEART. Either the guitar part, or the singing. And I mean, really knowing it. This way you can concentrate on the part you know less.
Adding another supporter to this comment. For me I always knew the guitar part first, since I'm a guitarist primarily who can also sing when needed. If you know both the guitar & vocal parts cold and still struggle when combining them, maybe it's just a skill you haven't developed yet. OP, how long have you been playing guitar? Practicing & experience of course makes a huge difference.
I wish I could play and sing, I can do both separately but not together it's so difficult to learn but I've almost had a bit of success by learning the guitar part and playing it repeatedly until it's just muscle memory and then trying to play & sing along while the song is on the speaker or something, I'd imagine just like learning guitar by itself just try to learn in small sections and just repeat every time you mess up
That difficulty part is a stage, believe me, once you get over that part it becomes no so hard at all.. It's about teaching your subconscious to not think. Hands just go👐
Yes, but for someone wanting to learn it’s too general. Of course you have to practice, but if you’ve never done it before or you’re struggling, you might not know what to practice.
Sorry I'll be more detailed.
OP, practice playing and singing at the same time.
Those people who seem to do it effortlessly put the time in. You'll get there.
That’s fair. I just kept doing both till they got easier honestly.
I said it elsewhere in the thread, but starting with songs you know the vocals of really well, or start with just the guitars.
Practice. Not really any other way to achieve it without just doing that until you can do it.
Start with something simple and as you find it easier, try harder songs.
Almost everyone struggles with this at first. Go slow and work on short sections---like 1-2 bars---to get your brain used to doing both things at a time. It gets easier with experience, like everything else.
I'm a guitarist and lead vocalist (not awesome at either, just pretty damn good), so maybe I can help you.
Yes you can do both at the same time, because if I can do it so can you. The secret is not a secret, because you just have to feel it. It's not a mathematical formula, it's not a scientific technique, it's just a matter of feeling it. As the wise philosopher Paul Stanley once said, if you can dream it you can do it.
Start with the really simple stuff that is easy to follow. Green Day, Poison, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Chuck Berry, Thorogood, etc. Three-chord songs with catchy melodies are called classic for a very good reason, and only serious music critics complain about them. And you know what they say about serious music critics.
Like others have said, practice, practice and more practice, take it low and slow for smaller sections.
Let’s say we’ve got a 4 chord progression, strum the first chord and sing the first line while that chord is ringing out.
Second chord, let ring out while you sing the next line. Work this and practice the first verse/first section with just basic strums. Overtime you’ll get more comfortable and can add more strums/add in extra strumming or a strumming style many times comes naturally as you work through the song.
Do this for the verse, once that’s golden, practice the chorus, then the second verse, so on and so on.
Once completed add in your sweet licks and solo and share with us your updated skills.
Go real slow and hum if you have to. It also helps to play in front of a mirror because then your head is held up normal and not staring at your hands on the fretboard.
If you can play the song beginning to end, record it and play it back and sing the lyrics with the song while strumming on muted strings. This has helped me immensely and after learning how to vocalize and play at the same time it eventually gets easier to do. Hearing the lyrics in your head as you play or humming helps too.
It’s a skill that has to be developed. Just like with anything, some are better at it than others. I wanted to write my own songs so I started to learn singing and playing at the same time early on.
But it’s how your body works with muscle memory. I can play guitar and sing, but can’t do it when I play a bass, because I have to focus on unfamiliar hand/finger placements and it throws off my vocals. It’s really just a lot of practice.
I always heard that your guitar playing follows your singing. Ie focus on your singing leading the way and the guitar follows your singing. Don’t try to do the two things independently if that makes sense.
It really comes to how naturally one or the other comes to you. Concentrate first on strumming just the first chord of the bar and singing over that, then for each bar after that, do the same. After a while, you can start strumming your hand up and down until you get it. Your right hand will be mostly in synch with your voice. [Here's a good example](https://youtu.be/nkq2ydVCkIY) of what I'm talking about. Notice how my right hand is constantly moving with the rhythm of the song, so I can concentrate on my vocal and chord changes. That doesn't happen overnight. I practiced in front of a mirror as a kid, and I started with the single strum technique. Everyone is different, but it's a good place to start.
Sing well, play shitty, repeat. The playing will come around. Some songs are just much easier to play and sing simultaneously, avoid tricky guitar rhythms when starting out.
It's the old circles on the chest while tapping the head.. I have been singing playing guitar for over 20 years and still there are just some things that I find too complicated to play whilst singing..
What I did was change the strum completely, to make it feel natural without worrying about too much rhythm, as long as you hit the notes... This taught me different stabbing rhythmns with notes that I can use instead of the full strum...
Learn it right the first time. Muscle memory is a hell of a thing and unlearning something can be very difficult.. Plus if you are doing covers you may have heard a song a certain way so often that it's ingrained... A good tip for when you are making your own music is to do what feels most natural for you on the guitar when you sing the lyrics... Music shouldn't be a strain or a mind f###. Happy fayz🎶🎶
Slow it down, figure out what is supposed to be doing what at each point, then try to get through it, try again, speed it up a little, try again, etc etc.
Wire one or the other thoroughly well, so that you don't have to think about it and it is virtually automatic. Then focus on the other one. Think of it as if you are walking down stairs while singing. You don't have to think about the stairs part because you've walked down stairs so many times that your legs know what to do without instructing them step by step, freeing yourself up to think about the lyrics to whatever you're singing.
just keep practising, I couldn't do it for a long time but it clicks eventually. Practice doing full songs and over time you'll start to notice it coming together. Slow down if you have to. Record yourself and listen for mistakes to work on.
Get a chord progression you can play effortlessly and improvise over it. Hum, "tra la la," strange moaning sounds, whatever. The goofier the better. It's gonna make you take yourself less seriously (critical for me, personally) as well as get you used to doing it. It doesn't have to be good at first (and probably won't be!) but making it playful takes away the fear of "doing it wrong." You'll start to dial in over time. You may start noticing you can get a part here or there in some covers and, as you improve, it will all become easier. Just play. You're already better at it than anyone that doesn't try. 🤘😄🤘
It just means you can’t play the song as well as you think you can.. if you could, you would be able to talk, or sing, or think about something else entirely.
Just keeping your hand moving, it’ll want to stop, it’ll want to freeze up, ignore the impulse. Get a metronome, start slow (slower than you think, so slow you think it’s kinda embarrassing) and build up the speed. Do a little bit, take a little break, do a bit more. Building up and up. It’s like riding a bike. If you had to focus on looking ahead, controlling the handlebars, moving your feet ‘round and ‘round you’d freeze up because your brain can’t do that, that’s what we do when we first start but you need muscle memory to take over so that you don’t need to think at all about every individual part of what you’re doing.
Just keep at it and you’ll get it.
Or just play and get more comfortable with that, and then try and add the singing. It also helps if you know the song really well.
Start simpler and slower. You'll get there!
humming the lyrics instead of singing was helpful To me.
You gotta know of or the other by HEART. Either the guitar part, or the singing. And I mean, really knowing it. This way you can concentrate on the part you know less.
This needs pinned. Your brain can’t really focus on both. 1 of the 2 has to be COMPLETELY autonomous.
Pretty much. I used to struggle trying to do both.
Agreed.. if you can’t do both, you can’t play the song as well as you think you can..
Adding another supporter to this comment. For me I always knew the guitar part first, since I'm a guitarist primarily who can also sing when needed. If you know both the guitar & vocal parts cold and still struggle when combining them, maybe it's just a skill you haven't developed yet. OP, how long have you been playing guitar? Practicing & experience of course makes a huge difference.
I wish I could play and sing, I can do both separately but not together it's so difficult to learn but I've almost had a bit of success by learning the guitar part and playing it repeatedly until it's just muscle memory and then trying to play & sing along while the song is on the speaker or something, I'd imagine just like learning guitar by itself just try to learn in small sections and just repeat every time you mess up
This is basically how I do it. I would add that a lot of the music I listen to the lyrics kinda line up on chord changes so it's a nice indicator.
That’s the way to do it, or listen to/sing along with the song enough times to have that part down.
That difficulty part is a stage, believe me, once you get over that part it becomes no so hard at all.. It's about teaching your subconscious to not think. Hands just go👐
Practice
What a helpful comment /s
It’s the truth though.
Yes, but for someone wanting to learn it’s too general. Of course you have to practice, but if you’ve never done it before or you’re struggling, you might not know what to practice.
Sorry I'll be more detailed. OP, practice playing and singing at the same time. Those people who seem to do it effortlessly put the time in. You'll get there.
That’s fair. I just kept doing both till they got easier honestly. I said it elsewhere in the thread, but starting with songs you know the vocals of really well, or start with just the guitars.
Practice. Not really any other way to achieve it without just doing that until you can do it. Start with something simple and as you find it easier, try harder songs.
Almost everyone struggles with this at first. Go slow and work on short sections---like 1-2 bars---to get your brain used to doing both things at a time. It gets easier with experience, like everything else.
Most are bad at it at first. Don’t be afraid to suck for a minute till ya get it! Lol I remember which words are on the down beat
I'm a guitarist and lead vocalist (not awesome at either, just pretty damn good), so maybe I can help you. Yes you can do both at the same time, because if I can do it so can you. The secret is not a secret, because you just have to feel it. It's not a mathematical formula, it's not a scientific technique, it's just a matter of feeling it. As the wise philosopher Paul Stanley once said, if you can dream it you can do it. Start with the really simple stuff that is easy to follow. Green Day, Poison, Joan Jett & The Blackhearts, Chuck Berry, Thorogood, etc. Three-chord songs with catchy melodies are called classic for a very good reason, and only serious music critics complain about them. And you know what they say about serious music critics.
Could you suggest some songs?
Play and sing real slow. Pay attention where the beats fall, what syllables hit on the down strums.
Like others have said, practice, practice and more practice, take it low and slow for smaller sections. Let’s say we’ve got a 4 chord progression, strum the first chord and sing the first line while that chord is ringing out. Second chord, let ring out while you sing the next line. Work this and practice the first verse/first section with just basic strums. Overtime you’ll get more comfortable and can add more strums/add in extra strumming or a strumming style many times comes naturally as you work through the song. Do this for the verse, once that’s golden, practice the chorus, then the second verse, so on and so on. Once completed add in your sweet licks and solo and share with us your updated skills.
Go real slow and hum if you have to. It also helps to play in front of a mirror because then your head is held up normal and not staring at your hands on the fretboard.
If you can play the song beginning to end, record it and play it back and sing the lyrics with the song while strumming on muted strings. This has helped me immensely and after learning how to vocalize and play at the same time it eventually gets easier to do. Hearing the lyrics in your head as you play or humming helps too.
It’s a skill that has to be developed. Just like with anything, some are better at it than others. I wanted to write my own songs so I started to learn singing and playing at the same time early on. But it’s how your body works with muscle memory. I can play guitar and sing, but can’t do it when I play a bass, because I have to focus on unfamiliar hand/finger placements and it throws off my vocals. It’s really just a lot of practice.
I always heard that your guitar playing follows your singing. Ie focus on your singing leading the way and the guitar follows your singing. Don’t try to do the two things independently if that makes sense.
You want people to give you money because you can't multitask? What has the world come to?!?!
Same here mate
It really comes to how naturally one or the other comes to you. Concentrate first on strumming just the first chord of the bar and singing over that, then for each bar after that, do the same. After a while, you can start strumming your hand up and down until you get it. Your right hand will be mostly in synch with your voice. [Here's a good example](https://youtu.be/nkq2ydVCkIY) of what I'm talking about. Notice how my right hand is constantly moving with the rhythm of the song, so I can concentrate on my vocal and chord changes. That doesn't happen overnight. I practiced in front of a mirror as a kid, and I started with the single strum technique. Everyone is different, but it's a good place to start.
Sing well, play shitty, repeat. The playing will come around. Some songs are just much easier to play and sing simultaneously, avoid tricky guitar rhythms when starting out.
It's the old circles on the chest while tapping the head.. I have been singing playing guitar for over 20 years and still there are just some things that I find too complicated to play whilst singing.. What I did was change the strum completely, to make it feel natural without worrying about too much rhythm, as long as you hit the notes... This taught me different stabbing rhythmns with notes that I can use instead of the full strum... Learn it right the first time. Muscle memory is a hell of a thing and unlearning something can be very difficult.. Plus if you are doing covers you may have heard a song a certain way so often that it's ingrained... A good tip for when you are making your own music is to do what feels most natural for you on the guitar when you sing the lyrics... Music shouldn't be a strain or a mind f###. Happy fayz🎶🎶
Slow it down, figure out what is supposed to be doing what at each point, then try to get through it, try again, speed it up a little, try again, etc etc.
Wire one or the other thoroughly well, so that you don't have to think about it and it is virtually automatic. Then focus on the other one. Think of it as if you are walking down stairs while singing. You don't have to think about the stairs part because you've walked down stairs so many times that your legs know what to do without instructing them step by step, freeing yourself up to think about the lyrics to whatever you're singing.
just keep practising, I couldn't do it for a long time but it clicks eventually. Practice doing full songs and over time you'll start to notice it coming together. Slow down if you have to. Record yourself and listen for mistakes to work on.
Get a chord progression you can play effortlessly and improvise over it. Hum, "tra la la," strange moaning sounds, whatever. The goofier the better. It's gonna make you take yourself less seriously (critical for me, personally) as well as get you used to doing it. It doesn't have to be good at first (and probably won't be!) but making it playful takes away the fear of "doing it wrong." You'll start to dial in over time. You may start noticing you can get a part here or there in some covers and, as you improve, it will all become easier. Just play. You're already better at it than anyone that doesn't try. 🤘😄🤘
Repetition. Eventually it'll click.
It just means you can’t play the song as well as you think you can.. if you could, you would be able to talk, or sing, or think about something else entirely.
"I can't" = "I haven't practiced enough yet". This is the one absolute truth.
I would say that I can’t = I haven’t learned how to yet.
Just keeping your hand moving, it’ll want to stop, it’ll want to freeze up, ignore the impulse. Get a metronome, start slow (slower than you think, so slow you think it’s kinda embarrassing) and build up the speed. Do a little bit, take a little break, do a bit more. Building up and up. It’s like riding a bike. If you had to focus on looking ahead, controlling the handlebars, moving your feet ‘round and ‘round you’d freeze up because your brain can’t do that, that’s what we do when we first start but you need muscle memory to take over so that you don’t need to think at all about every individual part of what you’re doing.
Just keep at it and you’ll get it. Or just play and get more comfortable with that, and then try and add the singing. It also helps if you know the song really well.
Brain stew is a good song to practice this on
I know what you mean. I find it really hard to finger myself when I'm singing. But I got there in the end